We have baseballs signed by every player and coach in the Tampa Bay Rays 26+ year on field history.
As season ticket holders during the Tampa Bay Devil Rays Inaugural season, the McKenney kids, Jennifer (age 9) and Raymond (age 7) began collecting batting practice balls and balls from their favorite Rays players. With no true purpose for the growing collection their father Jeff suggested they begin collecting autographs. Before long the family amassed a collection which contained one autographed
07/21/2026
Decided to update the biz card I give to people interested in learning about our collection. The photo is of my grandson showing off the first autograph he obtained. It wasn’t a Rays player that signed the ball but it doesn’t matter. It was a fun moment which is what ‘graphing should be about.
Caught up with a few Rays prospects last weekend. Durham Bulls catcher DANIEL VELLOJIN signed a ball for me before their game in Jacksonville on Saturday. (Thanks again Candice R. for the free game ticket!) Montgomery Biscuits catcher CADEN BODINE and pitcher SANTIAGO SUAREZ each autographed a ball for me on Sunday in Pensacola. As per tradition photos of the balls will be posted when they make their debuts with the big club.
07/13/2026
Nothing new in this video except the narration by Joe Maddon, but again, if you look closely Jen appears (again) for a brief moment. https://www.instagram.com/reel/Das4F12Rppv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
“He gave this franchise its heartbeat.” Thank you for embracing us, 3.
07/09/2026
The latest Rays additions are pitchers MICHAEL GROVE and CHRIS ROYCROFT. Both signatures were obtained by our best Durham buddy Michael K. before the players made their first appearances with the big club.
06/11/2026
This afternoon I caught up with the newest Rays player, outfielder AUSTIN SLATER. Pre-game autos are tough at the Trop, but I managed to catch his attention after our guys completed the series sweep of the Red Sox.
Last guy needed from the 2026 roster is Jonathan Heasley whom is currently on the 60-day IL.
Jen
6/19-20 Updates: Slater was for Designated for Assignment on 6/19 then refused a minor league assignment and became a free agent on 6/22. On 6/30 he signed a minor league deal with the team.
06/09/2026
With the acquisition of an Adrian Houser autographed ball acquired from the SF Giants Authentics Store I'm finally in a position to finish our 2025 ball display case. Snap on a piece of clear plexiglass and few pieces of trim and year #28 will be complete. It's almost hard to believe we first started this project way back in 1998.
- Jeff
06/07/2026
When I arrived today, Rays reliever CRAIG KIMBREL was chatting with first base coach Corey Dickerson as pitchers played catch. I was able to get Craig’s attention and have him sign as he headed towards the Rays dugout.
Still needed: relief pitcher Jonathan Heasley. He was optioned to Durham following his first outing with the big club, then subsequently recalled and placed on the IL. It does not appear he made the trip to Miami as I’ve yet to see him.
Jen
06/02/2026
NOTE FOR OUR OWN RECORDS. Excuse some of the irrelevant info in this post. I find it easier to find previous posts if I can scroll though our pages looking for photos. The only thing that really matters is 761, the count at the end of last season. I'll update this count again at the end of the current season.
05/31/2026
This past week has been exhausting. Not just for the Rays but for us as well. We acquired an autograph from the latest roster addition LHP CAM BOOSER 2/15 at spring camp.
05/30/2026
There has been 3 additions to the Rays roster in the past week. Unfortunately we haven’t caught up with 2 of them. Fortunately we did get a ball signed in spring camp by the 3rd guy. Welcome Andrew Wantz to the team. June 2 Update: Wantz elected to become a free agent after clearing waivers.