Graphing Pelicans at Wood Ducks

The latest series between the Wood Ducks and Pelicans consisted of a bunch of "Finallys".  Finally, I got Yanio Perez on the above 2017 Topps Heritage Minors.  He had been with Frisco, but had been injured.  He is back with the Wood Ducks, and I was finally able to get the first official Wood Ducks card signed.

I finally was able to get these team set cards signed.  I think I got Blake Bass early last season, but I found the above Hickory card in Chris's pile, so I got it done.  Tyler Ferguson is back with the team, so I got his Woodies team set card done.  Also, Joe Palumbo is back after being out most of last season.

I finally got Alex Lange on some cards after being shut out early in the season.  He was really nice, so I think getting shut out earlier was just because I didn't recognize him.

I finally got a couple Tyson Miller cards done that came in a 50/50 from my friend, Vince.

I had Cory Abbott pulled and put aside for when he would make it to Myrtle Beach, and was able to get everything of him done.

The Yanio Perez above was from the South Atlantic League All Star team set.  I was glad to finally get that one taken care of as well.

The 2016 Heritage with Guilder Rodriguez came from a 50/50 with Gerard that I was able to do.

This 2015 Topps Opening Day also came from the same 50/50.

I got everyone I set out to get during this series.  I should be able to finish Myrtle Beach when they come back in mid-August.

TTM Success - Mickey Stanley

This TTM success from Mickey Stanley was cool because I was able to get this 1979 O Pee Chee signed.  I don't know where it came from, but it looks cool.

I also got these two Topps cards signed in the TTM.

Stanley (b. 1942) played in the majors from 1964 to 1978 for the Tigers.  He had 1,243 hits, 117 home runs and a .248 batting average.  He was a four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1968, 1969, 1970 and 1973).  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1968.  Also, during that 1968 season, he finished 25th in the AL MVP voting.

I mailed to Stanley on March 3 and got the cards back on April 24, for a 52-day TAT.

TTM Success - Ernie Whitt

Ernie Whitt was yet another player that I knew signed TTM, but for whatever reason, I sat on his cards for a long time.  Not to worry, though, I finally mailed them, and got a nice return.  The above 1990 Score turned out really nicely, to go along with several Topps issues I sent.

I needed Whitt for my 1987 set, and also got him on a 1984, 1985 and 1988.

Whitt (b. 1952) played in the majors from 1976 to 1978 and 1980 to 1991 for the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Braves and Orioles.  He had 938 hits, 134 home runs and a .249 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1985.

I mailed to Whitt on March 14 and got the cards back on April 23, for a 40-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chris Demaria

I added a few more recent cards to my album with this TTM success from Chris Demaria.  I was disappointed, though, that he kept my 2006 Topps Chrome and 2006 Topps Opening Day, and swapped me out for the two Upper Deck below.

Not that they're bad cards by any means, I just would have rather had my Chrome.

Demaria (b. 1980) is only a few days younger than I am.  He played in the majors in 2005 and 2006 for the Royals and Brewers.  He had a 1-1 record, 22 strike outs and a 7.15 ERA.

I mailed to Demaria on March 12 and got the cards back on April 23, for a 42-day TAT.

TTM Success - Vic Correll

The TTM successes kept on coming, and I keep on posting.  This one was from Vic Correll that saw me add three signed cards to my album.  I have a good many 1981 Topps in the album, so this one was a good addition.

I also was able to add his 1980 and 1979 Topps, which are shown above.

Correll (b. 1946) played in the majors in 1972 and from 1974 to 1980 for the Red Sox, Braves and Reds.  He had 259 hits, 29 home runs and a .229 batting average.

I mailed to Correll on April 11 and got the cards back on April 23, for a 12-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Brett Butler

I had to send to Brett Butler again because I failed to send him a 1987 Topps the first time I mailed to him.  Luckily, I had a couple other cards that I really wanted to see done, so it worked out.

I always enjoyed the 1992 Triple Play set.  It was one of the first that I could afford a hobby box of, and I'm certain there are a ton of the cards still floating around my parent's attic.  I liked this Little Hotshots card from that set, and can now add it to the album.

In addition to the 1987, I also sent the really colorful 1995 Fleer.  It turned out great.  I think I want to find a box of these and try for some more of them during my TTM requests.

I mailed to Butler again on April 10 and got the cards back on April 21, for an 11-day TAT.

TTM Success - David Clyde

1975 Topps is always a fun set to see come back signed.  This David Clyde card looks really sharp, even though it has some freaky colors on it.  The purple and green is definitely an odd combination, but the card does look cool.

Not as impressive were his 1979 and 1980 offerings.  I mean, they are nice cards and all, but they just don't compare to the wildness of the 75.

Clyde (b. 1955) played in the majors from 1973 to 1975, 1978 and 1979 for the Rangers and Indians.  He had a record of 18-33 with 228 strike outs and an ERA of 4.63.

I mailed to Clyde on March 20 and got the cards back on April 21, for a 32-day TAT.

A Bunch of SIgned 1987 Topps For The Set

I have begun buying cards I need for my 1987 set.  Along with the paid private signings, I have come to a point with the set where a lot of what I want in it won't be free.  There are a good number of tough to get players, and also deceased ones who I know I will have to either trade for or pay some money.

I got the above Don Baylor off of Ebay fairly cheaply, and compared it to other Baylors.  It looks legit, and makes up for my failure to send to him before he passed.

I'm waiting on a TTM request to come back from Hal Lanier, but I went ahead and traded with someone on Instagram for this one.  If the TTM comes back, I'll have some trade bait.

My friend, Noah, went to a signing in Detriot a few weeks ago and picked these two up for me.  Berenguer signs for a fee TTM, and that fee was the same as this signing, I think, so I went ahead and let Noah get this for me.  I saw that Evans signed some, so I do have a TTM out there somewhere, and if that one comes back, it, too will be trade bait.

I cashed in my Speedy Rewards points for a $25 Ebay gift card and used most of it on the above Sparky Anderson.  It was JSA certified, as well as the above Dick Williams.  I used the remainder of the Ebay card, and my Ebay bucks, as coupons on the Williams.

While I was looking at the Williams and Anderson, I saw this lot of deceased former managers for $25.  I had several collectors check out the signatures and they all said they were legit.  When I posted it on my Instagram, even more people told me that they were authentic.  I got the lot for what one of them would have cost me as a single card.

Finally, I was having a conversation with my old friend, Max in California, and he was telling me that Kirk Gibson was in pretty bad shape from his battle with Parkinson's.  So, I decided to try to go ahead and pick this up for the set.  Gibson is a player who I would enjoy meeting, and/or getting something TTM, but with the battle he has ahead of him, I definitely don't want to bother him at all.

So, here they are.  I knocked off several cards for the set, and they are all in my album.

Stranger Things Night at DBAP

One of the things I like the most about the minor leagues is that teams do a great job on promotions.  I was looking forward to Stranger Things Night at DBAP ever since I heard that it was a thing.  I fell in love with the Netflix show, and was really glad I made it to the game.

I was really happy that they were going to have specialty jerseys for the game based off of the character, Dustin.  The jerseys are really cool, and I made sure to come home with one.

The jersey I got was of former Orioles first round pick, Brandon Snyder.  Of all the Bulls players I could have gotten, Snyder was the one I really wanted to get.  I plan on hanging it up with the rest of my game used jerseys.

It was really cool seeing Snyder in person again.  I picked this 2005 Bowman at the Chantilly show in April since I figured I would see Snyder sometime.  The card turned out great, I think.  I pre-prepped it with baby powder before I went to the game.

This 2005 Bowman Heritage also turned out so nice.  Snyder has a great signature, and it shows here.

Here are the rest of the Snyder cards that I got done.  Chris was down on the field saying "play ball" again, so I was happy to be able to get the extras done.

I was also happy that I got these two Nick Ciuffo cards out of my box and get them signed.  He was really nice.

Eloy Jimenez only signed for kids, and did this one for Chris.  We were glad to get this one done from our Carolina League Top Prospects set.

Outside the stadium, I was able to get these two cards from 2017 Pro Debut signed by Casey Gillaspie and Jordan Stephens.

I really enjoyed the theme night, and was glad I could spend it with Mal, Chris, and my friend, Jackson.

PA Comes Through With Some Set Needs

I was cropping this scan of a 1995 Topps Nomar that my friend, P. A. gave me and my first thought was "Why is that not signed?"  Then I remembered, I do more things with cards than just get them signed.  The last set I need to complete between 1973 and 2017 Topps is 1995.  I have been working on it sporadically for a long time.  When I was in Texas, I met up with P. A., and he hooked me up with a stack of cards that almost completes my set.

My goal, now, is to go on Sportlots and complete the thing, so I can get it out of my closet... into another closet where I keep my sets.

Thanks so much for the cards, P. A.  Even better was meeting up with him and catching up after all these years!

TTM Success - Mariano Duncan

This TTM success from Mariano Duncan turned out really well.  I always enjoy a good Donruss Studio card, and this one looks great.  That was always a nice set to see when it came out, and I bet Panini would sell a few cards if they resurrected it.  Even if it was the players in suits and all, since Panini doesn't have licensing.

This 1987 Topps for the set turned out great.  Duncan has an awesome signature, and it was just about perfect on this card.

Duncan (b. 1963) played in the majors from 1985 to 1987 and 1989 to 1997 for the Dodgers, Reds, Phillies, Yankees and Blue Jays.  He had 1,247 hits, 87 home runs and a .267 batting average.  He finished 3rd in the 1985 NL Rookie of the Year voting and was an All Star in 1994.  He also finished 23rd in the 1985 NL MVP voting.

Duncan went to three World Series (1990, 1993 and 1996) and won two of them (1990 with the Reds and 1996 with the Yankees).

I mailed to Duncan on April 9 and got the cards back on April 19, for a 10-day TAT.  I sent to him via the West Michigan Whitecaps.

TTM Success - Gene Larkin

Here is another TTM success of a guy who's cards I sat on for quite a while before I mailed them out.  I don't know what took me so long to send to Gene Larkin, but I waited a long time and I finally got them out.

I had a bunch of his stuff and settled on 4 cards.  They all look pretty cool.  One of which was a 1987 Topps Traded.  I'm not pursuing that set, but it was cool to add one to the album.

Larkin (b. 1962) played in the majors from 1987 to 1993 for the Twins.  He had 618 hits, 32 home runs and a .266 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Twins in 1987 and 1991.

I mailed to Larkin on January 22 and got the cards back on April 19, for an 87-day TAT.

Austin Beck Signed Baseball From Philip

I believe I have created a monster.  My brother Philip has always been a sports fan.  Typically, he sticks with football, but he has always liked baseball, too.  When I was little (Philip is a year older than I am), he was a big A's and Giants fan.  This was one of the reasons I became an Orioles fan, since, you know, you can't copy your older brothers.  He was a big fan of Will Clark, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire.  Then, he got into football hardcore, and became a Miami Hurricanes fan.

Not too recently, Philip became a fan of the Yankees.  I think it was to rib me at the start, but then he got really hooked.  I have recently sent him cards of Gleyber Torres, since he is a really good young player.  Philip even bought my Gleyber auto off of me; which I have since gotten graded for him.

He also has spent more time looking at the MLB draft, and younger prospects.  He becamse a fan of Ronald Acuna and Juan Soto for that reason.

It turned out, he knew a relative of last year's A's first round pick, Austin Beck, since Beck was from Davidson County, NC.  Philip heard about a signing Beck was doing, and went this past February.  He was kind enough to pick up a ball for me and a card for Chris to get signed.  I have been wanting to post the ball, but have been so far behind on my posts, it has just sat here in it's box.  Since I have a case of ball cubes sitting here ready to be opened, I figured now would be a good time to show off the ball that my brother got done for me.

Beck (b. 1998) was drafted 6th overall by the A's in the 2017 June Amateur Draft.  He is a center fielder out of Lexington, NC.  In the two seasons he has played in the minors, he has reached Class A Full Season and has a total of 127 hits, 3 home runs and a .264 batting average.  OOkland's full season Class A team is the Beloit Snappers.

Thanks for picking up the ball for me, Philip.  I hate that it took me so long to get it posted, but I appreciate it nonetheless.

TTM Success - Terry Steinbach

Here is a TTM success that took a long time to get here.  It also took me a long time to send the cards, but I got around to it, and then waited.  I had some pretty cool cards of Terry Steinbach for the autograph album, like the above 1995 Score Summit Edition.  I remember these from when I opened packs as a kid, but a lot of them got trashed because they all stuck together.  This one was one of the few that actually survived that era, and will now be in my album.

I had these two horizontal cards to send.  Both of them look really cool.  I especially liked the 1994 Upper Deck Homefield Advantage card.  I had been wanting one of them for the album, and finally got this one in.

He doesn't have a 1987 Topps, but I did send his 1987 Topps Rookies card in.  I also added a couple mid-90s Topps to my album.

Steinbach (b. 1962) played in the majors from 1986 to 1999 for the A's and Twins.  He had 1,453 hits, 162 home runs and a .271 batting average.  He was an All Star 3 times (1988, 1989 and 1993) and won the World Series with the A's in 1989.  He finished 21st in the 1996 AL MVP voting.

I mailed to Steinbach on October 16, 2017, and got the cards back on April 19, for a 185-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $2/card.

Some Autos From Max

My buddy, Max, recently saw the Phillies and got a few cards signed for me.  One of the cards he took for me was this 2013 Topps Tommy Hunter blue sparkle parallel.  The card turned out amazingly.  I had gotten the card way back in 2013 from a kid named Erik, whom I have lost touch with.  I still appreciate this card, and hope Erik is doing well, wherever he is.

Max hooked me up with some nice autos.  I sent him a bunch that I was able to find fairly quickly over a lunch break from work.  I got the cards to him and he sent a few back.  I was happy to help out, and also happy to move some things out of my box.

I like that Max can take a few cards off of my hands and turn them into autos.  We have jad our arrangement for autos for probably 4 years now, and it works out great.

Thanks for the cards, Max!!

TTM Success - Steve Renko

Here is a TTM success I got back from Steve Renko.  I got another 1980 Topps signed for my album, along with a few other nice Topps cards.

I sent most of what I had for Renko; a lot of late 70s cards.  They span 5 seasons, and are all with different teams.  I thought that was kind of funny.

Renko (b. 1944) played in the majors from 1969 to 1983 for the Expos, Cubs, White Sox, A's, Red Sox, Angels and Royals.  He had a career record of 134-146 with 1,455 strike outs and a 3.99 ERA.

I mailed to Renko on March 1 and got the cards back on April 18, for a 48-day TAT.

Autographed Cards From Gerard

My friend, Gerard, took some 50/50s for me recently, and I got a few back from him.  The above Stephen Gonsalves turned out really nicely, I thought.  Gonsalves has a great auto.

Gerard has been able to take care of some older cards for me with the coaches that he sees.  I can't remember which Rich Gedmans I don't have anymore, so the two above went into my album anyway.  I was pretty sure I didn't have the 1988 Fleer of Bobby Meacham.  I really like that set; they look really nice signed in blue.

Someone, somewhere, made these customs, and Gerard gave them to me.  They look nice, with the 1964 style.

I found these Brian Bannister cards early this year for Gerard, and they turned out great.  Bannister has a great auto.

It's always noce to get a 2014 Bowman signed.  I feel like this was my favorite issue of Bowman.  The parallels were great.  I really enjoyed pursuing those for my former Chris Davis PC.  I would like to see Bowman with some more of those crazy parallels.  Especially the bubble chromes.

Speaking of parallels, Gerard was able to get me these Bowman Platinum cards signed by Mike Olt.  I found them at the Chantilly show in April.

Gerard got me a Pawtucket Red Sox team set and got most of the cards signed for me.  I really appreciated the effort, because I know how hard it is to get team sets signed.

Supposedly, the Wood Ducks have a set coming soon, so I have to keep an eye out for that.

Thank you so much for the cards, Gerard!