August 2019 Graphing of the Mudcats At Wood Ducks

The first series in Kinston after I got back from the National was between the Mudcats and Wood Ducks.  I took a bunch of the cards that I found at the National, and got them signed.

This Tristen Lutz was in a box at the National for $2.00.  It turned out really well, and I was happy to get it signed.

I continued to work on my Mudcats set when I got these cards signed by Christian Taugnet and Pat McInerney. 

These Mario Feliciano cards turned out great.  I thought I had gotten him earlier in the season, but I guess I didn't.

I was able to get Brice Turang on a 2019 Pro Debut.  He signed a lot better for us during this series than the past one, so I was able to get some 50/50s done, as well.

I got these two Lutz cards from the National as well.  The left one is the glossy version of his 2018 Heritage Minors, and the right one is a 2017 Bowman Chrome refractor.

I liked this Stars and Stripes relic that I found cheap in a relic/auto box at the show.  I got Devin Hairston to sign it, and I hope to add some of the other guys to it.

My friend, Ben, gave me this Brewers autograph card.  I got it signed by Payton Henry, and it turned out well.

I found more Phil Bickford cards than anything at the National.  I was able to get them all signed, and of course, they all look great.

They're all parallels, and will look awesome in my album.

I was disappointed that there weren't more places that had Bowman parallels at the National, but I was able to find some good stuff.

I finished up my Yanio cards when I got this last custom card signed.  I got it from a Rangers fan that I 50/50 with, and got all of his stuff done.

I found some nice Eric Jenkins cards while at the show.  The above card is a mini 2017 Bowman.  I found some of these of Leody Taveras and Anderson Tejeda that I will put away.

Both of these parallels of EJ turned out well.

I was really happy when I found this 2016 Bowman Chrome Orange Shimmer refractor in a quarter box at the show.  I ran into a bunch of them and hoped there would be someone in there who I could get to sign.  When I saw this Jairo Beras, I was stoked.  I also found this Rize card at a booth that had a bunch of there, and some Perfect Game cards.

These two Michael Matuella cards turned out well.  I like the black refractor from 2015 Bowman Chrome (left).

I had seen someone at a Wood Ducks game with the Bubba Thompson on the left.  I was glad to find one at the National.  I also found the blue parallel from 2017 Bowman.  The blue parallels look great when signed.

Speaking of blue parallels, these two Noah Bremers really look great.  I don't know why I didn't have any of these before, but I was glad to add them now.

TTM Success - Gene Nelson

Another 1987 Topps is marked off of the list with this TTM success from Gene Nelson.  I thought I had him already, but I must have gotten him mixed up with someone else.

When I sent to Nelson, I also sent these two cards, 1990 and 1992 Topps.

Nelson (b. 1960) played in the majors from 1981 to 1993 for the Yankees, Mariners, White Sox, A's, Angels and Rangers.  He had a career record of 53-64 with 655 strike outs and a 4.13 ERA.  He won the World Series in 1989 with the A's.

I mailed to Nelson on March 26 and got the cards back on August 5, for a 132-day TAT.

TTM Success - Matt Davidson

I sent a couple cards out to Nashville in hopes of adding some Matt Davidsons to my autograph album.  Both cards came back looking great.  We saw him earlier this year, and were able to get an autograph, but I found these two after the fact, and figured I would give them a shot.  I'm glad I did.

Davidson (b. 1991) has played in the majors in 2013 for the Diamondbacks and 2016 to 2018 for the White Sox.  He is currently in the Rangers system (AAA Nashville), but has not been called up this season.

To date, he has 209 hits, 49 home runs and a .226 batting average.

I mailed to Davidson on July 24 and got the cards back on August 3, for a 10-day TAT.

July 2019 Graphing of Dash at Wood Ducks

I had to consult my calendar, but it appears that my graphing stacks are backlogged all the way back to early July; before I went to the National.

So, here is the oldest series that I graphed and haven't posted.

I must have done pretty well during this series; I was able to get JP Martinez on my team set card.  He has been the toughest person to get to sign anything this season.  I try to not take it personally, but sometimes, you wonder if it's you.  Oh well, I haven't tried to ask him much lately, as he has just ignored me, so I'll just keep chatting with Bubba Thompson and Noah Bremer.  Those guys are super nice, and I'll leave it at that.

Isias Quiroz was up with the Wood Ducks for a brief cup of coffee, then went down with an injury, and I haven't seen him since.

I also got to work on my All Star cards that Michael sent me.  Most of the guys in that set got sent up to AA right after the All Star game, but I'll keep trying to get them signed.

TTM Success - Chris Turner

I have built another backlog of TTM successes while I have been talking about the National, so it is time to knock a few posts about those out.

I sent off 4 cards to Chris Turner, and they all turned out really well when they came back in.  The above 1994 Score Gold Rush looks much better in person that the scan.

I also got him on a 1994 Donruss, 1994 Topps and a 2001 Topps.

Turner (b. 1969) played in the majors from 1993 to 2000 for the Angels, Royals, Indians and Yankees.  He had 90 hits, 4 home runs and a .237 batting average.

I mailed to Turner on June 18 and got the cards back on August 3, for a 46-day TAT.

2019 National Free Signer - Dwight Smith

The last of the free signers at the National was Dwight Smith.  I ran out of time to search for his cards in my Orioles boxes before I had to leave for the trip, so I had to see if Max had one that I could get signed.  Max came through, and just this week, I found the two that I had.

Smith (b. 1963) played in the majors from 1989 to 1996 for the Cubs, Angels, Orioles and Braves.  He had 497 hits, 46 home runs and a .275 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Braves in 1995.

This concludes the free signers for this year's National.  I now have a backlog of cards from graphing, and also some more TTMs.  I plan on knocking those stacks down soon.

2019 National Free Signer - Bob Hamelin

I've almost wrapped up my VIP signer posts from the National.  I have one more after this one, but first, here are the cards that I got signed by Bob Hamelin.

This 1994 Bowman turned out really well.  I didn't have many 94 Bowmans left in my collection, as a ton of them were ruined because they all had stuck together over the years.  Still, this one survived, and looks great signed.

I also got these four cards signed.  I was able to use up all of my remaining Wild Card vouchers, which was nice, because some of them dated back to 2016.

Hamelin (b. 1967) is from Elizabeth, NJ, which I did not know until just now, or I would have asked him about it.  That is where my dad's side of the family comes from.  He played in the majors from 1993 to 1998 for the Royals, Tigers and Brewers.  He had 313 hits, 67 home runs and a .246 batting average.

He was the 1994 AL Rookie of the Year in a field that included Manny Ramirez and Jim Edmonds.  This was the strike-shortened season, and stats were curtailed, but Hamelin's 24 homers and .282 average beat out those other two future stars.

2019 National Free Signer - Rick Reuschel

I got him TTM a few years ago, but I was able to add some more Rick Reuschel cards to my album when I met him at the National this year.  Reuschel has since stopped signing TTM, and of course I screwed up and didn't send the two most important cards to him.

For whatever reason, I left out the 1987 Topps, so I was able to finally cross it off of my set checklist.

I didn't yet have these cards done by Reuschel, so it was nice to get them done.  He took a ton of my Wild Card vouchers, which was even better.  I was able to get rid of most of the old ones that I had, and that proved to be a big help in getting a lot of cards signed throughout the event.

While I was really glad I got my 1987 signed, this 1977 Big League Brothers card was the one that I really wanted to get signed.  I had gotten Paul Reuschel on the card TTM back in 2016 or so, and I was afraid that if I sent TTM to Rick (especially since he hadn't been signing), it would get lost.

The card is finally complete and will go back in its place in my album.

2019 National Free Signer - Jim Lefebvre

I didn't go through his line, because I was waiting on Jim Perry, but I was able to get this Jim Lefebvre card signed by either Michael or his uncle.  They were kind enough to get my stuff done while I waited on Perry.  I was glad to get this 1971 Topps Buyback card done.  I won't count it toward my Topps total, since it has the Topps Stamp, but it was really cool to get it done.

Lefebvre (b. 1942) played in the majors from 1965 to 1972 for the Dodgers.  He had 756 hits, 74 home runs and a .251 batting average.  He was the 1965 NL Rookie of the Year and an All Star in 1966.  His best career finish in the NL MVP voting was 18th in 1966.  He won the World Series with the Dodgers in 1965.

Lefebvre managed the Mariners from 1989 to 1991; the Cubs from 1992 to 1993 and the Brewers for part of 1999.  His career managerial record is 233-253 (.485%).

2019 National Free Signer - Marcel Dionne

I gave away my VIP vouchers for Marcel Dionne pretty quickly.  I was going to focus only on baseball players, and had searched for cards for all of those guys.  Since I had no hockey, football or basketball cards, I sold or traded away all of those players with vouchers.  Then, on the day Dionne was signing, Max came to the show with a box of vintage baseball and hockey that he picked up, and sold to me for $10.00.  He (and I) figured that I could use the vintage cards for TTMs.  As I looked through them, I found these two Dionne cards.  I told Max "Ah crap, he's out there signing right now!".

I happened to have two wild cards on me, and luckily, they were taking them for Dionne because he signed so fast.  So, I got both of the cards done, and I was able to get rid of some wild cards.

Dionne (b. 1951) played in the NHL 1971 to 1989 for the Detroit Red Wings (never heard of them), LA Kings and New York Rangers.  In his career, he had 731 goals, 1,040 assists, and amassed 1,771 points.  He was a 4-time All Star.  His awards include the "Lady Byng Memorial Trophy" which is awarded to the player who "exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability" in the 74/75 and 76/77 seasons.

He was the winner of the Lester B. Pearson Award (now known as the Ted Lindsay Award) which goes to the most outstanding player, as selected by the NHLPA in the 78/79 and 79/80 seasons.  He also won the Art Ross Trophy, which is awarded to the top poinl-scorer for the season, in 1979/80.

His 731 goals rank 5th all-time; his 1,040 assists rank 11th all-time; and his 1,771 points rank 6th all-time.  He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.

Are the Red Wings any good?

2019 National Free Signer - Gary Peters

Another of the free signers at this year's National was someone who's card I was able to find in my vintage box, former pitcher, Gary Peters.  This 1968 Topps All Star card turned out really well.  I was surprised that I had it, but was glad to be able to get it signed.

Peters (b. 1937) played in the majors from 1959 to 1972 for the White Sox and Red Sox.  He had a career record of 124-103 with an ERA of 3.25 and 1,420 strike outs.  He was the 1963 Rookie of the Year, and an All Star in 1964 and 1967.  He won 20 games in 1964, as well, which landed him 7th in the AL MVP voting.  He was the AL ERA leader in 1963 (2.33) and 1966 (1.98).

2019 National Free Signer - Jim Perry

I was really excited to meet Jim Perry when it was announced that he would be one of the free signers at this year's National.  When I was in high school, my bus driver would tell me that he grew up in Williamston, NC with the Perry brothers and how he played baseball with them.

Jim said he thought he could remember him, but since I couldn't remember his last name, there wasn't much help.  I just remember him as Dave, and a super nice guy.

Perry was very talkative, and interacted with everyone.  I thought he was really cool to meet.  The line took a while, but to me, it was worth it.

Perry (b. 1935) played in the majors from 1959 to 1975 for the Indians, Twins, Tigers and A's.  He had a career record of 215-174 with 1,576 strike outs and a 3.45 ERA.  He was the 1970 AL Cy Young Award winner, when he went 24-12 with a 3.04 ERA.  He finished second in the 1959 AL Rookie of the Year voting (to Bob Allison).  He was an All Star 3 times (1961, 1970 and 1971).  His best finish in the AL MVP voting was 9th, which he did twice (1969 and 1970).  He won 20 or more games twice (1969 and 1970).  Perry appeared on only two Hall of Fame ballots when eligible (1981 and 1983), but could only get a peak of 1.9% of the vote.

2019 National Free Signer - Jack McDowell

I have gotten Jack McDowell TTM a few time, so when I saw he was signing at the National as one of the VIP signers, I scrambled to find some cards.  Luckily, I was able to find some, including the above 2013 Panini USA card that has been floating around in my box for what seems like forever (6 years actually).

I found these three cards in the same box that I found my Cory Snyders in, so I was able to move some old stuff out of some of the closet boxes.  That is always a plus for me.

I had help in getting these cards signed.  Michael went through the line while I was waiting for Jim Perry, and my friend, Vince, went back through with some of my Wild Cards.

2019 National Pickups - Unsigned Set Needs

I have neglected my sets that I have been working on for quite some time.  While I was at the National, and when I wasn't waiting in line to get stuff signed, I did try to knock a few things off of my lists.

I picked up 18 1955 Bowmans for that set.  The biggest card was the above Gil Hodges for $10.00.  I also upgraded my Ralph Kiner.

I really have left the 1967 set hanging, so I made sure to cross some numbers off of the list.  I picked up 13 1967s, so I made a small ding in the armor there.

Finally, I only picked up two high number 1972s.  I was going to look for more, but by the time I got around to it on Sunday, I had one $100 bill left, and I didn't want to break it.  Oh well.

I probably won't add much to the sets until next year's National, but you never know.  I might get an itch this offseason and pick up some more and cross some more numbers off.

My needs lists are all updated, in case anyone was wondering.

2019 National Pickups - A Whole Bunch of Signed 87s

I ended up buying a whole bunch of signed 1987 Topps while I was at the National.  I had said previously that the first dealer I encountered had broken up his set.  I used that opportunity to buy signed cards of the deceased guys that I found, and also picked up some living guys that, for whatever reason, have proven to be a bit difficult for me to obtain.

I had thought Tom Paciorek signed TTM, but when I checked, it had been so long since a success, I put his card back in my box.  When I saw this one for $2-$3, I went ahead and picked it up.

I had paid for Dickie Noles through PastPros back in November, and the card still hasn't come back.  They allow for around a month TAT, so I have been asking about the status.  I have a feeling that I am going to be refunded for that one.  If not, and it does come back, I will have another as trade bait.

I had sent to Bill Russell TTM last year, but that one hasn't come back, either.  I doubt it will, but you never know.  At a price of $2-$3, I went ahead and crossed it off of the list.

The Greg Pryor actually was at another boot, not out for sale.  The dealer had picked up some stuff from someone else, and the card was on top of his stack behind him.  I spotted the wood border right away, and checked my Google Docs list.  I needed it, so I asked the guy if he would sell it.  I think he ended up taking $5 for it.

I sent TTM to Kevin Bass back in 2016, and the return has never come, so I went ahead and crossed this one off of the list.  I never want to write off a non-return, as I have had a TTM come back after 6 years (which I still need to post).

I had seen that Harold Reynolds didn't sign much TTM, so I bought the card.  Once he saw it, Max expressed his disappointment, as he sees Reynolds all of the time.  I might see if Max can help me upgrade anyway, as this card is a bit smudged.  I think I paid $4 for it.

Finally, I had sent to Dennis Rasmussen a while back, but haven't gotten any return, so I went ahead with picking this one up.

Since the dealer(s) wanted between $2 and $5 for most of these, I figured I would go ahead and cross them off of my list and if the pending TTMs did come in later, I had enough trade buddies who would be interested.  It seemed like a win-win for me.

All of this being said, (including a free signer who hasn't been posted yet) I picked up 16 signed 1987 Topps for my set while I was at the National.  This put me at 500 cards, plus another came in TTM since I have been back, and my amazing friend, Gerard, picked up another that I needed.  So, 502/792 is pretty great, since I unofficially started this set when I started sending cards TTM in 2016.

2019 National Free VIP Signer - Cory Snyder

I had already gotten Cory Snyder TTM in the past, so when I saw that he was signing at the National, I struggled to find some cards.  Luckily, I found these two late-80s Fleer offerings.  The above 1988 Fleer turned out really well, I think.

His 1989 Fleer also looks really nice.  I think I prefer the 88, though.

I didn't have to wait very long in Snyder's line, and was able to cash in a wild card voucher to get him on the 89 Fleer.

2019 National Pickup - Dave Smith Signed 1987 Topps

Another of the deceased players I picked up for my 1987 Topps set was Dave Smith.  The signature isn't much, but the card is now in my album.

Smith (b. 1955 - d. 2008) played in the majors from 1980 to 1992 for the Astros and Cubs.  He had a career record of 53-53 with a 2.67 ERA and 548 strike outs.  He was an All Star in 1986 and 1992.  His best MVP finish was 17th, in 1986.

Smith passed away of a heart attack in 2008 at the age of 53.

2019 National Paid Signer - Rickey Henderson

There was only one of the paid signers that I wanted to spend the money on and meet at this year's National.  Rickey Henderson has three cards in the 1987 set, but I paid for only two vouchers.  The third card, a Yankees Leaders card, is out TTM to Don Mattingly.  If that card had come back, I would have paid for a third voucher for Rickey.  Hopefully the Yankees Leaders card eventually comes back, and I can add him at a later date.

Since I had two vouchers, I figured I would let my good friend, Anthony, go through the line with me.  Anthony wouldn't have paid to meet Rickey himself, since he is a broke college student.  I figured he would enjoy the meeting, and as you can see from the photo above, he did.

Rickey was really great!  I told him that even though he didn't know me, I felt like we were on a first-name basis.  He laughed and said "Well, that's good!" then smiled and shook my hand.  He came off as genuinely happy that fans came out to see him, and for someone who was as big a star as he was/is, I was impressed.

The cards turned out great!  Both of them look awesome, and I'm really glad to cross them off of the list.

I just hope the other card comes back, and I can get Rickey again at a future show.