TTM Success - Mickey Klutts

Some early 80s cards came back signed in this TTM success from Mickey Klutts.  The cards turned out great, even if the cards themselves aren't all that inspiring.  Still, the old A's uniforms look awesome on the cards, like the above 1983 Donruss.  I have so many 83 Donruss, it was nice to get one into the album.

Here are a 1980 and a 1983 Topps that I was able to get signed.  Both of these are pretty nice, as well.

Klutts (b. 1954) played in the majors from 1976 to 1983 for the Yankees, A's and Blue Jays.  He had 129 hits, 14 home runs and a .241 batting average.  He was part of the 1977 Yankee team that won the World Series that season, but he didn't play in the series.

I mailed to Klutts on October 1 and got the cards back on October 20, for a 19-day TAT.

Another Pack of Autos From Drake

My friend, Drake, sent me another package recently that had a few more autos in it that he wanted to send along.  A couple of the cards were ones he meant to send back a while ago, but he finally got them to me.  More of them were surprises that he wanted to send, and that was really nice of him.  I enjoyed the above 2020 Topps Chrome sepia parallel of Jordan Yamamoto.  I have a few of the sepia parallels, and I like to get them signed, but haven't been able to add may of them to the album.

Drake took a few of my Randy Arozarena cards to try to get signed when he visited Tampa, and came away with this 2020 Bowman.  I am really glad to add Randy to my autograph album.  I wish I could have gotten him myself, but I haven't had the opportunity.

I thought I missed the opportunity to send Drake this 2021 Elite Extra Edition Khalil Watson.  Drake had asked me to send him some of Watson's cards, and I thought I didn't have any at the time.  It turned out that I had a pack of Elite Extra Edition that I had opened, and the Watson was in there.  He took it later on and got it signed for me.

Drake included a lot of extras, and I added them to the autograph album.  These are all nice cards that I was happy to add to the album.

Thank you so much for the cards, Drake.  I appreciate our 50/50s and trade.  I know we will do a lot more later on.

TTM Success - Austin Warren

Another card from my stack of 2022 Topps Series 2 came back signed recently.  I had sent to Austin Warren via the Salt Lake Bees right when I finished collating my 2022 set.  The card turned out nicely.

Warren (b. 1996) is originally from Fayetteville, NC.  He has played in the majors since 2021 for the Angels.  He has a record of 5-0 with 29 strike outs and a 3.47 ERA.  I mailed to Warren on September 17 and got the card back on October 18, for a 31-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jim Fairey

Some more cards were pulled from my vintage box recently to help populate some new names to send TTM to.  Jim Fairey was one of the guys I found in that box (the 1968 Topps below).  I had also found his 1973 Topps, which turned out nicely.

I was happy with how the 68 Topps turned out, as well.  I saw that Jack Billingham signs for a fee, so I will probably send this card off to him to complete.

Fairey (b. 1944) played in the majors from 1968 to 1973 for the Dodgers and Expos.  He had 180 hits, 7 home runs and a .235 batting average.

I mailed to Fairey on October 4 and got the cards back on October 17, for a 13-day TAT.

TTM Success - Kevin Jarvis

Here are some nice cards that I got back signed from Kevin Jarvis.  I especially liked the above 1993 Classic Best Minor League card showing Jarvis in a Winston-Salem Spirits jersey.  This was back when the Spirits were associated with the Reds.

I also got this 2006 Topps card signed by Jarvis.  It also turned out nicely.  One of these days, I'm going to have to pick up some bulk 2006 Topps Update for TTM purposes, but I don't want to spend a whole lot.

Jarvis (b. 1969) played in the majors from 1994 to 1997 and from 1999 to 2006 for the Reds, Twins, Tigers, A's, Rockies, Padres, Mariners, Cardinals, Diamondbacks and Red Sox.  He had a record of 34-49 with 453 strike outs and a 6.03 ERA.  I mailed to Jarvis on October 1 and got the cards back on October 17, for a 16-day TAT.

TTM Success - Luke Anderson

Here is another early 2000s Bowman card that I was able to get signed TTM; this one being a 2003 Bowman signed by Luke Anderson.  The card got wrecked in the mail and his signature was on a Sharpie breathing its last breath.  Still, the card is signed and is in my album.  I can't complain too bad.

Anderson (b. 1978) was an 18th round pick by the Giants in the 2000 June Amateur Draft out of the University of Nevada. He pitched in the minors from 2000 to 2005, all in the Giants system.  He had a record of 13-12 with 282 strike outs and a 3.82 ERA.

I mailed to Anderson on October 3 and got the card back on October 17, for a 14-day TAT.

October 2022 Chantilly Show - Meeting Mike Tyson

The lineup for the Chantilly Show didn't leave me with many options of guys I was really willing to spend money on this close to the National.  I was really still in recovery (financially) from the National, but when I saw that I could meet Mike Tyson for $150, I figured I would go ahead and add him to my wall of signed 8 x 10s.  This was especially because Tyson wasn't signing trading cards (and I didn't want to break up my 2006 Allen and Ginter set, or replace his card, which turns out is a fairly pricy short print).  So, I got this 8 x 10 from Nintendo's Mike Tyson's Punch Out and had it signed.

It wasn't Tyson's fault, but the experience wasn't all that great.  His photo op line went way past the allotted time, so when it came time for him to sign, we were all rushed and herded through at breakneck speed.  I was only able to get a "Thanks Mike" out, to which he looked up and smiled, before I was shooed away.

Still, I got a signed photo, and I can still say that I met the legendary Mike Tyson.  In the end, the photo looks great on my wall anyway.

October 2022 Chantilly Show - Finishing the Ripken Baseball Family Card

When I picked up this 1988 Donruss Ripken Baseball Family card that had already been signed by Cal, Sr., I had hoped of adding Bill and Cal to the card at some point.  Last year, I saw Ryan Ripken when he came through Durham with Norfolk, so I went ahead and for him on the card.  He told me at the time that his dad would love to see the card in person and to talk to me about it.  He also said I should be patient and wait for his uncle Bill to do a signing, because if I tried sending the card through the mail, it would probably get lost.  We also joked that I should get the other Ripken brother (Fred) to sign the card, since, in Ryan's opinion, Fred was the better baseball player out of the three, but didn't pursue it because he didn't like baseball as much as Cal or Bill.

Finally, a signing came along where Cal and Bill would both be in attendance.  Cal hadn't been at the National in 2021 or 2022, so I was excited to see him in the lineup for the Chantilly show.  He did remark on the card, that I had added "Ryan Rip" to the card.  I told him "Yeah, and I'll add Bill later on today.  I just need to add Fred at some point."  That was when Cal's face dropped a bit and he said "You'll have a hard time adding Fred to this card.  We just lost him."  I was floored.  I had created an awkward conversation with my childhood hero.  I apologized for his loss; he explained what had happened.  We was so cool about it, but I felt terrible.  It goes to show how great a guy Cal is, and I feel awful for his loss.  I'm sure he knew that I had no idea that his brother had passed, but it still made for an awkward exchange.  He was still gracious enough to explain the circumstances, and still posed for a picture afterward.  I wish I had more time to talk to Cal, though, because I did feel badly for him.

Bill was super nice, as well.  He said "Oh, I see that you got my mother to sign the card as well."  I had to tell him that was Ryan's signature on the card, and he said "Oh, I thought it was my mother's."  Cal and Bill's mom passed away last year.  He then commented on my Turbo Tubs jersey, which we talked about for a bit before I got shooed away by the handlers.  This was my first time meeting Bill (and third time meeting Cal), and they both were really nice.

I finally got the card completed, but I do wish I had known about Fred's passing.  On my way home, I looked up and read his obituary; he seemed like he would have been an interesting guy to talk to, as well.

TTM Success - Scott Seabol

Scott Seabol used to coach for the Pulaski Yankees, so I had gotten his autograph before (on a 2001 Topps), but hadn't gotten him TTM.  I had also forgotten that I got him when he was with Pulaski.  So, I sent off this 2000 Bowman Chrome, and got it back signed.  The card turned out nicely.

Seabol (b. 1975) played in the majors I'm 2001 for the Yankees and 2005 for the Cardinals.  He had 23 hits, 1 home run and a .217 batting average.

I mailed to Seabol om February 8 and got the card back on October 7, for a 251-day TAT.

TTM Success - Sam Ewing

These cards came back signed from Sam Ewing after a first failed attempt.  I was glad I got them back; I had two addresses to choose from and I chose the wrong one.

I got a 1978 and 1979 Topps signed by Ewing.  They both turned out great. 

Ewing (b. 1949) played in the majors in 1973 and from 1976 to 1978 for the White Sox and Blue Jays.  He had 92 hits, 6 home runs and a .255 batting average. 

I mailed to Ewing on October 1 and got the cards back on October 15, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Royce Ring

Another 2003 Bowman was added to my autograph album via a TTM success when I got this card back from Royce Ring.  The card turned out ok; these thicker Bowman cards get beat up in the mail.  I think I need to order some "non machinable" stamps for these thicker cards and see if that makes a difference.

Ring (b. 1980) played in the majors from 2005 to 2008 and 2010 for the Mets, Padres, Braves and Yankees.  He had a record of 3-3 with 55 strike outs and a  5.29 ERA.

I mailed to Ring on March 7 and got the card back on October 15, for a 222-day TAT.

TTM Success - Brian Finch

The sole purpose of me sending out this TTM request to former Orioles minor leaguer, Brian Finch, was to get the above 2004 Bowman Heritage signed.  I really love this design, and was glad to add another of these to my autograph album.

I also got this 2003 Bowman Chrome signed, even though he signed it in ballpoint pen.  The card is still signed and will still be in my album.  It took me a while to find a good address to send to Finch, but I was glad I found the right one.

Finch (b. 1981) was a 2nd round draft pick by the Orioles in the 2003 June Amateur Draft out of Texas A&M.  He pitched in the minors from 2003 to 2007 in the Orioles system, reaching AA.  He had a record of 22-37 with 314 strike outs and a 4.16 ERA.

I mailed to Finch on October 1 and got the cards back on October 14, for a 13-day TAT.

TTM Success - Cedric Mullins

Finally, this 2019 Topps Heritage Orioles Rookie Stars card is complete.  It has been sitting off to the side of my desk for a couple ears as I waited for a signing with Cedric Mullins to pop up.  One finally did, and I was able to complete the card.  I had gotten Paul Fry in April 2019 when I went up for a Yankees/Orioles game, then Austin Wynns at a Norfolk game in September 2019.  It took that long, with the card buried under a bunch of other stuff on my desk, to get the card completed.  A private signing popped up on SCN, and I sent the card off.

Mullins (b. 1994) has played in the majors for the Orioles since 2018.  He has 416 hits, 53 home runs and a .263 batting average.  He was the Orioles first 30/30 (30 homers and 30 steals) player ever.  That is kind of strange that the Orioles hadn't had a 30/30 player prior to that.  He finished 9th in the AL MVP voting last season.  He was also an All Star and Silver Slugger Award winner last season.

I mailed to the signing on September 16 and got the card back on October 13, for a 27-day TAT.

TTM Success - Rob Sperring

Check out this awesome Astros jersey on the 1978 Topps that I got back signed TTM from Rob Sperring.  Those jerseys are great.  I don't care what anyone says.  The card turned out really well, and I was glad to get it back and added to the album.

Sperring (b. 1949) played in the majors from 1974 to 1977 for the Cubs and Astros.  He had 100 hits, 3 home runs and a .211 batting average.  I mailed to Sperring on September 19 and got the card back on October 13, for a 24-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Jim Palmer

My mom sent me 20 bucks on my birthday and asked me to let her know what I bought with the money.  I decided I would pull two more Jim Palmer cards out of my box and send them TTM to get signed, and here they are.  The above card is a 2001 Topps American Pie Decade Leaders.  This is a really nice card; I enjoy the colors on the card, and it will look great in my album.

This card is a 1981 Perma-Graphic Superstars Credit Card that I found at the National.  I had never seen these before, so I picked up a few from a bargain box (not sure if it was a dime box or not).  I had also grabbed a Johnny Bench for his signing in August, but that was canceled.

I mailed to Palmer on September 19 and got the cards back on October 13, for a 24-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $10.00/card.  Thanks for the birthday money, Mom!

TTM Success - Josh Anderson

Here is another older Bowman Chrome card that I got signed TTM.  This card came back signed from Josh Anderson and is a 2003 Bowman Chrome.  The card turned out nicely, but scanned pretty dark.

Anderson (b. 1982) played in the majors from 2007 to 2009 for the Astros, Braves, Tigers and Royals.  He had 132 hits, 4 home runs and a .272 batting average.  I mailed to Anderson on October 3 and got the card back on October 11, for an 8-day TAT.

TTM Success - Brent Suter

Some recent Topps cards came back signed with this TTM success from Brewers pitcher, Brent Suter.  This was a request I sent out once Spring Training got under way this season, and the cards finally came back signed.  I sent Suter a 2018 and a 2020 Topps.

Both of the cards came out nicely.  His signature is pretty simple, but the cards are still signed and in m album.

Suter (b. 1989) has played in the majors since 2016, all with the Brewers.  He has a record of 36-19 with 338 strike outs and a 3.51 ERA.

I mailed to Suter on March 14 and got the cards back on October 8, for a 208-day TAT.

TTM Success - Giuseppe Chiaramonte

More turn-of-the-century cards came out of my Bowman box from the former LCS and were added to my autograph album with this TTM success from Giuseppe Chiaramonte.  That's a name.  It was easy finding his cards in the box due to his name being so recognizable.  I was able to find some nice stuff, like the above 2000 Upper Deck.  I really like this set; it is one that I didn't have much of up until a recent show in Virginia.  There, I filled a 4,000-count box with some decent stuff, and this card was in there.

I also got a couple cards signed from 1999 Team Best and a couple Bowmans (1999 and 2000).

Chiaramonte (b. 1976) was a fifth round pick by the Giants in the 1997 June Amateur Draft out of Cal State Fresno.  He played in the minors from 1997 to 2001 in the Giants system, reaching AAA.  He had 429 hits, 79 home runs and a .251 batting average.

I mailed to Chiaramonte on September 26 and got the cards back on October 7, for an 11-day TAT. 

Some Signed Cards From CJ

This past season, I took some cards for 50/50s from CJ from Instagram, but I never sent him anything for him to get done for me.  I think I just plain missed his message saying what teams he could take, and got into my groove of graphing and forgot to double check.  Still, I got his stuff done, and also sent him a nice stack of pocket schedules, which he collects.  In return, he sent me a blind package of some autos that were nice additions to my album.

The above 2016 Bowman signed by Jacob Heward takes care of a card that I have seen a lot in my box, but haven't gotten signed.  I missed Heyward when he was at Richmond, and haven't been back.  I'm glad I got one in my album now, though.

I already had a 2020 Topps Heritage Minors Hudson Potts sent to me by Gerard, but I was happy to get another, nonetheless.  CJ also sent me a 2021 Heritage Minors of Potts, along with a Cole Henry.  The other 2020 Heritage Minors were Brenton Doyle and Parker Meadows.  He also sent a 2020 Pro Debut of Matt Gorski.

CJ also hooked me up with a few signed Bowman; a 2018 Bowman Adam Wolf, 2015 Bowman Chrome Jantzen Witte, 2019 Bowman Will Robertson and a 2019 Bowman Aaron Schunk 

CJ also sent this 2008 Topps signed by Dave Bush that I didn't have in my collection. I had a 2007 from Gerard.

Thank for the cards CJ. I appreciate the package.

TTM Success - Brent Stentz

Some cards were cleared from my old Bowman box with this TTM success from Brent Stenz.  I got a bunch of these late 09s/early 00s minor league and Bowman cards from the former LCS.  Going through those boxes can be fun, since a lot of those cards are of guys I've never heard of.  Some of them still sign TTM, so there are guys I can learn about and add to the albums.

The baby powder I use really helped polish this 1999 Bowman Chrome, and helped it scan a bit better than these cards have in the past.  I do like this set, and am glad the chromes are looking better.

Stentz (b. 1975) was a 33rd round pick by the Tigers in the 1994 June Amateur Draft out of Pasco-Hernando State College in Florida.  He played in the minors from 1995 to 2001 for the Tigers and Twins organizations, reaching AAA.  With Stentz being a 33rd round pick in 1994, I wondered why he got a Bowman card in 1999.  During the 1998 season, Stentz pitched at AA New Britain in the Twins organization.  That season, he went 1-2 with a 1.98 ERA and 43 saves.  That next season (1999), he got promoted to AAA, where he went 0-3 with a 11.22 ERA.  From there, he was up and down, pitching much better in AAA in 2000 (to a 1.93 ERA in 42 games) then worse in 2001 at AAA to a 5.65 ERA in 17 games.  He would go back and forth those seasons between AA and AAA, with 2001 being his final season.

I mailed to Stentz on September 26 and got the cards back on October 6, for a 10-day TAT.

Graphing Returns From Max

My good friend, Max, hooked me up with a ton of autographs recently, after I sent him a bunch of cards for this past season.  Max helps me move a bunch of stuff out of my boxes every year, and I get rewarded with adding a lot of them to my autograph album.  He and I have had this arrangement for a long time, and he is the person who really got me into switching from getting baseballs signed to cards.

The above 2022 Topps Diamondbacks team card is an orange shimmer parallel numbered 287/299 and Max got it signed by their manager, Torey Lovullo.

Max really came through by getting Bob Brenly on my 1987 Topps Giants leaders card and his base card.  Brenly has been a tough get for me, so crossing these two off of the list was very welcome.  Max told me that Brenly hadn't seen one of the Giants Leaders cards signed by Jim Barr in a long time, so that made me feel good about my project.

Most recently, Max hit me up for Diamondbacks cards, so I was able to fire off a package to him fairly quickly with guys he needed to refill in his autograph books.  He got some nice stuff back signed for me, like the above Geraldo Perdomo cards.  I don't see any Diamondbacks affiliates, so getting these kinds of cards signed can be tough.  This helped me move some stuff that has just been sitting for a while.

I had gotten Daulton Varsho TTM in the past, but I still had a ton of his cards.  I cleaned out most of them in the package to Max, but still got a lot back signed.  I love the 1989 Topps insert; I think those look awesome when signed.  I also love the gold foil 2022 Topps.

There was a good variety of stuff that Max sent back from his Diamondbacks graphing.  I was very happy to get the Jake McCarthy 1987 Topps Chrome mojo card back, as well as the Christian Walkers.  I liked Walker a lot when he was an Orioles prospect.  I am really glad he has stuck with a team in the majors, and has found some success.

Max also was able to get some Guardians cards signed for me, starting with a few Triston McKenzie cards that I had left in my box from when I saw him with Lynchburg.  I know I had a 2017 Bowman Ernie Clement in my autograph album already, so I am also keeping this one, since it was from Max.  I was also really happy that some of my Panini Mosaic cards that I picked up ended up being signed.  I lucked into some boxes of them from my distributor, and now I have some signed versions in my album.

As he always does, Max included some random cards that he either got for me or he has extras of.  I really enjoy these types of additions to any package.  I always try to include some signed cards for Max when I send him packages, and it seems like he enjoys the random stuff as much as I do.

I forgot how many of the shimmer cards I had sent out, but Max got a few of them taken care of for me.  The green Zach Plesac above is numbered 51/499.

I checked and it looks like Steve Lawson will keep me from finishing the above 1973 Topps, but I likely will go after Bob Reynolds.  Maybe I'll get lucky and Lawson will do a private signing sometime soon.  Max got the 2019 Topps Diamondbacks card signed by Luis Frias.  These team cards really come in handy when you see someone you don't have a card of.  Only problem is remembering who signed them.  Thankfully, Max remembered, and I was able to put a post it note on the back with the player's name.

I had gotten Johnny Barbato earlier this year when I went to High Point for a game.  Max came in and got Ben Gamel for me to finish the base and gold of these 201 Topps Update cards.  I was very happy that I had these at the ready to send out when he asked for Gamel.  I'm not usually that well prepared.

Max also got these three for me, by Chase DeJong (on a 2016 Bowman), Mitch Keller (on a 2017 Bowman Chrome mojo) and Ben Gamel (on a 2021 Topps Updare).  I am glad I don't have to run into the DeJong or Keller in my Bowman box anymore.  That is one of the fun parts of all of this.  It seems that Max has a knack of helping out with cards I see oftenin my boxes and think to myself "I need to get these signed and out of here..."

Finally, Max also whittled down the box of Frank Thomas cards I sent him when the former LCS around here closed.  I know I sent him a ton of Frank cards, and signings with him have tapered off a bit, from what Max has said.  I know Max has what would be a fortune's worth of Thomas cards, if he had to cough up the fees to get them all signed.  Still, he had a great assortment to choose from, now, and if Frank can be consistent in signing, Max will not need another Frank card for a while.

Max is and always will be one of my most trusted graphing partners.  He actually taught me about getting cards signed in the beginning, and I have always valued his friendship.  It amazes me that we have been able to keep this going for as long as we have.  It's a great arrangement, and it benefits the both of us.  As long as I have the ability, I am going to keep him loaded with the cards he needs.  He is going to keep helping me move stuff out of the boxes and the house.

Thank you, Max, for all that you do.  I cherish the stuff you help me with, and I look forward to next season, and many more seasons to come.  Happy graphing, buddy!