TTM Success - Tony Saunders

This was a nice TTM success that came in, which caught me by surprise a little bit.  I had sent to Tony Saunders, seeing that he had been signing, then kind of forgot that I had sent.  When the (unsealed) envelope came back with my two cards still inside, I was pretty happ.

I got a 1998 Upper Deck (top of post) and a 1998 Pinnacle (above) signed by Saunders, and both turned out well.

Saunders (b. 1974) played in the majors from 1997 to 1999 for the Marlins and Devil Rays.  He had a record of 13-24 with 304 strike outs and a 4.56 ERA.  Saunders is significant (and I'll never forget it) because, during a game in May 1999, his arm broke as he was delivering a pitch to Juan Gonzalez.  The sound of the bone breaking could be heard throughout the ballpark.  Supposedly, it made Hall of Famer Wade Boggs nauseous enough to throw up.  Saunders attempted a comeback, getting into some minor league games in 2000, but his arm would break again in the same spot.  He attempted a comeback again in 2005 with the Orioles, but only pitched in one Spring Training game.  Saunders did win a World Series while with the Marlins in 1997.

I mailed to Saunders on November 8 and got the cards back on December 23, for a 45-day TAT.