TTM Success - Justin Morneau

A great TTM success came back recently from Justin Morneau.  I sent to him via the Twins at the start of the season last year, and the card finally came back signed.

The card is a 2006 Bowman Heritage.  I had a small handful of these cards and it was nice to be able to get one signed.

Morneau (b. 1981) played in the majors from 2003 to 2016 for the Twins, Pirates, Rockies and White Sox.  He had 1,603 hits, 247 home runs and a .281 batting average.  He was a 4-time All Star (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) and th 2006 AL MVP.  He also won thr Silver Slugger Award twice (2006 and 2008).  He appeared on the 2022 Hall of Fame ballot, but received only 1.3% of the vote).

I mailed to Morneau via the Twins on March 26, 2024, and got the card back on April.18, 2025, for a 388-day TAT.

July 26, 2025, Graphing of the Cyclones at Grasshoppers

Last Saturday, I went to Greensboro to cash in one of the rain out tickets I had.  The Greasshoppers were playing the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets High A affiliate.

I was excited to get Konnor Griffin finally.  The above 2025 Bowman insert came out of a blaster box I opened a couple hours before the game.  Mom had picked the blaster up for me.  I didn't have my baby powder with me to prep the card, so Mom had to hook me up with some corn starch from the kitchen.  The corn starch worked.

I had a bunch of cards for Brooklyn.  Everyone except Jesus Baez signed everything I had.  Baez did 2 per pregame and then did 3 post game outside.  

Nate Dohm inscribed one of his 2024 Bowman Draft cards with his nickname, Dohminator.  Funny that I got Dohm and Baez, though, as they both were traded to the Cardinals in the Ryan Helsley trade today.

I was glad to get all of my Colin Houck cards signed.  I had some nice stuff of him, but was afraid he would limit. 

I got Griffin pregame and post game.  Post game he ran with someone's black Sharpie. I didn't mind though. I picked up a 2025 Grasshoppers team set and got a couple cards from it signed.

I also got my sparkle parallel of Carlson Reed signed.  He paused when he was signing and admired the card for a bit.

Finally, I knocked out a couple of my Lonnie White, Jr. cards.  I didn't do too well with the team set, but I have some stuff for the next time I go.

In all, I got the following autographs: Jesus Baez x 5, Nate Dohm x 2, AJ Ewing x 5, Colin Houck x 8, Diego Mosquera x 3, Eli Serrano x 2, Marco Vargas x 4, Konnor Griffin x 2, Geovanny Planchart x 1, Shalin Polanco x 3, Carlson Reed x 6, Enmanuel Terrero x 5, Michael Walsh x 1, Lonnie White x 12 and Connor Wietgrefe x 1 (60 autographs).

July 25, 2025, Graphing of the Ghost Peppers at Rockers

This past Friday, I went to High Point to try to knock a few Gastonia cards out that I missed from my road trip last month.  I didnt exactly clear many Gastonia guys out, but I did do pretty well with High Point. 

A lot of the Gastonia guys that I needed were on the IL.  I did get a couple guys like Tony Fossas and Cory Thompson. 

I did pretty well with High Point, like I said above.  Alex Dickerson was added to the roster since the last time I had been there.  He was really nice and signed almost everything that I had.  I helped Max complete some 2017 Topps Heritage Minors trio cards, which was cool.

In all, I got the following autographs: Tony Fossas x 1, Jack Reinheimer x 4, Cory Thompson x 2, Kevin Watson x 1, Alex Dickerson x 8, Kyle Halbohn x 1, Drew Mendoza x 3, Frank Viola x 9, and Luis Gonzalez x 7 (36 autographs).

TTM Success - Masanori Murakami

This TTM success from Masanori Murakami came back all the way from Japan.  I saw that he signed TTM and picked up a couple of his cards to go along with the First Pitch 2025 Topps card that I had pulled.  I bought this insert card from the Tokyo series early in the year, which turned out great.

Here is the First Pitch card.  Both of the cards look awesome.  I also picked up his 1965 Topps rookie card and got it signed.  It was later sent out to Dick Estelle to complete.

Murakami (b. 1944) played in the majors from 1964 to 1965 for the Giants.  He had a record of 5-1 with 100 strike outs and a 3.43 ERA.  He played 18 seasons in Japan, going 103-82 with 758 strike outs and a 3.64 ERA.

I mailed to Murakami on March 22 and got the cards back on April 15 for a 24-day TAT.  I sent $10.00 to cover the return postage.

TTM Success - Mike Simms

Here are some quintessential early 90s cards that were added to the autograph album by way of a TTM success from Mike Simms.  The above 1991 Fleer looks great signed.

I also got back a 1991 Topps, 1992 Topps, 1992 Upper Deck and a 1991 Score.

Simms (b. 1967) played in the majors from 1990 to 1992 and 1994 to 1999 for the Astros and Rangers.  He had 163 hits, 36 home runs and a .247 batting average. 

I mailed to Simms on March 12, 2024, and got the cards back on April 14, 2025, for a 398-day TAT.

TTM Success - Curt Schilling

A private signing with Curt Schilling popped up recently that had him at the cheapest price that I had seen him, so I signed up.  I thought I had this 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces in my collection somewhere, but I couldn't find it.  I bought this one off of Ebay for the signing.  I wanted something with the bloody sock in the autograph album. 

Since the price was so reasonable, I went ahead and sent out my 1991 Crown Orioles card as well.  I had seen Schilling on a recent documentary and he honestly looked pretty rough.  I didn't want to wait around to get these signed, so I went ahead with this signing.

Schilling (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1988 to 2007 for the Orioles, Astros, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Red Sox.  He had a career record of 216-146 with 3,116 strike outs and a 3.46 ERA.  

He was a 6-time All Star (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2004).  His best finish in the Cy Young Award voting was second, which happened 3 times (2001, 2002 and 2004).  His best finish in the MVP Race was 10th in 2001 and 2002.

He won the World Series with the Diamondbacks in 2001 and the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.  He appeared on 11 Hall of Fame ballots but has come up shortly of election.  The highest vote % he received was 71.1%, just short of the 75% required.  His politics and a failed venture into the gaming industry (that cost investors a ton of money) are some of the reasons keeping him out.  He will get in eventually. 

I mailed to the signing on January 27 and got the cards back on April 12, for a 75-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $35/card.

TTM Success - Drew Finley

Here are a couple 2015 Bowman Draft cards (one paper and one chrome) that I got signed TTM from Drew Finley.  I was trying to thin out some older Bowman and saw that Finley signs.  The cards turned out nicely. 

Finley (b. 1996) was a 3rd round pick by the Yankees in the 2015 June Amateur Draft out of San Bernardo High School in California.  He played in the Yankees and Dodgers systems from 2015 to 2019, reaching A ball.  He had a record of 4-12 with 177 strike outs and a 5.80 ERA.

I mailed to Finley on March 19 and got the cards back on April 12 for a 24-day TAT. 

Rest In Peace Hulk Hogan

They say don't meet your heroes.  I don't exactly know who "they" are, but 10 years ago at the National, I met one of my childhood heroes, Hulk Hogan.  I am an unashamed wrestling fan and have been since I was at least 3 years old.  Today, the world lost an icon at the age of 71 due to apparent cardiac arrest. 

I wrote before about how awesome it was to meet Hogan.  He was friendly, engaging and impactful.  One of the greatest moments I've had among the many times I have met a celebrity or athlete.  

When news of his passing broke, even my mother-in-law knew to shoot me a text message.  I had seen recently on X that he was possibly in bad shape, but it went over my head.  Now he's gone.  I had to call Chris and let him know, as well.  I know that he had his issues, but I'm going to choose to remember our encounter and look back fondly at the memories that I have.  Tonight I don't think I'll take any vitamins but I'll definitely say my prayers.  I'll always be a Hulkamaniac. Rest in peace, Brother!

One more time, here's the video I shot on 2015 when we met Hogan:

TTM Success - Phil Gosselin

Here are a few Topps Heritage cards that I got signed TTM by Phil Gosselin.  The above 2016 Heritage turned out nicely. 

I also sent off a 2017 and 2022 Heritage.  I don't get into my Heritage stuff as much as I would like, so getting these signed was nice.

Gosselin (b. 1988) played in the majors from 2013 to 2022 for the Braves, Diamondbacks, Pirates, Rangers, Reds, Phillies and Angels.  He had 281 hits, 17 home runs and a .254 batting average. 

I mailed to Gosselin on March 3 and got the cards back on April 12 for a 40-day TAT.

A Few More Autos From Max

Soon, I'll be able to spend a little time with my buddy Max.  Hes a great guy and always hooks me up with autographs.  He sent over a handful of signed cards recently.  This 2022 Topps 87 Chrome Silver Pack card of Jake Burger is a great addition to the autograph album.   I'm not sure if I sent this to him to get signed or if it was an extra he sent to me.  I love these silver pack cards and getting them in the album is great.

Max also sent these autographs from Manny Acta, Jerry DiPoto, Gabe Speier, Caleb Thielbar, Alek Thomas and Nick Pratto.  Im pretty sure at least a couple of these are ones that I sent.  Max loves to help me knock out team set cards.  I forgot all about the 2018 SAL Top Prospects card.  I still have a few unsigned cards from that set but over the years, a bunch of them have been signed.

Max sent a cpuple team cards sugned by Jerry DiPoto, Emerson Hancock and Luke Little.  Max helps big time with helping me get these out of the boxes.  Im glad they can get put to use as opposed to sitting in some boxes.  These really do come in handy.

Finally, Max sent me another Wander Franco signed 1987 Topps design card. Franco has become a bit of a running joke between Max and I.  I'm not going to get into the specifics on Franco.  We'll never see him again.  However, sone of these cards may be important if I ever want to assemble some of these 87-themed insert sets, so I'm definitely not going to refuse them.

As always, thanks Max for the autographs.  I can't wait to take you to dinner when I'm in Chicago.

TTM Success - Sam Horn

My friend Gerard helped me get a few Sam Horn cards signed a while back.  When he did, I hadn't picked up my 1991 Crown Orioles set.  I saw a signing for Horn and went ahead and sent this card in to g a f signed.

Horn (b. 1963) played in the majors from 1987 to 1993 and 1995 for the Red Sox, Orioles, Indians and Rangers.  He had 250 hits, 62 home runs and a .240 batting average. 

I mailed to the signing on March 21 and got the card back on April 11 for a 21-day TAT.  I paid the fee of $10.00/card.

Another Care Package From Drake

My friend Drake sent me another scare package recently.  He sent me some really nice cards, some of which I'd never have been able to get myself.  The above 2019 Bowman of Ryan Costello is a really nice autograph.  Costello passed away a few years ago while playing in Australia; I never got to see him play.  My buddy Jackson was on that tour of Australia when Costello passed, along with former Wood Ducks manager, Steven Mintz.

In this batch of cards, Drake sent signed cards of Anthony Vizcaya, Brandon Winokur, Tanner Hall, Charlee Soto, Jaime Ferrer, Billy Amick, Byron Chourio and Kaelen Culpepper.  Drake gets down to Fort Myers at times and helped me by taking a 50/50 of some Twins prospects.  I don't think the Byron Chourio was originally mine.  I don't remember having a blue parallel, so it may have been part of the gift Drake paired with sending back my 50/50s.

Here are signed cards of Joshua Baez, Zach Levenson, Triston Casas, Ed Howard, Alex Binelas, Brett Baty, Ezequiel Pagan and Bobby Wahl.  I do know that the pink Joshua Baez was mine.  Drake saw Springfield and got some cards signed for me there.  The rest are extras he had gotten in the past.

Here are Thomas Jones, Justin Lavey, Hunter Mink, Blake Loubier, Kyle Gaedele and Sam Coonrod.  Drake is close to one of the Frontier League teams and also can see a few teams in the American Association.  He took some Sam Coonrod cards for me, along with a couple Kyle Gaedele.

These are a few landscape-oriented cards of Sam Coonrod and Brandon Winokur.  I know these are a few that I sent for 50/50s.

Drake also sent cards like this Jose Rondon 2015 Bowman Chrome mini purple shimmer.  He said that someone owed him cards and finally paid up.  He sent me some of the extras from that deal, I believe.

Finally, Drake sent some great surprises in the package like CC Sabathia, Allen Craig, Desmond Jennings, Miguel Olivo, WIll Venable, Tyler Glasnow, Marcus Thames and Carlos Rodon.  All of these are guys I wouldn't normally get to see.  I did see Typer Glasnow back when he was on rehab in Durham.  The Sabathia was a definite surprise.

Drake hooks me up more often than not.  I really appreciate the autographs and look forward to the next care package.  Thanks so much, Drake!

Some Autographs From AJ

My buddy AJ recently sent me a few autographs because he felt that they'd be in a better place in my autograph album as opposed to his closet.  I was amazed when I opened the package and saw the cards inside.  He told me ahead of time that he would be sending me a few IP autos that he had gotten but didn't tell me who had signed the cards.  When I saw this 1990 Topps Roger Clemens, I was very surprised. 

AJ also sent me a 2006 Fleer Jeff Francis, 2019 Bowman Draft Christian Cairo and 2019 Bowman Draft Brett Baty.  I hadn't gotten these three guys before, so that was cool.

Finally, here is a 2019 Topps Stadium Club Adam Jones.  This is a really nice card.  Im disappointed that I didnt get a return from Jones during Spring Training. 

I feel really bad because I opened the package from AJ when it came in, was super excited to get the cards, then I put them aside to scan for a later post.  In that time, I completely forgot that it was AJ who sent them to me.  He reminded me when I posted on Instagram that he had sent them.  AJ, again, I'm sorry that I forgot.  Thank you so much for the cards.

Cody Freeman to the Show

The 2021 Down East Wood Ducks season was a special one.  That team was amazing, and Chris and I followed the team to the championship series in Charleston.  That was the season where I also found a connection with one of their players, Cody Freeman.  Cody was always the first player out of the clubhouse that season, and would always walk up to us before each game and ask us how we were doing.  The second game of the season, he walked over and asked if we would be coming to every game; he had seen us the day before at the first game.  We said yes, and he introduced himself.

Months later, Cody spotted me in the Greenville airport as I was on my way to the National.  He was on his way to rehab an injury in Arizona.  He sat beside me in the airplane to Charlotte (ugh those masks!) and we bonded.  Cody was and is such an awesome guy.  Today, as I was eating dinner and watching a movie, I got a text from Jesse telling me that Cody had been called up to the Show!  I have been waiting for this day since 2021.  Cody is MY GUY and I can say that I have followed his career since Low A.

He got the call to the Show.  I'm not crying, you're crying.  I am so happy to see him make it.  It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.  I am really proud to be a fan!  Go get em, Cody!!!!

Latest Stacks of Autos From Gerard

My friend Gerard has sent me a few packages of signed cards lately.  I combined them so I could try to catch up a bit on posts.  He went to the Cape Cod League over the last few weeks and got a few cards signed for me.  He told me in advance that he would see Rintaro Sasaki, so I bought two Leaf Metal cards and sent them along.  I got this numbered one back signed, and Gerard kept the base card.  It helped him have some stuff to take with him to the games and it got me a sweet card for the autograph album. 

Gerard added some Jarrod Saltalamacchia cards to the album, along with some Dennis Cook cards.  The Team USA cards also are great.  I finally added some 2025 Stars and Stripes to the album with a Derrick Smith and Alex Sosa.  The Matthew Dallas came from a pair of cards that I had prepped for graphing early in the Bird Dawgs season for one of their opponents only to find out that was the wrong Matthew Dallas.

Gerard finished off all of the Jake Sanford cards that I had.  

Not to mention, he finished off all of the Saltalamacchia cards, as well.  As far as I know, at least.  He also made a deal with someone to get Mason McCoy to sign the above 2024 Topps Update that I started when I got Chandler Seagle earlier in the year.

He took some Carolina Mudcats cards from me when we met up in Durham a month or so ago.  He got Chandler Welch and Luis Pena for me.

Finally, Gerard had this beat up 2012 Topps Allen Craig that he had gotten signed.  He gave it to me for the album, probably because I sent him so many Craig cards over the years.  Who knows why it is so beat up.

Thanks for the autographs, Gerard!

July 12, 2025, Graphing of the Nationals at Mudcats

While sitting at the Bird Dawgs game on Friday, I was sent an Instagram post from my good friend Jackson asking if anyone was going to Saturday's Mudcats game.  The Mudcats were giving away a water tower bobble head, and Jackson is in Arizona at the moment.  I had seen the ad for the giveaway earlier in the season, but honestly thought it was during the week.  I had forgotten, then came the post.  The giveaway was Saturday, and i had already gotten all of the autographs I could get from the Bird Dawgs series.  Plus, gates would open at 4pm for the Mudcats and the Bird Dawgs game was at 7.  We had time to get the bobble head and do a little graphing before we had to leave and go to the Bird Dawgs.  The Bird Dawgs were giving away jerseys.

To get Jackson's bobble head, I had to recruit an extra pair of hands, so my new coworker, Hunter, came along to help out.  He had never graphed before, but was eager to give it a shot.  He did pretty well for his first time.

Hunter, Jesse and I knocked out a bunch of Cristhian Vaquero cards that got missed last year.  Vaquero came over when asked but said he only had time for one card but would come back after he stretched.  He did come back and did two per for the three of us.

Finally, I was cleaned out of Randal Diaz cards.

The bobble head is really cool.  I'm a huge fan of bobble heads, and this is a cool one to add to the cabinet.  I was especially thankful that Hunter was willing to give up his to help Jackson out.

In all, we got the following autographs: Randal Diaz x 4, Roismar Quintana x 1 and Cristian Vaquero x 6 (11 autographs).

July 11-13, 2025, Graphing of the Boulders at Bird Dawgs

When we got back from our road trip, we had a three-game series in Kinston between the Bird Dawgs and New York Boulders.  There weren't many guys on the team with cards.  The cards that I was able to find were quality.  I got another 2019 Midwest League All Star Card signed by Austin Dennis.  I saw someone recently finished the set.  I doubt mine will get finished, but it is nice to run into someone from the set.

I knocked out a couple 2010 Topps Pro Debut during this series, which was great.  It is getting harder and harder to get cards from that set signed, and I have gotten three of the guys this year in the Frontier League.  Finally, I got Alfredo Marte on his 2013 Topps, as well.  I thought I had a lot more Marte cards, but only found four.  I also could have sworn that I had more Tyler Vail, but nope.  I only had his 2010 Pro Debut.

I also got an 8 x 10 with the two Bird Dawgs All Stars signed.  My buddy Jesse made the custom photo of Steven DiTomasso and Brandon Kaminer.  I've already put it away for safe-keeping.

In all, I got the following autographs: Austin Dennis x 1, Alfredo Marte x 4, Tyler Vail x 1, Steve DiTomasso x 1 and Brandon Kaminer x 1 (8 autographs).