TTM Success - Donnie Hill

Every time I searched my 1987 box for cards that I needed for private signings and graphing, I would come across this 1987 Topps Traded Donnie Hill.  It was the only Traded card in the whole box, but I kept on seeing it.  When I saw that Hill was doing a private signing, I made sure to go ahead and buy two spots so I could go ahead and get the Traded signed as well.  I am not working on that set at all, but I definitely wanted to get this card done and into my autograph album.

I also got Hill's 87 base done, and was able to cross it off of my list.

Hill (b. 1960) played in the majors from 1983 to 1988 and 1990 to 1992 for the A's, White Sox, Angels and Twins.  He had 594 hits, 26 home runs and a .257 batting average.

I mailed to the private signing on January 29 and got the cards back on February 28, for a 30-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $12/card.

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.

TTM Success - Jeff Reed

This TTM success came in recently, but because I have a couple guys in my boxes with similar names, I almost sent to him again.  I think I counted four different Reeds in my TTM box, so I almost send an 87 Topps out to Jeff Reed, when I already had one to be blogged.  Oh well, I doubt it would be the worst thing to happen.

The above 1997 Fleer Ultra turned out really nicely, even though the Sharpie Reed used wasn't all that great.  I like the shot on the card.  I do enjoy cards showing catcher's gear for some reason, and this one is pretty good.

I don't know where the 1987 Topps Traded (middle) came from, but I had it in my box.  I ended up getting it and his 1987 done, so that was good.

Reed (b. 1962) played in the majors from 1984 to 2000 for the Twins, Expos, Reds, Giants, Rockies and Cubs.  He had 774 hits, 61 home runs and a .250 batting average.

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

As I was about to post this entry, I realized that I HAD already gotten Reed TTM before.  Back in September 2017.  Oops.  I didn't get him on an 87 then so I got it right this time.

TTM Success - Eric Bell

I received a TTM success on March 29 from an Oriole pitcher that I often forget about.  Of course, when he was pitching for the Orioles, I hadn't yet discovered them.  Eric Bell (b. 1963) played in the majors in 1985, 1986 and 1987 for the Orioles; 1991 and 1992 for the Indians, and 1993 for the Astros.  He had a career record of 15-18 with an ERA of 5.18 and 152 strike outs.

He was slotted into the Orioles rotation in 1987 along with Scott McGregor, Mike Flanagan, Jeff Ballard and Mike Boddicker.  The pitching staff that season was pretty brutal, as the O's would finish 67-95.  The team ERA that season was 5.01.  That's pretty terrible.  Bell would go 10-13 with a 5.45 ERA and would not be seen again in the majors until 1991.  The Orioles pitching wasn't any better in 1988, so one has to wonder why Bell didn't get another shot with the O's.  Maybe he was hurt.

I mailed to Bell on March 21 and got the cards back signed on March 29 for an 8-day TAT.  Bell has a really nice signature, and it looks really good on the 1987 Topps Traded.  The 1987 Donruss looks nice, as well.  I thought I had more of his cards, but I couldn't find them when I was getting ready to send the TTM request out.