TTM Success - Bryce Florie

A new signed 1995 Fleer was added to the autograph album when I got this TTM success back from Bryce Florie.  Again, such a weirdly fun set that looks cool when signed.  What were they thinking when they designed this set? I don't know, but it is a lot of fun.

In contrast, I also got a clean 1995 Fleer Ultra and a 1996 Fleer signed as well.  Both of these also turned out nicely. 

Florie (b. 1970) played in the majors from 1994 to 2001 for the Padres, Brewers, Tigers and Red Sox.  He had a record of 20-24, 395 strike outs and a 4.47 ERA.

I mailed to Florie on November 27 and got the cards back on January 2, for a 36-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Billy Brewer

Here are some mid-90s junk wax cards that I added to my autograph album via this TTM success from Billy Brewer.  The above 1994 Stadium Club turned out nicely; I had forgotten about this set, but really like it.  The label-maker design was a unique one, to say the least, but it allowed for a full photo on the card, and they tended to look pretty decent.

I also got a 1993 Bowman and a 1994 Fleer Ultra, as well.  Both of these are nice.

Brewer (b. 1968) played in the majors from 1993 to 1999 for the Royals, Yankees, A's and Phillies.  He had a record of 11-11 with 137 strike outs and a 4.79 ERA.

I mailed to Brewer on February 2 and got the cards back on May 20, for a 107-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jack Voigt

Here are some cards from the mid-90s that I was able to get signed TTM from former Oriole, Jack Voigt.  For the longest time, these kinds of cards were almost invisible to me when I would be looking through boxes.  I had seen so many cards from this era because that was the era I grew up in, card-wise.  So, while I would be digging out some nice vintage, or looking for more contemporary inserts and parallels to get signed, these cards would just sit.  I have gotten a new appreciation for these lately, and cards like the above 1995 Topps Stadium Club turn out really well when signed.

I had raided my Orioles box for TTM subjects, since returns had all but dried up the last few months.  In that search, I found several guys from this era who sign, and I was able to move a lot of cards out and create some space.  Cards like the above 1994 Score Select and 1995 Score look really great.

I was also able to add a 1994 Topps to my album, as well as a 1995 Fleer Ultra.  The worst part about cards from the mid 90s is the over-gloss, but fortunately, none of these cards had stuck together with others, and all are in great shape.

Voigt (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1992 to 1998 for the Orioles, Rangers, Brewers and A's.  He had 138 hits, 20 home runs and a .235 batting average.

I mailed to Voigt on October 12 and got the cards back on October 22, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Mike Huff

I got some 90s Junk Wax Era stuff out of my boxes and into my autograph album with this TTM success from Mike Huff.

I have no idea where I got the above 1991 Score Traded Huff, but it is a nice card, and the odd cards are always nice to see in my albums.

Huff also signed a 1991 Fleer, 1992 Topps, 1995 Donruss and a 1995 Ultra.  All of the cards turned out great.

Huff (b. 1963) played in the majors in 1989 and from 1991 to 1996 for the Dodgers, Indians, White Sox and Blue Jays.  He had 198 hits, 9 home runs and a .247 batting average.

I mailed to Huff on October 22 and got the cards back on November 2, for an 11-day TAT.

TTM Success - Brian Dorsett

When the 1995 Score set came out, I really enjoyed the design.  I remember picking up a few boxes of it and I think I even had collated most of the set back then.  Most of those cards are gone now; victims of being bricked by the super gloss on them.  I have a few left, and really wanted to get some in my album.  I saw that Brian Dorsett signed TTM, so I sent one out, along with the 1995 Ultra below and came back with some nicely signed cards.

Dorsett (b. 1961) played in the majors from 1987 to 1991, 1993 to 1994 and 1996 for the Indians, Angels, Yankees, Padres, Reds and Cubs.  He had 92 hits, 9 home runs and a .224 batting average.

I mailed to Dorsett on July 27 and got the cards back on August 8, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - Johnny Ruffin

The process in which I send a TTM out to a player takes some time to evolve, unless I buy cards specifically to send to someone.  Meaning, unless I have bought some vintage cards that I have to send out to someone right away, it takes me a bit to finally get the motivation to send to a player.  One of which is tonight's TTM success, Johnny Ruffin.

Usually, I will start on a player when I find an interesting card at the card shop on in one of my boxes.  Ruffin came about when I was sorting my extra 1995 Topps for my set.

I took the extra cards from my box break of 1995s, sorted them in order, then I went through the checklist on sportscollectors.net and pulled everyone with a decently high success rate (60% +) or recent successes within 6 months or so.  Then, I went through my boxes to see if I had anything of those players.

I had a few cards of him, but most came from some box searching at my local card shop.  The Gold Leaf Rookie at the top of the page and the above 1995 Ultra Gold Medallion came from the LCS.  The 1995 Score Gold Rush and 1995 Collectors Choice came out of my boxes.  The 1994 Upper Deck came from the box I busted with Chris a while back.  I got all of these cards together, plus some extras and sent them out.  I'll put Topps cards in the envelope first, then I will pick ones from interesting sets that I think will look nice in my binder.  Finally, I will add in some sets that I feel may be under represented in the album.  The remaining cards, if any, go in a "sent" row in my box, which will then be sent out to kids starting out on TTMs.

Ruffin (b.1971) played in the majors from 1993 to 1996, 2000 and 2001 for the Reds, Diamondbacks and Marlins.  He had a career record of 10-6 with an ERA of 4.13 and 163 strike outs.

I mailed to Ruffin on January 24 and got the cards back on February 2, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Rusty Greer

There is a box of cards at my LCS that has a ton of late 90s cards that I never got a chance to open when they came out.  I got out of cards in 1996, and didn't get back into them until 2005.  The box at the shop has afforded me an opportunity to cheaply pick up some of those late 90s cards, and use them for TTMs.  I was really excited to get this success back from Rusty Greer, because the cards in this request were pretty much the best of the best from that box.

That being said, just because the cards look awesome in person, that doesn't mean the awesomeness will transfer over to a scan.  The above 1997 Pinnacle Certified looks so nice in person, but it is badly curved, like a 2010 Topps Chrome.  Still, I like this card a lot, and I feel like it will do well in my album.

These two cards are much like the Pinnacle Certified.  They are both from 1998 Donruss Collections and, again, look much better than the scans show.  These two are also curved, but not as badly as the Pinnacle.  These are much thinner than a Chrome card, which may lend to the curvature.

Finally, here are a few "normal" cards.  The 1995 Topps came from my box break while working on the set, and the 95 Fleer Ultra came from the LCS.  The Ultra is a really nice card.  It may be the best-looking of them all!

Greer (b. 1969) played in the majors from 1994 to 2002 for the Rangers.  He had 1,166 hits, 119 home runs and a .305 career batting average.  He finished third in the 1994 AL Rookie of the Year voting, and 22nd in the 1997 AL MVP voting.  He batted over .300 in four of his 6 full seasons.

I mailed to Greer on January 5 and got the cards back on January 21, for a 16-day TAT.

TTM Success - Steve Trachsel

I got a TTM success last Saturday from former pitcher, Steve Trachsel.  I mailed to him on March 7 and got the three cards that I sent, signed, 12 days later.  I found a couple of his cards in one of the boxes that Mom gave me, and remembered Max telling me that Trachsel signed TTM.  This 1994 Fleer turned out really nice, and with it being his rookie card, was a nice one to send out.

I really like how this 1995 Fleer Ultra turned out.  It looks really cool, and I am glad I included it.  I was torn between a few of the cards I had of him, but I'm happy I chose this to be sent.

Finally, I got my first signed 2005 Topps.  I like how the blue sharpie blends with the color coordination on the card.  I have a couple more 2005s that I intend to send out, but this one looks great.  It might be tough to find one that looks better than this one.

Trachsel (b. 1970) played in the majors from 1993 to 2008 for the Cubs, Devil Rays, Blue Jays, Mets and Orioles.  He had a career record of 143-159 with an ERA of 4.39 and 1,591 strike outs.  He was 4th in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 1994 and was an All Star in 1996.

On September 8, 1998, in the bottom of the 4th inning with two outs, Trachsel became the answer to a trivia question.  He gave up a home run to Mark McGwire that would break Roger Maris's single season home run record.