TTM Success - BJ Ryan

A private signed with a former Oriole came up recently.  I had been wanting to get BJ Ryan into my album for a while, and I finally did so with some pretty nice cards.  I had to pick up the above 2000 Fleer Ex off of Ebay, and it turned out nicely.

I also got a 2005 Topps and a 2005 Upper Deck.  Both of these came out of the Orioles boxes.

Ryan (b. 1975) played in the majors from 1999 to 2009 for the Reds, Orioles and Blue Jays.  He had a record of 21-28 with 625 strike outs and a 3.37 ERA.  He was an All Star in 2005 and 2006.

I mailed to the signing on March 4 and got the cards back today (May 9), for a 66-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Juan Gonzalez

This was a very colorful TTM success from Juan Gonzalez.  I found all of these cards in my boxes that I got from the LCS when it closed.  This 1992 Diamond Kings turned out well, and I really love this set.  I want to add some more to my collection.

I also enjoy the 2001 Fleer EX set, and have gotten a few of these signed.  This is a really nice hidden gem of a set and the cards look great when signed.

Finally, here are the other 4 cards that made the cut from what I sent.  I sent a 2000 Bowman Chrome Teen Idols (top left), 2000 Fleer Gamers (top right), 1994 Stadium Club chrome (bottom right) and a 1999 Upper Deck SP Authentic (bottom left).  

I mailed to Gonzalez on March 11 and got the cards back on April 3, for a 23-day TAT.

TTM Success - Brooke Kieschnick

I have a little bag of failed TTMs that sits beside my desk.  I check it periodically to see if a new address pops up for one of the failures, and have been able to thin the pile down here and there.  One of the players who sat in that bag for almost 3 years was Brooks Kieschnick.  I had some really awesome cards to send him, and originally sent three out in 2016.  They were RTS, so they sat and waited.

Recently, I checked on some of the envelopes, and saw that Kieschnick was signing at a new address, this time for a fee of $10.00/card.  Since the third card wasn't anything special, I sent the other two, along with a $20, and hopes the cards would come back signed this time.

The cards did come back, and I believe they might be some of the coolest cards that I have ever gotten returned.  The above Star Date 2000 from EX 2000 looks amazing.  I was so happy that this one came back signed, and turned out well.  I had prepped it beforehand, and I'm happy I did.  This card just looks awesome.

The other card I sent was a 1996 Pinnacle Aficionado.  This has to be one of my all-time favorite sets.  The cards are tough to find, and feature a nice wood-grain nameplate, and the player's face in a stippling design.  When I took art classes way back when, that was my favorite form of artistic media.  I always enjoyed stippling via pen and ink, but it was so time consuming.

Kieschnick (b. 1972) played in the majors from 1996 to 1997, 2000 to 2001 and from 2003 to 2004 for the Cubs, Reds, Rockies and Brewers.  He had 76 hits, 16 home runs and a .248 batting average.

I mailed to Kieschnick on September 30 and got the cards back on October 8, for an 8-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $10.00/card.

TTM Success - Jeff Cirillo

Well, I've only had one time now where baby powder on a card didn't hold an autograph.  This success from Jeff Cirillo shows that nothing is a sure thing.  Oh well.  This card is still cool, and still will have a place in my autograph binder.

This Fleer EX turned out much better than the Flair Showcase shown at the top of the post.  So, I'm 1/2 with baby powder on this success.  Not bad.

I also can't go wrong with a Fleer Metal.  These cards always turn out great.  I have seen some Fleer Metal cards that would look amazing when signed, but the guys on the card don't sign.  Still, the ones that do, I plan on adding them because they look so nice.

Cirillo (b. 1969) played in the majors from 1994 to 2007 for the Brewers, Rockies, Mariners, Padres, Twins and Diamondbacks.  He had 1,598 hits, 112 home runs and a .296 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1997 and 2000 with the Brewers and Rockies, respectively.

I mailed to Cirillo on February 8, and got the cards back on March 27, for a 47-day TAT.  He signed 3 of the 4 cards I sent.