TTM Success - Bob Howry

Here is a nice TTM success that I got from former pitcher, Bob Howry.  The above 2001 Topps Chrome turned out a lot better than the scan shows. 

I also got this 2008 O Pee Chee signed, and it looks really good.  I used to have a bunch of these, but they're gone.

Howry (b. 1973) played in the majors from 1998 to 2010 for the White Sox, Red Sox, Indians, Cubs, Giants and Diamondbacks.  He had a career record of 45-52 with 653 strike outs and a 3.84 ERA.

I mailed to Howry on January 5 and got the cards back on July 22, for a 198-day TAT.

TTM Success - Adam Piatt

I have knocked my TTM pile down to almost nothing lately in an attempt to get caught up on my posts.  I have sent out fewer TTM requests lately and have concentrated on preparing for Orioles Fan Fest and Christmas.

I haven't gotten nearly as many TTMs in lately, but this one from Adam Piatt was a nice one.  I really liked the above 2000 Topps Gallery.

I can't remember the last time I added a 2000 Topps to my album, so this one was pretty nice.  I think I happened upon it in my rookie card box right before I mailed to Piatt, so I figured I would add it to the request.

The 2001 Topps and 2001 Topps Chrome both turned out really nice.  The chrome is the card that made me look Piatt up.  I think I found that in a card box at my LCS.

Finally. here is a pretty cool 2002 Topps.  I like the leaping catch at the wall.

Piatt (b. 1976) played in the majors from 2000 to 2003 for the A's and Devil Rays.  He had 129 hits, 16 home runs and a .248 batting average.

I mailed to Piatt on November 29 and got the cards back on December 11, for a 12-day TAT.

National Pickup - 2001 Topps Chrome Ichiro RC

While I was looking for the 2001 Topps Chrome Albert Pujols rookie, I stumbled upon a card I needed, but hadn't really thought about picking up.  One of the vendors who I had asked about the Pujols had this Ichiro RC for $20, and I grabbed it up.

I already had his base RC, but not the chrome.  That put this card low on my priority list, but I figured at that price, and with Ichiro about to break the 3,000 hit barrier, I went ahead and picked it up.

I'm glad I did.  Ichiro has now passed 3,000 hits and should be a first ballot Hall of Famer.  I now have his 2001 Topps and 2001 Topps Chrome, which it nice. I need to think long and hard about the next rookie cards that I want, because I have so many now, it is hard to think of what I need.

Top Ten Wishlist Pickup From The National

I spent the entire 2015 National Card Show looking for this card, and I spent MOST of the 2016 show looking for it as well, but I finally found it!  I finally have the 2001 Topps Chrome Albert Pujols rookie in my collection.

I was walking around the show on the last day and was looking down quickly at the showcases when I saw it.  I had walked around the entire show the whole time asking people if they had it and had come up short.  So much so, I ended up buying another big rookie from that series just because the dealer had it over the Pujols.

I got it for a really nice price ($20) and am so glad I can take it off of my Top Ten Wishlist.  I'm really going to struggle finding new cards to search for once the year is out.  I definitely have met my goal in the amount of cards that I wanted to cross off of it (more to come in a few days on that).

Mail Day - The Spawning

I received an email the other day from a dude who wants to remain anonymous wanting to send me a bunch of O's and Ripkens he had that I didn't have. Apparently he saw my Zistle list. Anyway, he hit a homerun on the Ripkens I needed. I don't have many Topps Chrome Ripkens at all, which is surprising, so that's why this one ended up here out of the cards he sent. Its also a refractor, which is SWEET!!

Now, of all the other O's cards, I LOVE this Brady he sent me:

I'm Flyyyyyyyyyyyyyying! Yeah, that's right! Brady was the man! I really like this card. I'm glad I am becoming more established in the online trading community. Keep the emails coming guys!!!