TTM Success - Eric Nielsen

Hmm.  I don't dislike the purple Sharpie on this card that I got back signed TTM from Eric Nielsen.  It's different.  I'm sure it'll fade over time, but I'll worry about that later on.  Today, I'm just happy to add another card to the album. 

Nielsen (b. 1981) was a 12th round pick by the Blue Jays in the 2004 June Amateur Draft out of UNLV.  He played in the Blue Jays system from 2004 to 2008, reaching AAA.  He had 538 hits, 31 home runs and a .282 batting average.

I mailed to Nielsen on April 13 and got the card back on August 19 for a 118-day TAT.

TTM Success - Mike MacDougal

Here is a nice TTM success that came in that added a few mid-2000s cards to the autograph album.  I had seen that Mike MacDougal was signing, so it gave me the opportunity to get this 2006 Topps signed.

I also sent out this 2005 Topps (left) and a 2007 Upper Deck (right).  All of the cards turned out well.

MacDougal (b. 1977) played in the majors from 2001 to 2012 for the Royals, White Sox, Nationals, Cardinals and Dodgers.  He had a record of 18-23 with 325 strike outs and a 4.00 ERA.  He was an All Star in 2003.  

I mailed to MacDougal on April 22 and got the cards back on May 9 for a 17-day TAT. 

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.

TTM Success - Brian Stavisky

A 2005 Topps was added to the autograph album when I got this card back signed TTM from Brian Stavisky.  2005 Topps is a set that I don't have much of anyone after I sold my bulk cards at a card show years ago. 

Stavisky (b. 1980) was a 6th round pick by the A's in the 2002 June Amateur Draft out of Notre Dame.  He played in the minors from 2002 to 2010 in the A's, Dodgers and Phillies systems, reaching AAA.  He had 849 hits, 78 home runs and a .302 batting average.

I mailed to Stavisky on November 30 and got the card back on December 11, for an 11-day TAT. 

2023 National Free Signer - Scott Spiezio

Scott Spiezio was the next free signer at the National.  I had a good many of his cards, so it was nice to get a few out of my boxes and into my album.  The above 1997 Flair Showcase is a really cool card, and it turned out nicely.

I also got a 1997 Bowman Chrome hometown, 1997 Finest Blue Chips and a 2005 Topps signed.

Spiezio (b. 1972) played in the majors from 1996 to 2007 for the A's, Angels, Mariners and Cardinals.  He had 996 hits, 119 home runs and a .255 batting average.  

He won the World Series with the Angels in 2002 and the Cardinals in 2006.

Spiezio was really nice.  He commented on my Frederick question mark jersey (which it the reason why I wore it).

TTM Success - Eric Wedge

Oops. I meant to post this yesterday, but got busy searching boxes of cards and forgot. Anyway, I got some nice cards back signed TTM from Eric Wedge.  The above 1993 Score turned out nicely and comes from a very underrepresented set in my albums.

I also got a couple Topps (2004 and 2005) cards signed. These also turned out nicely.

Wedge (b. 1968) played in the majors from1991 to 1994 for the Red Sox and Rockies.  He had  20 hits, 5 home runs and a .233 batting average.

He managed the Indians from 2003 to 2009 and the Mariners from 2008 to 2010.  His managerial record was 774-846 (.478 win %).

I mailed to Wedge on May 6, 2021, and got the cards back on March 10, 2023, for a 673-day TAT.

TTM Success - Brett Harper

Here is a random 2005 Topps that I was able to get signed TTM recently.  This Brett Harper card turned out nicely.  I don't have very many bulk 2005s, so I don't send many off.  I think I let a lot of the bulk stuff from around this time go to a buyer at a show in Raleigh a while back.  I don't regret selling the bulk off, because it makes room for more stuff, but sometimes I do wish I had more of some of these mid-2000s years.

Harper (b. 1981) was a 45th round pick by the Mets in the 2000 June Amateur Draft out of Desert Mountain High School in Arizona.  He played professionally from 2001 to 2013 and from 2015 to 2016.  He spent time in the Mets, Giants, Blue Jays, Dodgers and A's systems.  He also spent time in Mexico and Japan.  He reached AAA in his time in the minors, but never cracked the majors.

In his 15 professional seasons (minors and foreign leagues combined), he had 1,349 hits, 232 home runs and a .299 batting average.

I mailed to Harper on February 11 and got the card back on February 28, for a 17-day TAT.

TTM Success - Johnny Damon

This was a big one.  It was also a TTM success that I had waited quite a while for.  In the end, the wait was worth it, I got a TTM success from Johnny Damon.

The above 2004 Topps Cracker Jack card looks amazing.  I'm so glad I sent that one along.

I also got these two 2005 Topps cards signed, which turned out really well.  He didn't sign my 2007 Topps Opening Day, but I'm not complaining.

Damon (b. 1973) played in the majors from 1995 to 2012 for the Royals, A's, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Rays and Indians.  He had 2,769 hits, 235 home runs and a .284 batting average.  He was an All Star in 2002 and 2005.  His best finish in the AL MVP voting was 13th in 2005.  He won the World Series with the Red Sox in 2004 and with the Yankees in 2009.  Damon appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2018, but received only 1.9% of the vote.

I mailed to Damon on October 26, 2017, and got the cards back on February 2, 2022, for a 1,580-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chris Roberson

This TTM success from Chris Roberson featured this really nice 2005 Topps Turkey Red red parallel (Turkey Reds are usually gray).  The card turned out great, and I was happy that I had one to send along, as I don't have many of them in my boxes at all.

I also got a 2005 Topps signed, and it looks nice, too.  I got rid of a ton of 05s, so adding one to my albums isn't as easy as it may have been had I kept them.

Roberson (b. 1979) played in the majors from 2006 to 2007 for the Phillies.  He had 16 hits, no home runs and a .232 batting average.

I mailed to Roberson on January 26 and got the cards back on February 16, for a 21-day TAT.

TTM Success - Tim Worrell

I got some nice cards back from pitcher, Tim Worrell, that spanned 11 years.  He pitched for a while, and had cards in a bunch of Topps sets.  The above 2003 Topps turned out great.

He also signed a 1994 Topps, 2004 Topps and a 2005 Topps.  All of them looks really nice; Worrell has a great signature.

Worrell (b. 1967) played in the majors from 1993 to 2006 for the Padres, Tigers, Indians, A's, Orioles, Cubs, Giants, Phillies and Diamondbacks.  I was surprised to see he was an Oriole, as I don't remember this.  I checked his stats, and it is probably because he pitched in only 5 games for them.

Overall, Worrell had a 48-59 record, 758 strike outs and a 3.97 ERA.

I mailed to Worrell on September 8 and got the cards back on November 6, for a 59-day TAT.

TTM Success - Josh Fogg

Here are some mid-2000s cards that I was able to get signed TTM when I sent to Josh Fogg.  The above 2008 Upper Deck turned out really well.  These cards look great when signed, and I have a ton of them still.  I just always have that box buried, and don't get into it often.  When I do, though, I'm glad to get some of the cards signed.

I also got Fogg's Topps cards from 2003, 2004 and 2005 signed.  The 04 and 05 cards look very similar, but the 2003 definitely stands out with that blue border.

Fogg (b. 1976) played in the majors from 2001 to 2009 for the White Sox, Pirates, Rockies and Reds.  He had a career record of 62-69 with 627 strike outs and a 5.03 ERA.

I mailed to Fogg on September 8 and got the cards back on September 18, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Al Pedrique

I have been spending my offseason from graphing by trying to go through my TTM box and sort it a lot better than it has been.  I also have been working to add some more subjects to my list, since I have sent to so many past players.  Still, there are guys in the box who have been there for a couple years, just waiting for their turn to get a letter and some cards from me.

I don't know how long I have had cards of Al Pedrique waiting for me to send out, but the ones I sent are pretty nice.  I really like the above 1987 Topps Glossy Rookies.  I don't think I have gotten any of these signed before, but I could have.

I also had his 1988 Fleer, 1989 Topps and a 2005 Topps that were returned signed.  He signed in black Sharpie, and the cards turned out really well.

Pedrique (b. 1960) played in the majors from 1987 to 1989 for the Mets, Pirates and Tigers.  He had 111 hits, 1 home run and a .247 batting average.

He also managed the Diamondbacks in 2004; to a record of 22-61 (.265%).

I mailed to Pedrique on July 8 and got the cards back on September 10, for a 64-day TAT.

TTM Success - Antonio Alfonseca

Adding cards from the 2000s to my autograph album might be the toughest task there is, especially via TTM.  It just feels like there aren't as many players from that decade who sign regularly, but I could be wrong.  I was able to get Antonio Alfonseca on a few cards, most notably on this 2005 Topps Chrome.  Even though the Sharpie he used wasn't the best, the card turned out well.

I also sent him a 2001 Topps and a 2005 Topps.  Both look pretty cool when signed.

Alfonseca (b. 1972) played in the majors from 1997 to 2007 for the Marlins, Cubs, Braves, Rangers and Phillies.  He had a career record of 35-37 with 400 strike outs and a 4.11 ERA.  He had 45 saves in 2000 to lead the NL, and put him at 22nd on the MVP Award ballot that season.  However, his 4.24 ERA that season makes me wonder how many of them were nail-biters.

Alfonseca won the World Series with the Marlins in 1997.

I mailed to him on March 25 and got the cards back on April 27, for a 33-day TAT.

TTM Success - Joe Borowski

This TTM success from Joe Borowski was nice because it got me a few signed cards from the mid-2000s.  These are years where I don't have a lot of extra base, so some of these guys are hard to come by.  The above 2005 Topps turned out really well, I think.

These are actually two different 2008 Topps.  The top one is the shorter printed gold foil and the bottom is the more common silver foil.

Finally, here is a 2007 Upper Deck.  I remember busting a box of this way back when, and really enjoying this set.

Borowski (b. 1971) played in the majors from 1995 to 1998 and 2001 to 2008 for the Orioles, Braves, Yankees, Cubs, Devil Rays, Marlins and Indians.  He had a career record of 22-34 with 372 strike outs and a 4.18 ERA.  He led the league in saves in 2007 with 45.  He also had a 5.07 ERA that season, so he must have had quite a few clunkers as well.

I mailed to Borowski on September 10 and got the cards back on September 28, for an 18-day TAT.

TTM Success - Bob Melvin

Another card for my 1987 set was taken care of with this success from A's manager, Bob Melvin.  The card turned out pretty well.

I also added a 1992 and a 2005 Topps.  I have hardly any 2005 Topps available to send TTM, so it was nice to add one to the album.

Melvin (b. 1961) played in the majors from 1985 to 1994 for the Tigers, Giants, Orioles, Royals, Red Sox, Yankees and White Sox.  He had 456 hits, 35 home runs and a .233 batting average.

He had managed the Mariners (2003 and 2004), Diamondbacks (2005 to 2009) and A's (2011 to 2018).  His career record is 1,061-1,073 (.497 win %).  He was the 2007 NL Manager of the Year and 2012 AL Manager of the Year.

I mailed to Melvin on February 9 via spring training and got the cards back on March 30, for a 49-day TAT.

TTM Success - Clint Hurdle

Another Spring Training success came in that I really didn't think would, when I got these cards back from Clint Hurdle.  I hadn't seen that he was as prolific a signer as some other managers (Buck Showalter), but I figured I had a shot to get him.  I'm really glad I did as this 1986 Topps turned out really nicely.

I also had his 2005 Topps, which looks pretty cool.

Hurdle (b. 1957) played in the majors from 1977 to 1983 and 1985 to 1987 for the Royals, Reds, Mets and Cardinals.  He had 360 hits, 32 home runs and a .259 batting average.  He was a first round (9th overall) draft pick in the 1975 June Amateur Dradft by the Royals.

He would go on to manage the Rockies from 2002 to 2009 and the Pirates since 2011.  He led the Rockies to the World Series in 2007.  He was the NL Manager of the Year in 2013.  His career managerial record stands at 1,118-1,174 (.488%).

I mailed to Hurdle on February 10 and got the cards back on February 23, for a 13-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jay Gibbons

I have had a bunch of exciting TTM successes come in recently.  One that I may have been the most excited about is this return from former Oriole, Jay Gibbons.

I had a multitude of Gibby's cards to choose from, and the above 2005 Studio was a card I wanted to get into my album for a long time.  I'm glad Gibbons was the first out of that set that I was able to add.  I love the background of the card, a shot of the Baltimore skyline as seen from the Inner Harbor.

I had to add a few Topps cards to the album, so I chose these two, a 2003 and a 2005 Topps.  The Oriole orange and blue border of the 2003 don't quite go together well, but still, 2003 is a pretty nice set.

Finally, I decided to add two other different sets to the album in 2005 Gallery (left) and 2006 Fleer (right).

Gibbons (b. 1977) played in the majors from 2001 to 2007 and 2011 to 2012 for the Orioles and Dodgers.  He had 759 hits, 127 home runs and a .260 batting average.  He was obtained by the Orioles when picked during the 2000 Rule V Draft.  He was a member of the O's during the "dark ages" of the organization, when they were right in the middle of a 14-year losing streak.  I remember him fondly.   He was also shown on a TV in the movie, "Wedding Crashers" hitting a home run (when Owen Wilson's character is depressed and avoiding Vince Vaughn).  Gibbons is now a coach in the Dodgers system.

I mailed to Gibbons on May 10 via the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and got the cards back on October 20, for a 163-day TAT.

TTM Success - Casey Blake

I added some more recent cards to the bunder with this success from Casey Blake.  I didn't have any trouble finding his cards, as I had quite a few to choose from.  This 2008 Topps was a nice one to add to the Topps Autograph Project.  I like that it is a horizontal card, even though there isn't much to the background of the photo.

These two cards were some really cool ones to get signed.  I like the 1962 Topps design on the 2011 Heritage.  I didn't have any signed 2010 Topps Attax, so this one is pretty cool.

Finally, I added two Topps cards to my ledger.  These ae two sets of Topps that I have very few of, so getting these really helps.

Blake (b. 1973) played in the majors from 1999 to 2011 for the Blue Jays, Twins, Orioles, Indians and Dodgers.  He had 1,186 hits, 167 home runs and .264 batting average.  His time with the Orioles lasted 6 games during the 2001 season when he was a waiver claim from the Twins.  After that season, he was placed on waivers and the Twins picked him up again.

I mailed to Blake on February 20 and got the cards back on May 12, for an 81-day TAT.

TTM Success - Adam Kennedy

Here is a really cool TTM success that was populated almost solely from the "boxes in the back" of the card shop.  There are two Topps cards that were mine, but the rest of the cards were ones I wasn't around to see when they first came out.

The above 2000 Topps Finest was the one I was most excited about seeing come back.  It turned out really nice, and scanned pretty well.

this 2000 UD SP Minors is pretty cool.  They had a bunch of these cards in the back, and I found a few good ones of some TTM guys, so I'm hoping a few more of them come in.

Kennedy's Sharpie looks like it was about to die, but I still got a few other nice cards signed.  I even was able to add a few ticks to the Topps Autograph Project, as well with the 2005 and 2007 Topps.  Those two sets are pretty low in the rankings in the project, at 8 cards for 2005 and 4 for 2007.

Kennedy (b. 1976) played in the majors from 1999 to 2012 for the Cardinals, Angels, A's, Nationals, Mariners, and Dodgers.  He had 1,488 hits, 80 home runs and a .272 batting average.  He was the 2002 ALCS MVP and won the World Series with the Angels in 2002.

I mailed to Kennedy on March 20 and got the cards back on April 3, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Art Howe

I added some really cool cards to the autograph binder with this success from former manager, Art Howe.  The best part of what I added was that I got some colorful Astros jerseys as part of the success.

The above 1989 Topps Traded was just the start, with the color shown on that card.  I did a pretty good job choosing what I sent off, I think.

I used this as an opportunity to get the above 1979 and 1978 Astros card signed, but I also needed some more mid-2000s cards, so his 2005 and 2004 Topps helped up the tallies for those years.

Howe (b. 1946) played in the majors from 1974 to 1982, 1984 and 1985 for the Pirates, Astros and Cardinals.  He had 682 hits, 43 home runs and a .260 batting average.  He finished 18th in the 1981 NL MVP voting.

He managed the Astros from 1989 to 1993, the A's from 1996 to 2002 and the Mets from 2003 to 2004.  His managerial record is 1,129-1,137 (.498 win %).

I mailed to Howe on March 13 and got the cards back on March 20, for a 7-day TAT.