Another TTM Success From Casey Blake

While going through my boxes, I pulled some more Casey Blake cards to hit him TTM again.  The above 2004 Bowman Chrome refractor turned out great.  The card must have come out of the boxes from the former LCS, because I don't remember opening any 04 Bowman.  It's a nice one, though, and I'm glad it is now in the album. 

I also got a 2007 Topps Allen & Ginter, and a 2009 Upper Deck signed.  I don't have very many 2009 Upper Deck anymore, but that is a nice looking set.  I was glad i at least had one of someone who signed TTM.

I mailed to Blake on November 27 and got the cards back on April 11, for a 136-day TAT.  I had originally gotten Blake to sign TTM back in 2017.

A Bunch of Autos From Max

My good friend, Max, just sent me a nice stack of IP autos that he had gotten done recently.  I contributed some of the cards to his efforts, so it was nice to see some of them come back signed.  I like the above 2007 Topps CoSigners of Joe Crede.  I may have to send it off to Tadahito Iguchi, as well, and complete the card.

Max tossed in a couple minor league cards that I know I didn't contribute.  It will be cool to add them to the autograph album, for sure.

I was especially glad to move the several 2000 Topps Crede rookies and the 2007 Allen & Ginters that I had.  Some of that stuff can be hard to move, to when I get a chance to, I jump on it.

Here are a few more guys that Max added.  I'm pretty sure I didn't provide the 2013 Topps Geovany Soto, but if I had, then good, because I have a ton of 2013 Topps and I definitely am happy to thin out that box.

I know I sent Max some Rafael Furcal cards, so it is very likely the 2006 Topps, 2010 Topps and 2013 Topps came from me.  I like the minor league card, as well, because I wouldn't have had this one in my collection at all, if not for Max.

These two Jose Contreras cards appear to have gotten smudged a bit.  No worries, they still will have a good home in my album with the rest of the cards.

Finally, here are a couple Carl Everett cards.  I'm not sure if I sent any of Everett to Max in the past, but I have a ton of 1991 Bowman and don't often get much of a chance to move any.

Thank you so much for the signed cards, Max!  I look forward to the next list of names you send me so I can move some stuff out of my boxes again.

TTM Success - Mario Andretti

Here is a nice non-baseball TTM success that I received recently.  Allen & Ginter cards always look nice when signed, and this one that came back from Formula 1 legend, Mario Andretti, was no exception.  His autograph isn't much to speak of, but the card still looks cool.

Andretti (b. 1940) raced in Formula 1 from 1968 to 1972 and 1974 to 1982 (131 races/128 starts).  He won 12 of those races.  He has competed in almost every form of motorsports in the US (not drag racing, though).  He was a 1986 inductee in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame and in 2000, he was named Racer of the Century by the Associated Press and RACER Magazine.

I mailed to Andretti on December 15 and got the card back on August 14, for a 242-day TAT.

TTM Success - Clarence Thomas

These Washington Monument Allen & Ginter cards really come in handy.  I sent one, along with a 1987 Topps checklist and an index card to Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas, recently, and got a nice return.  Thomas signed the index card, too, but I have already put that away.

Thomas (b. 1948) has been a Supreme Court justice since 1991.  He was nominated by then President, George HW Bush to fill the seat of Thurgood Marshall upon his retirement.  Thomas once attended Seminary, but left following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Thomas transferred to Holy Cross, where he would graduate cum laude in English Literature.  He would go on to receive his Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School.  He was confirmed as the 106th justice of the Supreme Court on October 23, 1991.

I mailed to Thomas on November 10 and got the cards back on February 26, for a 108-day TAT.

TTM Success - Ryan Shealy

I got some really cool cards back signed when I got this success in from Ryan Shealy.  I knew I had several of his cards, they were just scattered among all of my card boxes.  I finally rounded up the ones shown and sent them off.

I enjoyed the 2006 Flair Showcase set, and now have a couple of them signed.  This one probably looks better in person, as the scan picked up some of the flaws in the marker used by Shealy.  Still, I like having the card, and am glad it got signed.

Shealy also signed a 2003 Topps Traded, 2007 Allen and Ginter and a 2007 Topps Chrome refractor.

Shealy (b. 1979) played in the majors from 2005 to 2008 and 2010 for the Rockies, Royals and Red Sox.  He had 146 hits, 19 home runs and a .268 batting average.

I mailed to Shealy on June 15 and got the cards back on June 26, for an 11-day TAT.

TTM Success - Bob Dole

While I despise talking about politics, I was so super excited to get this TTM success back from former senator and presidential candidate, Bob Dole.  I was trying to figure out a way to get rid of some of the many cards  in my boxes like the above 2007 Topps Allen & Ginter Washington Monument card.  I thought that the 10 or so of those cards might work well if I tried to get some former politicians on them.  Dole was the first one that I tried, and it was a success!  The card looks really cool, and unlike a lot of other politicians, it definitely isn't signed in autopen.  He definitely used a Sharpie to sign it, as can be seen in the above scan.

I also used this as an opportunity to add another signed checklist to my 1987 Topps set.  Those get tough to get signed, as a lot of the people I've sent to haven't understood why I was asking them to sign.  I explain it in my letters, but still have gotten many back unsigned.  Still, when I do get one back, I get excited and happy to add another prominent figure to my set.

Dole (b. 1923) represented the State of Kansas in the US House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969 and in the US Senate from 1969 to 1996.  He was the Republican nominee for President in the 1996 election.  He was also his party's Vice Presidential nominee in the 1976 election.

Dole attended the University of Kansas before serving in World War II.  While at Kansas, he played for the basketball, track and football teams.

I mailed to Dole on May 18 and got the cards back signed on June 5, for an 18-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jermaine Dye

The $40 I paid for the 2020 Harvey Address Book was well worth it when I got this success back from Jermaine Dye.

I had a ton of Dye cards, but had to narrow it down to the three that I ended up sending in.  I really liked the above 2007 Allen & Ginter, and it turned out great.

The 2007 Perez sketch card from 07 Ginter turned out really well, too, even though I wasn't a big fan of the cards.  Some of them just looked goofy.  Still, I didn't have any signed ones in my album, so this Dye will be a nice addition.

Finally, the 2005 Fleer (I think it was Fleer Tradition) also looks really sharp.

Dye (b. 1974) played in the majors from 1996 to 2009 for the Braves, Royals, A's and White Sox.  He had 1,779 hits, 325 home runs and a .274 batting average.  He finished 6th in the 1996 N Rookie of the Year voting.  He was a 2-time All Star (2000 and 2006), Gold Glove Award winner (2000) and Silver Slugger (2006).  He hit 44 home runs during the 2006 season, and finished 5th in the AL MVP voting.  Dye won the World Series with the White Sox in 2005 and was the MVP of that series.

He appeared on the 2015 Hall of Fame ballot, but received  no votes.

I mailed to Dye on April 25 and got the cards back on May 15, for a 20-day TAT.

TTM Success - Sean Casey

I mailed to him twice, but I was able to get Sean Casey's autograph on some nice cards.  I had mailed to him via MLB Network a couple years ago and never got anything back.  Finally, I saw his addrerss on SCN, so I tried again.

I got some really nice stuff signed, even though I would have rather had the 2006 Upper Deck Ovation that I had sent originally, but these were will really nice.

Casey (b. 1974) played in the majors from 1997 to 2008 for the Indians, Reds, Pirates, Tigers and Red Sox.  He had 1,531 hits, 130 home runs and a .302 batting average.  He was a three-time All Star (1999, 2001 and 2004).  He appeared in the 2006 World Series while with Detroit and batted .529 with 2 home runs over 5 games, even though the Tigers lost to the Cardinals.

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

TTM Success - Greg Louganis

My mom gave me a bag of oddball card packs that she found at Goodwill a while back.  In the bag were several packs of US Olympic Hall of Fame cards.  I had seen that Greg Louganis signed TTM, and since I pulled one of his cards from one of the packs, I decided to send to him.

I waited a bit, though, because I knew he was in 2007 Allen & Ginter, as well, so once I got around to looking through my boxes, I found his 07 Ginter and sent the two cards out.

Louganis (b. 1960) is widely considered one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) divers of all time.  He won Gold in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.  The events he won Gold in were (for both olympics) 3m Springboard and 10m platform.  He also won Silver in the 1976 Olympic Games 10m platform event.

In Seoul in 1988, Louganis hit his head on a board while performing a dive in a preliminary round and suffered a concussion.  He would come back from that injury and score the Gold, anyway.

Louganis attended the University of Miami, but transferred to UC-Irvine and graduated in 1983 with a major in theatre and a minor in dance.  He probably transferred out of Miami because their football team isn't all that great.

I mailed to Louganis on October 2 and got the cards back on October 11, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Dave Roberts

Here are some cool cards that I received signed TTM from Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts.  I had heard he signed, so I sent off a few cards and was glad to get them back.  You can never go wrong with a signed Allen & Ginter.

I added a couple Topps cards to my Topps Autograph ledger, and these are two years that are very under-represented.  I need to find some bulk 09 Topps.  I got rid of all of my bulk years ago, but now I regret letting it go since I now use it for TTMs and stuff.

Roberts (b. 1972) played in the majors from 1999 to 2008 for the Indians, Dodgers, Red Sox, Padres and Giants.  He had 721 hits, 23 home runs and a .266 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Red Sox in 2004.

Roberts managed the Padres for one game in 2015, then became the Dodgers manager in 2016.  He led the team to the World Series last year, losing to the Astros.  He holds a career managerial record of 280-198 and won the NL Manager of the Year Award last season.

I mailed to Roberts on February 10 at Spring Training and got the cards back on June 18, for a 128-day TAT.

TTM Success - Two for the Price of One, Matt and Misty May Treanor

I got some nice cards back a few days ago that have been out for a while.  All of the TTMs I have gotten in the last couple of weeks have been ones that I have been waiting a while to get in.  This success from Matt and Misty May Treanor was one of the best, though.

The above 2004 SP Prospects turned out really nice.  It scanned really well, also.  I powdered this one, and it helped out, as the signature looks about perfect.

I also had these two cards that turned out nice.  The 2011 is an Update series, so it won't count toward my Topps Project, but it still is a nice card.

While looking for Matt Treanor cards, I found this Allen & Ginter card of his wife, Misty May Treanor.  I tossed it in my envelope, not expecting much, but it came back signed with Matt's cards.  Awesome!

Treanor (b. 1976) played in the majors from 2004 to 2012 for the Marlins, Tigers, Rangers, Royals, and Dodgers.  He had 281 his, 18 home runs and a .221 batting average.

Misty May Treanor (b. 1977) won the Gold Medal for beach volleyball during the 2004 Olympic Summer Games without losing a set.  Teamed with Kerri Walsh, Treanor won the Gold in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, as well.

I mailed to the Treanors on May 8, and got the cards back on July 18, for a 71-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jeremy Bonderman

I've been trying to mix some more recent cards into my TTM requests, and this success from Jeremy Bonderman adds a few nice ones to the album.

I loved Allen & Ginter when it first came out in 2006, so having a card from that set represented in the album was a must.

I went overboard with the Ginter, though, because I also added this 2007, as well.  I'm glad I did, though, because it might look better than the 06.

I also needed a few recent Topps, so I sent off the 2010 and 2008 shown above.  I have a ton of 2010 Topps, I just need to sort it, and pull guys that sign.  I think we are far enough removed from that set to have some retired players who sign pretty regularly now.  When it comes to a point where I am struggling to find TTM subjects, maybe I will work a bit harder on sorting the 2010s.  Until then, I have plenty to keep me busy, and definitely plenty to keep me blogging.

Bonderman (b. 1982) played in the majors from 2003 to 2010 and 2013 for the Tigers and Mariners.  He had a career record of 69-81 with an ERA of 4.91 and 961 strike outs.  He went 14-8 with the Tigers in 2006 en route to a World Series loss to the Cardinals.  In his lone World Series start, he pitched 5.1 innings with 2 earned runs and 4 walks.

I mailed to Bonderman on February 23 and got the cards back on March 4, for a 9-day TAT.