TTM Success - Jake Westbrook

One of my longest TTM turn-around times happened recently when I got this lot of cards back signed by Jake Westbrook.  I had sent the cards out in 2020, and finally got them all back signed this past August.  A five-year turn.  I never give up on my TTMs, but at some point, you have to be realistic that some of that old stuff isn't coming back.  I was able to cross Jake Westbrook off of the ledger, and that was a great feeling.

I sent an assortment of Topps cards, from 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011.  On top of that (and this post), I also sent a 2008 Upper Deck.

All of the cards turned out great.  I was surprised that he signed all of the cards.  I try not to send that many these days, if I can help it.  Still, he signed them all and I'm glad.

Westbrook (b. 1977) played in the majors from 2000 to 2008 and 2010 to 2013 for the Yankees, Indians and Cardinals.  He had a career record of 105-103 with 965 strike outs and a 4.32 ERA.  He was an All Star in 2004.  He won the World Series with the Cardinals in 2011.

I mailed to Westbrook on June 5, 2020, and got the cards back on August 12, 2025, for a 1,894-day TAT.

April 13, 2024, Graphing of the BlueClaws at Crawdads

This past weekend, Jesse, Chris and I went to Hickory to catch some former Wood Ducks and see Phillies High A team, Jersey Shore.  I hadn't seen them before, so it was nice to pull some High A Phillies guys (and get everyone I pulled).

I had pulled a bunch of Anthony Gutierrez when I busted 2023 Pro Debut and 2023 Bowman Draft.  I got them all done; Anthony remembered us and was super nice.  Yeison Morrobel also remembered us and didnt sign a thing.  That was disappointing. 

Mitch Bratt also remembered us; he was ready to keep walking outside of the stadium when I called his name, but then he looked up and realized it was us, so he stopped and talked to us for a little bit.

Ian Moller may have been the most excited to see us, as we were able to tell by his reaction when he saw Chris.  "Oh sh*t!"  He was legitimately happy to see us and it felt good.

Sebastian Walcott had a terrible game, and didn't seem to want to stop, but Ian kind of helped us get his attention.   Walcott still skipped Chris, because Chris was still talking to Ian.  That made us miss a couple cards for some 50/50s, but none of them were shut out, so it should still be ok.

I had a good many of the Jersey Shore guys in my boxes, so it was good to move some cards.  Everyone we needed was really nice and signed all we had.

Finally, we got Adam Lind.  I had met up with my friend, Aidan, at the game, and ge got an extra Lind signed for me.  I was also glad to get some Brad Bergesen cards out of my Orioles boxes, which was great.  He was really nice, as well.

In all, we got the following autographs:  Mitch Bratt x 1, Cam Cauley x 5, Yosy Galan x 3, Anthony Gutierrez x 14, Ian Moller x 1, Julio Valdez x 3, Sebastian Walcott x 2, Brad Bergesen x 8, William Bergolla x 7, Emaarion Boyd x 5, Justin Crawford x 9 and Adam Lind x 4 (62 total autographs). 

TTM Success - Chris Snelling

These cards were out for signatures via TTM for almost 4 years, but Chris Snelling finally sent them back.  This 2007 Topps got damaged at the bottom, but the card will still be filed in my album. 

Snelling also had two different 2007 Upper Deck cards.  I busted a box of these back then, and ended up with a bunch of bulk cards.  It is always nice to get some of them signed.  This was a decent set.

Snelling (b. 1981) played in the majors in 2002 and from 2005 to 2008 for the Mariners, Nationals, A's and Phillies.  He had 55 hits, 7 home runs and a .244 batting average. 

I mailed to Snelling on November 18, 2020, and got the cards back on April 8, 2024, for a 1,237-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jaret Wright

The above 1998 Fleer Ultra Rocket To Stardom insert of Jaret Wright kept popping up when I'd look through boxes. I finally pulled the card and out it aside to try to get it signed at some point, then I kept seeing it in stacks on my desk.  Of course, when I finally decided to send to Jaret Wright, I couldn't find the card.  That's how it usually works.  Obviously, I did end up finding the card, and I sent off to Wright TTM via PastPros.  The card looks great.  It actually is a die cut card, but that's hard to tell from the scan. 

I also sent off two cards showing Wright as an Oriole.  I couldn't decide between the 2007 Topps or 2007 Topps Heritage, so I sent both.  They both look great.

Wright (b. 1975) played in the majors from 1997 to 2007 for the Indians, Padres, Braves, Yankees and Orioles.  He had a record of 68-60 with 694 strike outs and a 5.09 ERA.  He finished 5th in the 1997 NL Rookie of the Year voting. 

I mailed to Wright via PastPros on January 8 and got the cards back on February 5, for a 28-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $20/card, along with PastPros fee of $8.00.

August 2022 Graphing Recap of Nationals at Wood Ducks

After I got home from the National, I jumped right into graphing at the Wood Ducks, since the Nationals were in town.  I had a ton of their coaches, plus a bunch of their team had cards.  Jeremy De La Rosa and Dustin Saenz had been moved up and Brady House didn't make the trip since he was on the IL, but there were still a ton of guys with cards.

The above 2007 Bowman Chrome blue refractor came from a dine box at the National, so it was nice to get it signed right off the bat.  Young was nice enough, but only signed one per for me.  One of the days we were there, he asked Chris if he could keep his 2009 Upper Deck, which Chris gave him, and oung signed everything he had on his page.  I had a lot of his cards left over, but I was happy with what I got done.

Young has a nice variety of cards, and my good friend, Max, hooked me up with some that I didn't have.  He got a bunch back signed, as well, so we are both happy.

I was glad to get a few of these 2008 Upper Deck cards out of my boxes.  I've got a ton of them, and don't get into that box as much I would like.

Joel Hanrahan also has a bunch of different cards.  His son was visiting this series, and commented on the 2014 Topps.  So, the next day he came out, I gave him one of them.

Max and Gerard provided me with a bunch of Hanrahan's cards, so there was a lot to get done.  I finished off his cards, which was nice.

Like I said, a lot of the Fredericksburg players had cards, so I got a bunch of my own stuff, and 50/50s for others taken care of.  All of the players were nice, which helped me knock a bunch of stuff out.

Sammy Infante was really nice.  He asked me immediately when he saw us where were the good places to eat around Kinston.  So, I told him a few places, then the rest of the series, we would talk about where he had eaten prior.

Since Mason Denaberg was injured when Fredericksburg came through last season, I missed out on getting him.  By the time this series came around, I had a ton more of his cards, including the 2018 Bowman Chrome gold refractor that I found at the National.

I was so glad I finished off Denaberg.  I made a lot of room in my boxes with his stuff being removed.

Jackson Rutledge was another player who had a bunch of cards, and he finally came through Kinston.  I also finished off everything I had of him, including a nice 2020 Bowman Chrome blue refractor that I found at this year's National.

This big news for this series was that James Wood was reporting to Fredericksburg, with the possibility that he would meet up with the team in Kinston.  He got there on Thursday, and is a big boy.  He is 6' 7" and his a ball over the batter's eye i dead center field during batting practice.  He was obtained from the Padres organization in the Juan Soto trade.

Finally, I got some cards signed for some other folks for the Wood Ducks.  I'm about done taking stuff for the Woodies, but have a hard time telling folks no.  I do like the different parallels.

In all, I got the following autographs: Cam Cauley x 1, Ryan Garcia x 3, Dylan MacLean x 2, Ian Moller x 3, Jose Rodriguez x 5, Brenden Boissiere x 12, Mason Denaburg x 42, Joel Hanrahan x 33, Sammy Infante x 10, Jackson Rutledge x 35, Andry Lara x 15, TJ White x 7, Delwyn Young x 15, Maximo Acosta x 2, James Wood x 7, Zion Bannister x 1, Mitch Bratt x 1, Yosy Galan x 1 and DEWD x 2 (197 total autographs).

Some Signed Cards From Jackson T.

My friend, Jackson T., sent me a nice care package recently that had some really nice autos in it.  Jackson often hooks me up with some nice stuff, but I wasn't expecting Joe Maddon to be included.  I knew he had a signing with Maddon recently, but I definitely wasn't expecting the above 2008 Topps, or the 2007 Topps below.

Jackson is going to help me add a few nice cards to my 1987 set, once he gets the signings lined up.  I provide cards for him here and there, and every now and then, I get some bonus cards back.

I did send Jackson a few Willie Montanez cards.  He sent me back the above 1975 SSPC and 1978 Topps.

Finally, here are a 1997 Pinnacle Ed Sprague and a 2004 Just Minors David DeJesus.

Thanks so much for the cards, Jackson!

Some Signed Cards From Chris Ray

This shouldn't count as a TTM success, and also shouldn't count as IP graphing; this is somewhere in between.  My friend, Ryan, and I went to Chris Ray's brewery outside of Richmond a couple weeks ago.  We both thought we may get lucky, and that Chris Ray would be there.  We each brought a few cards, and were disappointed to learn that he wasn't there.  Thankfully, the staff there was willing to let us leave the cards.  Ryan planned ahead and brought stamped envelopes with him.  So, we left the cards and envelopes, and today, the cards came in.

I left a 2009 Topps gold parallel (top), 2006 Topps (above left) and 2007 Topps (above right).  Each came out great.

Ray (b. 1982) played in the majors from 2005 to 2007 and 2009 to 2011 for the Orioles, Rangers, Giants and Mariners.  He had a record of 18-19 with 230 strike outs, 51 saves and a 4.10 ERA.  He and a player to be named later (Ben Snyder) were sent to the Rangers in the trad that brought Kevin Millwood to Baltimore.

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 - Willy Taveras

This isn't the card I sent, but I did received a signed baseball card TTM from Willy Taveras, returned in the envelope I provided.  I consider this a success, even though this card is pretty beat up.  It'll go in my album like all of the other cards I receive TTM, and I wasn't married to the cards I sent, anyway. 

Taveras (b. 1981) played in the majors from 2004 to 2010 for the Astros, Rockies, Reds and Nationals.  He had 662 hits, 8 home runs and a .274 batting average.  He finished second in the 2005 AL Rookie of the Year Award voting.  His 68 stolen bases led the NL in 2008.

I mailed to Taveras on May 4, 2020, and got the card back on September 11, 2021, for a 495-day TAT.  I had sent him 4 of my cards and got this one back.  I wonder if he kept those others, or someone else got them, instead.  Oh well.

TTM Success - Manny Acta

Here are a few nice cards that I was able to get signed by former manager Manny Acta.  I always enjoy getting cards with the 1962 design signed, so this 2011 Topps Heritage was a nice one to add to the album.

I was also able to get Acta to sign this 2007 Topps.  Again, like I said yesterday, I really like the 07 design, so I was glad to add another to the album.  I just noticed that this one didn't have the facsimile signature on it like most 07 Topps do.  I remember there being some that had been short printed in error or something (Paul LoDuca's card comes to mind).  After a quick search, it just looks like they didn't put one on Acta's card.

Finally, I used one of my 2010 Upper Deck stadium cards for the Acta TTM as well.  I have a stash of these, and like to send them out here and there to get some signed.

Acta (b. 1969) managed in the majors from 2007 to 2012 for the Nationals and Indians.  He had a record of 158-252 (.418 win %).

I mailed to Acta on December 18 and got the cards back on February 6, for a 50-day TAT.

Another Couple of Signings From Max

My friend, Max, has been really active lately in player signings through a card shop near where he lives.  He has helped me get some really cool cards into my autograph album, but he also has helped even more by helping to clear room in my boxes.  He recently asked me to send him what I could find of Carlos Zambrano and Joe Crede for some recent signings.  I hooked him up with everything I could find, and once the signings were done, he cut me a deal on bringing a few back for my album.

The above 2013 Topps Tribute WBC has to be my favorite cards out of the bunch.  I found it after I sent him the initial package, so I had to drop it in a PWE to make sure it got to Max in time.

I added a couple Topps cards to the album, a 2012 (left) and a 2011 (right).  I always enjoy adding different Topps cards to the album.

2007 Goudey mini that I was able to find in my boxes.  The box these are in is usually at the bottom of my stack of boxes, so it can be arduous sometimes to get into it.  I was glad to be able to get several cards out of the box and off to Max.  One of these days, I'm just going to organize everything by year, regardless of card company, and then should be able to get into these a bit more often.

I have a small assortment of 2013 Topps minis left from a box that I took with me and busted at Andrew's house years ago.  I am always happy to get one of the remaining few left signed.  I have also been told by my brother that he doesn't like it when I post about a player, but don't include stats, so I will include Zambrano's, since I'm pretty sure I haven't yet.  I usually don't include the player bio/stats if I'm posting about trades and all, or if I have already done so through a previous post or TTM success.

Zambrano (b. 1981) played in the majors from 2001 to 2012 for the Cubs and Marlins.  He had a career record of 132-91 with 1,637 strike outs and a 3.66 ERA.  He was a 3-time All Star (2004, 2006, 2008) and a 3-time Silver Slugger Award winner (2006, 2008, 2009).  His best Cy Young Award finish was 5th, which he did 3 times, as well (2004, 2006, 2007).

Max also took all the cards I could find of Joe Crede for a separate signing.  I especially liked the above 1999 Upper Deck SP Minors card, simply because it features Crede in a Winston-Salem Warthogs uniform.  The Warthogs were the previous iteration of Winston-Salem's High A team, following the Spirits and prior to the Dash.

I also got a 2000 Bowman, 2007 Topps, 2007 Bowman Chrome and 2007 Bowman signed by Crede from Max.

Crede (b. 1978) played in the majors from 2000 to 2009 for the White Sox and Twins.  He had 787 hits, 140 home runs and a .254 batting average.  He was an All Star in 2008, was a Silver Slugger Award winner in 2006 and won the World Series with the White Sox in 2005.

As always, thanks for the deals, and for helping me move some cards, Max!  I look forward to your next challenge in finding cards for signings.

TTM Success - Joe Inglett

I have been able to find less and less older Topps Heritage cards, for some reason.  So, when I do have one I can get signed, it usually turns out pretty well.  When the player I mail to sends me the card on his own, well, I'll take that ads a win, as well.  The above card I was able to get signed by Joe Inglett via TTM really looks sharp.  He had swapped out the three cards I sent for the above 2008 Topps Heritage, which showcases the 1959 design.

Inglett also signed a 2007 Topps for me, and it turned out nicely, as well.  I don't remember which cards I sent, but I'm happy to have gotten these in return.  I'm sure someone else got mine, and I hope they like them.

Inglett (b. 1978) played in the majors from 2006 to 2011 for the Indians, Blue Jays, Brewers and Astros.  He had 229 hits, 6 home runs and a .283 batting average.

I mailed to Inglett on May 9 and got the cards back on July 10, for a 62-day TAT.