While I Was Away

When I was out of town, the Trois-Rivieres Aigles came to Grainger Stadium to face the Bird Dawgs.  Jesse took some cards and got them signed for me.

I had a few Jonathan Albaladejo cards that I had found for the series before I realized it would be when I was on vacation.  I even found two more of his cards after I got home.  Albaladejo is a coach with Trois-Rivieres, so hopefully he will be there next year.

I had also ordered cards of Jesen Therrien, which Jesse got signed as well.  Thanks for helping me get these out of the box, Jesse!

TTM Success - Russell Branyan

When Insaw that Russell Branyan was signing TTM, I got excited and found some cards to send out.  I found the above 2007 Topps Update, and 2008 Topps Update (below left) and a 2010 Topps (below right).

I was glad to get these cards out of the box and into the autograph album. Branyan's signature is pretty swirly.

Branyan (b. 1975) played in the majors from 1998 to 2011 for the Indians, Reds, Brewers, Devil Rays, Padres, Phillies, Cardinals, Mariners, Diamondbacks and Angels.  He had 682 hits, 194 home runs and a .232 batting average. 

I mailed to Branyan on February 3 and got the cards back on February 18 for a 15-day TAT. 

A Quick 50-50 With Dante

A very small 50/50 I did with a guy on Instagram named Dante turned out nicely. He had put on his story that he needed Shelley Duncan when Scranton-Wilkes Barre came to his area.  He split the two Duncans with me; he sent me the above 2008 Topps Update back.

I also asked him if he would take my two Clayton Andrews Mudcats team cards.  He sent them both back, so I included a few extra autos that I had.

The 50/50 worked our great, so I'm hoping Dante asks for more stuff soon.

Another TTM Success From Josh Banks

Finally, a 2008 Topps Moments and Milestones has been added to my autograph album.  It might be one of the worst sets ever, but I did want to get one of the cards in my autograph album.  This TTM success from Josh Banks facilitated that.

I had compiled a bunch of Banks's cards and he signed them with a fading blue Sharpie.  Still, I'm glad I got the cards back signed.

I think this 2008 Topps Finest came out of my card shop boxes.it suffered the worst from the dead Sharpie, but it is still signed.

I mailed to Banks on March 29 and got the cards back on April 19, for a 21-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Brian Moehler

I found a few Brian Moehler cards in my boxes that I dropped in the mail to get signed TTM.  They came back, and all look great.  The above 2008 Upper Deck looks really nice.  It is a very sharp set that definitely focuses on the photo.

He also signed a 1999 Stadium Club and a 2008 Topps Update.

Moehler (b. 1971) is from Rockingham, NC, a place that I spent a lot of time in when I was younger.  He played in the majors from 1996 to 2003 and 2005 to 2010 for the Tigers, Reds, Astros and Marlins.  He had a career record of 84-107 with 859 strike outs and a 4.81 ERA.

I mailed to Moehler on November 16 and got the cards back on November 23, for a 7-day TAT.

TTM Success - Cory Wade

I got a couple cards signed TTM by Cory Wade that turned out pretty well.  I have a decent amount of 2009 Goudey, and it is always nice to be able to get one or two of them signed.  They look nice when signed, as does this one.

I also got this 2008 Topps Update signed by Wade.  I opened a good bit of 08 Update, so I have a good-sized stash of that, as well.

Wade (b. 1983) played in the majors in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012 for the Dodgers and Yankees.  He had a career record of 11-6 with 137 strike outs and a 3.65 ERA.

I mailed to Wade on April 10 and got the cards back on November 7, for a 211-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 - Michael Aubrey

I was able to move some late 2000s cards out of my boxes with this TTM success from Michael Aubrey.  These are cards that I have had floating around in my boxes for over 10 years, and I was kind of getting tired of seeing them.  When I saw that Aubrey was signing, I was glad to get a few of these moving, and they all turned out great.  I don't have very many signed 2008 Bowman (above), but Aubrey did a great job matching the facsimile auto that is on the card.

I also got a 2008 Topps Update and a 2008 Stadium Club First Day Issue signed.

Aubrey (b. 1982) played in the majors from 2008 to 2009 for the Indians and Orioles.  He had 35 hits, 6 home runs and a .259 batting average.  He was the 11th overall pick by the Indians in the 2003 June Amateur Draft.

I mailed to Aubrey on September 30 and got the cards back on October 12, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - Rob Mackowiak

I saw a lot of posts on Instagram showing that Rob Mackowiak was signing TTM, so I jumped on board and send a few cards out, myself.  This is what actually prompted me to spend much of the MLB playoffs by going through my card boxes.  I went through a bunch of years of cards and pulled a ton of guys who are signing, so I should have enough subjects to send to for quite a long time.

I sent some pretty nice Mackowiak cards, like the 2007 Topps at the top of the page, or the above 2007 Upper Deck, 2006 Topps or 2008 Topps Update.

Mackowiak (b. 1976) played in the majors from 2001 to 2008 for the Pirates, White Sox, Padres and Nationals.  He had 603 hits, 64 home runs and a .259 batting average.

I mailed to Mackowiak on September 30 and got the cards back on October 11, for an 11-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chris Volstad

I have been working on finding some guys who sign TTM from the mid-to-late 2000s, so I can move some of those cards out of my boxes.  I found a handful of guys, and sent out a ton of cards.  I was glad to get these cards back from former pitcher, Chris Volstad.

The above 2008 Topps Heritage rookie card looks pretty great.  I love the 1959 Topps design, and this one looks good.  The only thing that could make it better would have been a higher quality Sharpie.

Volstad also signed these four cards: 2005 Topps Update, 2008 Topps Update, 2009 Allen & Ginter and a 2009 O Pee Chee.

Volstad (b. 1986) played in the majors from 2008 to 2013, 2015 and 2017 to 2018 for the Marlins, Cubs, Rockies, Pirates and White Sox.  He had a career record of 37-58 with 481 strike outs and a 5.00 ERA.

I mailed to Volstad on September 30 and got the cards back on October 8, for an 8-day TAT.

With these five cards being added to my album, I have now filled 11 albums with autographed baseball cards.  Not too bad, since I started the albums in 2016.  Additionally, that does not include my signed 1987 Topps album.