TTM Success - Andrew Owen

Here is a TTM success that was driven by my need to justify purchasing some cards.  A couple years ago, I bought a 10-card lot of 2019 Perfect game cards of Andrew Owen.  He had been drafted by the Rangers and I had hoped he would be a Wood Duck. He never made it to Kinston, and I was stuck with bis stuff (in the box next to Antonio Cabello, Bayron Lora and Kenen Irizarry.  I found an address for Owen and sent two of the 10 cards out TTM.  They came back signed.

Owen (b. 2002) was a 14th round pick by the Rangers in the 2022 July Amateur Draft out of Grossmont College in California. He went 1-2 with a 14.54 ERA and 4 strike outs at the Rangers Arizona complex league team.

I mailed to Owen on January 15 and got the cards back on February 7 for a 23-day TAT. 

March 25, 2023, Graphing of Miami at Wake Forest

College baseball isn't usually my first choice to graph, but when my older brother, Philip, messaged me and asked if I wanted to go see the Miami Hurricanes take on Wake Forest, I was interested.  He let me know enough in advance that I was able to order some Perfect Game cards of some of the players, so it turned into a pretty decent rack.

I also had some Stars and Stripes cards of a couple of the players, so I was able to get a few out of my boxes, as well.  The above Yohandy Morales is one of the Stars and Stripes cards that I was able to get signed.

I missed picking up a couple guys Perfect Game cards due to an error on my part on Ebay, but that ended up saving me some money.  I wish I had gotten everyone, as it was really easy to graph at the game.  Another disappointment was that former big leaguer, Will Craig was coaching for Wake, but I couldn't find the bulk of his cards that I had somewhere, and the ones I did have didn't get signed, since I missed him post game.

Still, we had a really good time.  It was me, my brother, Philip; his wife, Karie; his friend, Dave; my oldest brother, Kenny; his wife, Gina; and their son, Ian.  I had never graphed with Ian before, but he is at a great age for it, at 12.  He seemed to have fun, and filled up an extra ball that I had brought for him.  He is a big Wake Forest fan, so it was nice helping him fill that ball up with signatures.

Wake ended up winning the game.  It was really cool to be at the stadium formerly known as Ernie Shore field.  It was the site of my first ever baseball game, back in the early 90s.  They have since remodeled the field, and renamed it David Couch field.  It will always be Ernie Shore to me.

I really appreciate Philip inviting me to go along.  In the end, I got the following autographs: Matt Wessinger x 2, Lucas Costello x 5, Carlos Lequerica x 1, Carlos Perez x 5, Alejandro Torres x 5, Yohandy Morales x 3, Alejandro Rosario x 2, Dominic Pitelli x 5, Karson Ligon x 5, CJ Kayfus x 5, Dorian Gonzalez x 6 and Gage Ziehl x 2 (46 total autographs).

TTM Success - Carter Baumler

I didn't have any of his cards, but this still qualifies as a TTM success.  I messaged Carter Baumler on Instagram right when he was drafted by the Orioles, and asked him if I could get his autograph.  He said don't worry about finding any cards to send, as he had his own.  So, he sent me the above so he sent me the above 2019 Leaf Perfect Game card.

Baumler seems like a good guy, and I was really happy when he sent me this card.

Baumler (b. 2002) was drafted by the Orioles in the 5th round of the 2020 June Amateur Draft out of an Iowa high school.  He comes off as a great guy, and I hope he does well.

I messaged Baumler on June 16 and got the card back signed on July 16, for a 30-day TAT.

Christmas Gift From Mallory - 2019 Leaf Perfect Game Showcase Box

Normally, when I bust a box and the break makes its way to the blog, I show the numerous hits and provide commentary on what I think.  Well, this break was special for several reasons.  I specifically sent my wife, Mallory, a link for Blowout Cards for a box of 2019 Leaf Perfect Game Showcase.  The reason was simple, pull one card that I was looking for.  The specific player was Joe Reid.  Here's why:

A long time ago, I started my Instagram account because an online friend of mine said I would probably enjoy posting pictures and stuff.  I started my account back in April 2013, and my first posted photo was of my cat, Jericho.  I would post a few random pics here and there, and not really do much else with it.

I started posting random baseball cards in my collection, beginning with my Hall of Fame baseball collection.  I started getting more and more followers and finally around 2014, someone messaged me about making a trade for an extra Manny Machado baseball that I had.  I won't go into full details on it, but the trade didn't work out.  However, it kind of did.

Issues surrounding the trade were later resolved, and a friendship blossomed from it.  As the trade was initially discussed, the kid and I would have Kik conversations, and talk about getting autographs, what cool cards had we picked up, and when the trade didn't work out, I was upset.  I felt like I had made a card buddy.

About a year later, the same kid messaged me out of the blue and asked for my address.  A week or so later, I got a package in the mail with a nice note and an assortment of nice Orioles cards.  Since then, the kid and I have chatted back and forth when time allowed.  I have sat here the last 6 years and watched the two-sport (baseball and football) player grown into a heck of a baseball player.  He has also grown into a heck of a man.  That little hiccup back in 2014 is a faded memory now, and I can say that I am so very super proud to say that I "knew Joe when..."

The whole reason I wanted the box of 2019 Leaf Perfect Game Showcase was so that I could pull a card of one, Joe Reid.  I didn't open the box live on Instagram like I normally like to do.  I only opened it with my wife by my side.  I wanted the moment I pulled Joe's card to be mine.  I pulled the card.

Instantly, I sent Joe a direct message on Instagram and showed him the card.  Joe was as excited as I was.

Joe will probably read this, and I don't want to embarrass him too much, but I do want to say that the moral of the story is that I never gave up on Joe.  He never gave up on me, either.  We realized that there was a friendship there built over the love of baseball, and we used it to form a connection.  My hope is that Joe continues on his path, and maybe someday soon, I can catch one of his games in person.  I would love to go to a game with my autograph book and graph someone I "knew back when...".  That would be really cool.

Thanks for the Christmas gift, Mal.  You saw how excited I was when I pulled the card.