TTM Success - Maddux Bruns

A couple recent prospect cards came back signed TTM with this success from Dodgers minor league pitcher, Maddux Bruns.  I was able to add a 2022 Topps Pro Debut to the autograph album, and the card turned out nicely.

I was also able to get a 2021 Bowman Draft signed.  It is nice when a prospect continues to sign TTM at home long after his Bowman Draft cards have been out.

Bruns (b. 2002) was a first round (29th overall) pick by the Dodgers in the 2021 July Amateur Draft out of UMS Prep in Mobile, Alabama.  He has pitched at the Rookie and Low A levels of the Dodgers system.  He has a record of 0-5 with 72 strike outs and a 6.75 ERA.

I mailed to Bruns on January 4 and got the cards back on January 18, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Harry Ford

My first TTM signed 2022 Bowman Draft cards came in with this success from Mariners prospect, Harry Ford.  Getting Bowman Draft cards signed every January has been something fun to do in the winter months over the last couple of years.  This year, I sent off several, and had decent success.  Ford was one of the tougher addresses to figure out, but once I did, I was pleased with the cards I got back signed.

I had to send out the above sky blue chrome refractor.  It was just too pretty a card to not to try to get into my album.  The card isn't a numbered parallel, but still is nice.

I also sent off Ford's 2021 Bowman Draft and 2022 Bowman Draft.  These both also came out nicely.  I regret not sending in one of the 2022 Heritage Minors insert cards, but in the end, I am satisfied with these.  I just was too lazy to go through the Heritage Minors cards once I got my hands on the address.

Ford (b. 2003) was a first round (12th overall) draft pick in the 2021 June Amateur Draft by the Mariners out of North Cobb High School in Georgia.  He has played in the Mariners system since 2021, reaching Low A ball.  He has 123 hits, 14 home runs and a .276 batting average.

I mailed to Ford on January 3 and got the cards back on January 9, for a 6-day TAT.  This was the first of my 2023 TTM requests to come in.

TTM Success - Kevin Kopps

A 2021 Bowman Draft card that I sent out right when the product was release finally came back signed TTM when I got this back from Kevin Kopps.  The card was out for signature for quite a while, but is now placed into the autograph album.

Kopps (b. 1997) was a 3rd round pick by the Padres in the 2021 June Amateur Draft out of the University of Arkansas.  He has played in the minors since 2021 in the Padres system, reaching AA.  He has a record of 2-2 with 82 strike outs and a 3.39 ERA.

I mailed to Kopps on January 7, 2022, and got the card back on December 30, 2022, for a 357-day TAT.

A Couple Signed Cards From Connor

Having leftovers from a team that you see can be frustrating.  That's why I've worked to have a decent network of folks who see other teams; this helps me finish off some cards.  I had picked up this 2020 Bowman Chrome Sapphire parallel of Zavier Warren at a card show in Richmond, thinking I would see him again.  He was moved up shortly thereafter, so I was stuck with the card.  I found someone on Instagram, a guy names Connor, who was willing to take the card, without me having to send 50/50s or pay a consignment fee.  The card got signed, and turned out nicely.

He also took this Russell Smith that I had pulled from 2021 Bowman Draft.  When he said he could also take this card, I was excited, as it looks awesome when scanned.

I really appreciated Connor taking these for me and getting them done.  He sees the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, so I may now have a hookup for guys after they leave the Mudcats.

September 2022 Graphing Recap of Braves at Crawdads

The game was called probably some 30 minutes after the Rome Braves team buses left the ballpark, but that didn't stop me from a full night of graphing in Hickory.  I made my way out of the stadium while the Braves players waited for the buses to come, and got everyone I needed with the exception of Grant Holmes.

After the game was called, the Crawdads went forward with their team signing, and luckily, the rain had stopped.  I was able to almost complete this year's early season Crawdads team set.  I think I am missing one or two guys from the set.  I didn't pick up the late season version, since my friend, Dugan had bought one for me, but forgot to bring it down the last time he was in town.  I also forgot to tell him I was going to Hickory this weekend, so oh well.

The main reason I was going was to try to complete this year's Wood Ducks team set, which I was able to do, save for the alternate mascot.  I'll get him next season.  I was glad to see the guys again, one more time before the season ended.

I was able to get several Jacob Pearson 2017 Bowmans and a couple 2018 Pro Debuts out of my card box.  He signed one of each of the cards, so the rest of the unsigned cards will go into the box of shame.  Still, I was happy to get these taken care of.

I only had one 2021 Bowman Draft of Cal Conley, so it is out of the box and into the album.  He was really nice; we had gotten the Braves guys outside as they were boarding the buses, then we went back inside and waited for the Crawdads signing.

Finally, Beau Philip was one per.  He signed a 2020 Topps Pro Debut for both Chris and I.  I had hoped he would hit one of the 2019 Bowman Draft cards as well, but I'm just happy I got one.

In all, I got the following autographs: Dane Acker x 8, Robby Ahlstrom x 6, Angel Aponte x 2, Michael Brewer x 4, Evan Carter x 3, Derrick Decker x 2, Andy Earp x 2, Cristian Inoa x 1, Jesus Linarez x 2, Larson Kendreich x 4, Theo McDowell x 4, Alejandro Osuna x 4, TK Roby x 4, Chris Siese x 8, Josh Stephan x 4, Jay Sullenger x 2, Leury Tejadax4, Ryan Tuntland x 2, Bradford Webb x 4, Cal Conley x 1, Jacob Pearson x 6 and Beau Philip x 2 (79 total autographs).

July 2022 Graphing of Fireflies at Wood Ducks

Last week's series between the Fireflies and Wood Ducks showed me that I am getting to be just about ready for the season to come to a conclusion.  While I had a ton of cards to get signed, and an extra pair of hands this week, this was still one of the tougher series I have had.  The series before against the Cannonballers was probably the toughest, but this one tried my patience at times.

Still, we did well graphing.  We got a lot of different cards signed.  I was able to move a bunch of 2021 stuff out of my boxes, and add them to the album.

There were also a good many cards from older sets that I was able to get signed, and there would have been more, had the coaches for the Fireflies not been so tough to get to sign.  Tony Pena, Jr. stopped pre-game once for us during the series.  He would sign different cards, so I was able to get a few taken care of.  Later in the series, however, he would tell a group of us that he would sign outside after the game.  So, for the first time this season, I waited outside.  Pena walked by us and ignored us.  This was Saturday.

To be fair, the graphing crowd on Saturday was the largest that I had seen in Kinston since probably 2018, when Luis Robert was in town.  There was a group of graphers from the Raleigh area, and two teenagers (both named Dylan, oddly enough) who were visiting from Durham.  I talked to the first Dylan for the better part of the game, and helped him get some stuff signed after the game.  He and his friend seemed like nice people, and I think they enjoyed their time in Kinston enough to want to come back during the Fredericksburg series.

Glenn Hubbard would take the long way to the opposing dugout; skipping where we were standing entirely.  Tuesday, after the game, he went down the left field line and signed everything for everyone.  After that, he wouldn't sign for anyone at all the rest of the series.

John Habyan, by far, was the nicest of the coaches.  He stopped for everyone every time he walked by, which was great.  I didn't pull much of his stuff, and a couple of his cards were given to me by a fellow grapher.

The toughest coach was Chris Nelson.  He stopped one time after Tuesday's game, then signed one per for the three of us.  After that, he would completely ignore us, with the exception of answering me one time when I asked "Do you have time to sign" to which he replied "Ummm, Nah." and kept walking.

The pitchers, by far, were the best signers of the week.  Ben Hernandez signed everything we had over the week.  I was glad to get my blue 2021 Heritage Minors parallel signed.  The card is numbered 60/99.  The Panini Elite Extra Edition is a die cut parallel and is numbered 159/999.

I was glad to get Frank Mozzicato to sign the cards that I had.  He was the Royals first round pick last year.

I had some parallels and stuff for the Wood Ducks as well, and this 2021 Panini Elite Extra Edition of Cam Cauley is numbered 479/499.

My friend, Gerard, sent me a bunch of Jose Rodriguez parallels from 2022 Bowman and a Mitch Bratt refractor from 2021 Panini Prizm.  Regardless of the issues with the coaches, I had a good time graphing this week.  In all, I got the following autographs:

Maximo Acosta x 6, Cam Cauley x 22, Ryan Garcia x 9, Dylan MacLean x 2, Ian Moller x 10, Jose Rodriguez x 12, Jesus Azuaje x 1, John Habyan x 8, Glenn Hubbard x 16, Chris Nelson x 5, Ben Hernandez x 23, Carter Jensen x 7, Frank Mozzicato x 8, Shane Panzini x 8, Erick Pena x 21, Mitch Bratt x 1, Ben Kurdna x 7 and Tony Pena Jr x 15 (182 total autographs).

June 2022 Graphing of Drive at Crawdads

Following what was a tough week-plus, I finally got some graphing in.  We had a death in the family the week prior, then we had to put our dog, Rocky, down last week.  I wasn't really feeling graphing, but made myself go on Friday to Hickory while I was in the Winston area for my dad's annual race.  The race was Saturday, so I had plenty of time Friday night to relax and get some ink on some cards.  Chris was at my sister's house, so I flew solo, but actually made a friend while I was there.  We'll see how that goes.

One of the bigger surprises for me on this trip was that Luisangel Acuna has completely opened up to signing, finally.  He was the first player out of the clubhouse, and signed everything I had on the page.  I was impressed, and happy to get the stuff that I had brought, done.

I knocked out several more Hickory team set cards.  I have a different marker this time, and it stood up much better to the team set cards than my Staedtler did.  I still have a bunch to do, but have gotten most of them out of the way; especially the tough guys like Acuna and Evan Carter.

I also knocked out most of what I had left for Aaron Zavala.  Hickory had the SAL League Top Prospects set in, so I opened one and got Carter to sign the card of him in there.

Robby Ahlstrom was recently promoted to Hickory, so I was able to finish off the card I had left for him.  This card scanned so awesome.

This 2019 Bowman Chrome Draft Progression card is going to be tough to finish, but I got Chris Seise on it, and maybe I can get the other two guys at some point.

Finally, I had only a handful of Greenville guys, and even fewer stopped to sign.  I did get this 2021 Bowman Draft Tyler McDonough done, and it turned out nicely.  I tried a few other guys, but wasn't successful.  It didn't help that the players didn't have numbers on the front of their jerseys.

The Crawdads were wearing Thor themed jerseys, and I won Cody Freeman's (of course).  It will be shipped to me signed, and looks pretty cool.  I was glad to win another Cody jersey, and was even happier seeing him again.

In all, I got the following autographs: Luisangel Acuna x 6, Ben Amderson x 1, Robby Ahlstrom x 2, Evan Carter x 2, Carlos Cardoza x 2, Frainyer Chavez x 2, Randy Florentino x 2, Jon Goebel x 2, Spencer Mraz x 1, Keyber Rodriguez x 2, Thomas Saggese x 2, Chris Seise x 5, Ricky Vanasco x 2, Owen White x 3, Aaron Zavala x 3, Matthew Lugo x 1 and Tyler McDonough x 1 (39 total autographs).

Graphing Recap of April 2022 Mudcats at Wood Ducks

Another homestand has come and gone, this one being an eventful one between regional rivals, the Carolina Mudcats and Down East Wood Ducks.  Usually, there isn't much of a rivalry; but this series saw benches and bullpens clear twice, and a lot of chirping going on.  Luckily, no one really came to blows, and only one person was ejected (that I saw).

I was able to get a lot of cards signed, and finished off all of what I had for the Mudcats.  The above 2021 Bowman Draft chrome mojo parallel of Eduardo Garcia is one I actually pulled myself, so it was nice to get it signed.

Several of the Mudcats have cards, and the signature I liked the most was Hendry Mendez on the 2022 Bowman First Edition.  He has a cool signature, and I was glad a fellow Instagrammer sent two, so I could get one signed.  He also sent several Hedbert Perez cards, one of which is the 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome shown above.

I ordered a Jeferson Quero Ray Wave parallel from Ebay, and it turned out great, even though Quero's signature looks like a bike.

My friend, Gerard, sent an assortment of Guilder Rodriguez cards, and I got a good many of them signed.  I have a bunch left, still, but those can be gotten over the course of the next few months.

I added a 2022 Bowman First Edition of Maximo Acosta, as well as his 2021 Bowman Chrome.  I also picked up a few Jose Rodriguez 2022 Bowman First Editions off of Ebay, so I could add him to the album.

Finally, Gerard ordered a few Dylan MacLeans to be delivered to the house, and they got here in time to be added to the book to get signed.  Dylan even liked the color parallel.

I had a good time this series, even with the jawing back and forth between the two teams.  It is a long season, and I think there will still be some animosity when the Mudcats come back to town.

In all, I got the following signatures this series:  Guilder Rodriguez x 14, Jeferson Quero x 28, Eduardo Garcia x 18, Leury Tejada x 6, Dylan MacLean x 11, Hendry Mendez x 2, Hedbert Perez x 11, Arbert Cipion x 6, Maximo Acosta x 8, Jose Rodriguez x 7 and Micah Bello x 1 (112 total signatures).

Another TTM Success From Andrew Abbott

Graphing is in full swing, and I am way behind on posting.  Here are a couple cards I got back recently from Andrew Abbott.

I had gotten Abbott TTM a while back on some Stars and Stripes cards; now I have added his Bowman Draft.  Both of these turned out great.

I mailed to Abbott on January 14 and got the cards back on February 24, for a 41-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chad Dallas

Here are a couple more Bowman Draft cards that I was able to get signed TTM recently.  These 2021 Bowman Draft and Draft Chrome cards from Chad Dallas turned out nicely.

Dallas (b. 2000) was a 4th round pick by the Blue Jays in the 2021 July Amateur Draft out of the University of Tennessee.  He was shut down after the draft last season, after pitching to a 11-2 record with 122 strike outs and a 4.19 ERA last year at Tennessee.

I mailed to Dallas on January 7 and got the cards back on February 22, for a 46-day TAT.

TTM Success - Endy Rodriguez

There was a post on Facebook that I had seen where a few Pirates minor league players were rooming together, and would accept some cash to sign some cards.  I took advantage of the offer and sent these two cards to Pirates prospect, Endy Rodriguez.  He signed the above 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome and the below 2021 Bowman Draft.

Rodriguez (b. 2000) was an international signing by the Mets.  He has played in the minors since 2018, for the Mets and Pirates.  He has reached A ball, and has 171 hits, 19 home runs and a .288 batting average in the minors so far.  I imagine he will start the season at Greensboro, which would give me an opportunity to see him play in person.

I mailed to Rodriguez on January 21 and got the cards back on February 14, for a 24-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $10.00/card.

TTM Success - Ky Bush

Another 2021 Bowman Draft card came back signed TTM recently; this one being from Ky Bush, an Angels prospect.

Bush (b. 1999) was a 2nd round pick by the Angels in the July 2021 Amateur Draft out of Saint Mary's College of California.  He played at High A last season, and went 0-2 with 20 strike outs and a 4.50 ERA.

I mailed to Bush on January 10 and got the card back on February 10, for a 31-day TAT.

TTM Success - Dustin Saenz

Here is another TTM success I got from 2021 Draft, Nationals prospect, Dustin Saenz.  I sent the base card and a chrome refractor.

Saenz (b. 1999) was a 4th round pick in the July 2021 Amateur Draft by the Nationals out of Texas A&M.  He played at two levels of the Nationals system (Rookie and Low A) this past season to a record of 1-0 with 16 strike outs and a 4.73 ERA.

I mailed to Saenz on January 8 and got the cards back on February 7, for a 30-day TAT.

TTM Success - Matt Mikulski

Last week's posts were almost all 1987 Topps set needs; it just seemed funny to me how my incoming mail laid out.  This week looks like there will be a decent variety, beginning with a couple 2021 Bowman Draft TTM successes.  Today's post is this success from Giants prospect, Matt Mikulski.

Mikulski (b. 1999) was a 2nd round pick in the July 2021 Amateur Draft by the Giants out of Fordham University.  He pitched at the Giants Complex team last season, going 0-0 with 5 strike outs and a 1.80 ERA over 4 games.

I mailed to Mikulski on January 7 and got the card back on February 7, for a 31-day TAT.

TTM Success - Cooper Bowman

Here is another 2021 Bowman Draft that I was able to get signed TTM.  Cooper Bowman gets his own Bowman cards.  His signature is pretty nice, considering less and less players have legible autographs.

Bowman (b. 2000) was a 4th round pick by the Yankees in the 2021 July Amateur Draft out of Louisville.  He played at 2 levels of the Yankees system (Rookie and Low A) last season.  He had 26 hits, 4 home runs and a .255 batting average. 

I mailed to Bowman on January 10 and got the card back on January 31, for a 21-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Mason Miller

Another 2021 Bowman Draft that I got signed TTM is shown here.  This one is signed by Mason Miller.  The card looks great with his signature in thin blue Sharpie.

Miller (b. 1998) was a 3rd round pick in the 2021 July Amateur Draft by the A's out of Gardner-Webb University.  He played at the Rookie-Level Arizona Complex league for the A's this past season.  He went 0-1 with 9 strike outs and a 1.50 ERA.

I mailed to Miller on January 10 and got the card back on January 24, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Austin Love

A few more 2021 Bowman Draft cards came back signed TTM recently; this time from NC native, Austin Love.  He's from the same small town as former Wood Duck, Owen White (Mt. Ulla).

Love (b. 1999) was a 3rd round pick by the Cardinals in the July 2021 Amateur Draft out of UNC.  He played seven games this past season across two levels of the Cardinals system (Rookie and Low A).  He went 0-0 with 13 strike outs and a 1.13 ERA.

I mailed to Love on January 7 and got the cards back on January 24, for a 17-day TAT.

TTM Success - Michael McGreevy

Here is another 2021 Bowman Draft that I got back signed TTM, Michael McGreevy.

McGreevy was a first round (18th overall) draft pick in the July 2021 draft by the Cardinals out of UC Santa Barbara.  He played at two levels of the Cardinals system this past season (Florida Complex League and Low A).  He went 0-2 with 7 strike outs and a 9.39 ERA.

I mailed to McGreevy on January 10 and got the card back on January 18, for an 8-day TAT.