Graphing Returns From Max

My good friend, Max, hooked me up with a ton of autographs recently, after I sent him a bunch of cards for this past season.  Max helps me move a bunch of stuff out of my boxes every year, and I get rewarded with adding a lot of them to my autograph album.  He and I have had this arrangement for a long time, and he is the person who really got me into switching from getting baseballs signed to cards.

The above 2022 Topps Diamondbacks team card is an orange shimmer parallel numbered 287/299 and Max got it signed by their manager, Torey Lovullo.

Max really came through by getting Bob Brenly on my 1987 Topps Giants leaders card and his base card.  Brenly has been a tough get for me, so crossing these two off of the list was very welcome.  Max told me that Brenly hadn't seen one of the Giants Leaders cards signed by Jim Barr in a long time, so that made me feel good about my project.

Most recently, Max hit me up for Diamondbacks cards, so I was able to fire off a package to him fairly quickly with guys he needed to refill in his autograph books.  He got some nice stuff back signed for me, like the above Geraldo Perdomo cards.  I don't see any Diamondbacks affiliates, so getting these kinds of cards signed can be tough.  This helped me move some stuff that has just been sitting for a while.

I had gotten Daulton Varsho TTM in the past, but I still had a ton of his cards.  I cleaned out most of them in the package to Max, but still got a lot back signed.  I love the 1989 Topps insert; I think those look awesome when signed.  I also love the gold foil 2022 Topps.

There was a good variety of stuff that Max sent back from his Diamondbacks graphing.  I was very happy to get the Jake McCarthy 1987 Topps Chrome mojo card back, as well as the Christian Walkers.  I liked Walker a lot when he was an Orioles prospect.  I am really glad he has stuck with a team in the majors, and has found some success.

Max also was able to get some Guardians cards signed for me, starting with a few Triston McKenzie cards that I had left in my box from when I saw him with Lynchburg.  I know I had a 2017 Bowman Ernie Clement in my autograph album already, so I am also keeping this one, since it was from Max.  I was also really happy that some of my Panini Mosaic cards that I picked up ended up being signed.  I lucked into some boxes of them from my distributor, and now I have some signed versions in my album.

As he always does, Max included some random cards that he either got for me or he has extras of.  I really enjoy these types of additions to any package.  I always try to include some signed cards for Max when I send him packages, and it seems like he enjoys the random stuff as much as I do.

I forgot how many of the shimmer cards I had sent out, but Max got a few of them taken care of for me.  The green Zach Plesac above is numbered 51/499.

I checked and it looks like Steve Lawson will keep me from finishing the above 1973 Topps, but I likely will go after Bob Reynolds.  Maybe I'll get lucky and Lawson will do a private signing sometime soon.  Max got the 2019 Topps Diamondbacks card signed by Luis Frias.  These team cards really come in handy when you see someone you don't have a card of.  Only problem is remembering who signed them.  Thankfully, Max remembered, and I was able to put a post it note on the back with the player's name.

I had gotten Johnny Barbato earlier this year when I went to High Point for a game.  Max came in and got Ben Gamel for me to finish the base and gold of these 201 Topps Update cards.  I was very happy that I had these at the ready to send out when he asked for Gamel.  I'm not usually that well prepared.

Max also got these three for me, by Chase DeJong (on a 2016 Bowman), Mitch Keller (on a 2017 Bowman Chrome mojo) and Ben Gamel (on a 2021 Topps Updare).  I am glad I don't have to run into the DeJong or Keller in my Bowman box anymore.  That is one of the fun parts of all of this.  It seems that Max has a knack of helping out with cards I see oftenin my boxes and think to myself "I need to get these signed and out of here..."

Finally, Max also whittled down the box of Frank Thomas cards I sent him when the former LCS around here closed.  I know I sent him a ton of Frank cards, and signings with him have tapered off a bit, from what Max has said.  I know Max has what would be a fortune's worth of Thomas cards, if he had to cough up the fees to get them all signed.  Still, he had a great assortment to choose from, now, and if Frank can be consistent in signing, Max will not need another Frank card for a while.

Max is and always will be one of my most trusted graphing partners.  He actually taught me about getting cards signed in the beginning, and I have always valued his friendship.  It amazes me that we have been able to keep this going for as long as we have.  It's a great arrangement, and it benefits the both of us.  As long as I have the ability, I am going to keep him loaded with the cards he needs.  He is going to keep helping me move stuff out of the boxes and the house.

Thank you, Max, for all that you do.  I cherish the stuff you help me with, and I look forward to next season, and many more seasons to come.  Happy graphing, buddy!

TTM Success - Brandon Webb

For some reason, I really wanted to get Brandon Webb into my autograph album.  When I saw him pop up in a private signing, I searched for his cards, and came up with these two.  I'm not even sure these were the ones that initially had me wanting to get him, but I feel like I did pretty well in choosing the two cards to send along.

Initially, the above 2007 Topps Trading Card History card wasn't going to be sent to the signing.  The more I kept looking at it, the more I wanted to get it signed and into my album.  I just really enjoy cards with bold colors like this as I flip through the pages.  I think it will fit well in there.

The above 2006 Ovation is another type of card that I really wanted in my album.  I had opened a ton of these back in 06, but very few of them have survived later dime boxes at the card shows.  I was glad this one did, as it turned out nicely.

Webb (b. 1979) played in the majors from 2003 to 2009 for the Diamondbacks.  He had a career record of 87-62 with 1,065 strike outs and a 3.27 ERA.  He won 22 games in 2008; leading the league for the second time in his career (he led the NL in 2006 with 16 wins).  He won the NL Cy Young Award in 2006; he would finish second in 2007 and 2008.  He was an All Star three times (2006, 2007 and 2008).  Webb was on his way to a Hall of Fame career, but injuries cut his career short after only appearing in one game in 2009.

I mailed to the signing on June 27 and got the cards back on September 6, for a 71-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Luis Gonzalez

There were a bunch of times I would go through my boxes and see these Luis Gonzalez cards.  I had meant to send them a couple years ago, but ith COVID messing with the 2020 season, I didn't want to take the chance, in case Gonzo wasn't with the Diamondbacks like normal.  I waited until this season and finally dropped these cards in the mail.  Thankfully, they came back signed, and look great.

I am really excited to add the above 2002 Donruss Studio Stars card to the album.  I enjoyed the 1995 Studio set that looked like credit cards; it was, and still is, a very unique set.  I have a few of those signed, and this Gonzo was the first of the 2002 variety.

This 2002 Topps didn't scan too well, but the sentiment of the card was captured.  I was glad to get one of these signed and into my album, as well.

Finally, I have a 2002 Fleer Authentix, 200 Upper Deck SPX and a 2017 Topps Memorable Moments insert; all of the cards look great.

I mailed to Gonzalez on March 23, via the Dioamondbacks, and got the cards back on April 9, for a 17-day TAT.

TTM Success - Josh Collmenter

I was able to get some nice mid-2010s cards signed via TTM from Josh Collmenter.  The above 2012 Topps turned out really well.

Collmenter also signed cards from 2013 and 2014 Topps Update, 2015 Topps Heritage and 2011 Bowman.

Collmenter (b. 1986) played in the majors from 2011 to 2017 for the Diamondbacks and Braves.  He had a record of 38-35 with 494 strike outs and a 3.64 ERA.

I mailed to Collmenter on October 12 and got the cards back on October 24, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - Seth Beer

I was really happy to get cards back signed from Seth Beer.  I had gotten a few done when he was with Fayetteville last year, but I had a few other really nice ones that I wanted to send off.  I got a huge box of base cards from 2019 Bowman Heritage and really wanted to add a few to my album.  Thankfully, Beer signed one of them, and it really looks sharp.

I also got one of my 2019 Carolina League Top Prospects cards signed, so that helps with that set.

Beer (b. 1996) was a first round (28th overall) draft pick by the Astros in the 2018 June Amateur Draft out of Clemson.  He was part of the trade that sent Zack Greinke to the Astros from the Diamondbacks in 2019.  So far, he has reached the AA level and has 209 hits, 38 home runs and a .294 batting average across 2 seasons in the minors.

I mailed to Beer on September 28 and got the cards back on October 22, for a 24-day TAT.

TTM Success - Archie Bradley

This was a surprise return.  No way around that.  I had seen a couple folks get returns from Archie Bradley, and took a shot, and I am happy with the cards that came back signed.  The above 2014 Bowman Sterling turned out really well, and it is a card that I had in my boxes that I really wanted to get signed and into my albums.

Bradley (b. 1992) has played in the majors since 2015 for the Diamondbacks and Reds.  He has a career record of 23-25 with 425 strike outs and a 3.91 ERA.  He finished 20th in the NL MVP voting in 2017.

I mailed to Bradley on May 30 and got the cards back on July 13, for a 44-day TAT.

TTM Success - Taylor Clarke

I added some more cards recently by sending TTM to Taylor Clarke at Spring Training.  I got the above 2017 Topps Heritage Minors and the below 2018 Bowman signed by Clarke very nicely with a blue Sharpie.

Clarke (b. 1993) made his major league debut with the Diamondbacks last year.  He went 5-5 with a 5.31 ERA and 68 strike outs.

I mailed to Clarke on February 10 and got the cards back on February 28, for an 18-day TAT.

TTM Success - Al Pedrique

I have been spending my offseason from graphing by trying to go through my TTM box and sort it a lot better than it has been.  I also have been working to add some more subjects to my list, since I have sent to so many past players.  Still, there are guys in the box who have been there for a couple years, just waiting for their turn to get a letter and some cards from me.

I don't know how long I have had cards of Al Pedrique waiting for me to send out, but the ones I sent are pretty nice.  I really like the above 1987 Topps Glossy Rookies.  I don't think I have gotten any of these signed before, but I could have.

I also had his 1988 Fleer, 1989 Topps and a 2005 Topps that were returned signed.  He signed in black Sharpie, and the cards turned out really well.

Pedrique (b. 1960) played in the majors from 1987 to 1989 for the Mets, Pirates and Tigers.  He had 111 hits, 1 home run and a .247 batting average.

He also managed the Diamondbacks in 2004; to a record of 22-61 (.265%).

I mailed to Pedrique on July 8 and got the cards back on September 10, for a 64-day TAT.

TTM Success - Torey Lovullo

I added some 90s-era junk wax cards to my autograph album with this TTM success from Diamondbacks manager, Torey Lovullo.

I have a 5,000-count box of just 1994 Score, and I was really glad to be able to get at least one of them out of the box.  That box is near the bottom of a stack of 5,000-count boxes, and it is hard to get into it, sometimes.

I also have a bunch of these 1990 CMC AAA cards; they came from a box that Mom found in her attic.  These have come in handy with some of the older coaches in the league.  Also, 1994 Donruss is a pretty nice, colorful set that look good when signed.

Lovullo (b. 1965) played in the majors in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 1999 for the Tigers, Yankees, Angels, Mariners, A's, Indians and Phillies.  He had 165 hits, 15 home runs and a .224 batting average.

He was hired as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2017 and holds a record of 217-190 (.533 win %).  He was the NL Manager of the Year in 2017.

I mailed to Lovullo via Diamondbacks Spring Training on February 7 and got the cards back on April 27, for a 79-day TAT.

Chris is Getting Some TTMs

My son, Chris, has been sending out TTMs here and there, and has gotten a couple back so far.  He was going to send to Luis Gonzlez, so I added a couple cards to his mailer.  I wanted him to have a few more options that the two cards he had found.  He ended up getting five cards back and let me keep these two.

The cards turned out well, and Chris didn't have to wait the two years that I had to, to get my cards back.

He wants to do more, but he doesn't want to put in the work of searching for cards.  Maybe he will start doing that more, and can get more of a return.

TTM Success - Daulton Varsho

I saw that a good number of folks were getting cards signed from 2018 Heritage Minors and 2018 Bowman, so I wrote down a couple names of guys that I had seen successes of, and put together a couple TTM requests.  One of the ones that came back was this really cool success from Daulton Varsho.  I was especially happy about this 2018 Heritage Minors Deckle Edge card.  He inscribed it to me, and signed in black Sharpie.  No, that's not a real autograph below it in blue.

I also got his 2018 Heritage Minors base and 2017 Bowman Draft signed.

Varsho (b. 1996) was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the second round of the 2017 Amateur Draft out of the University of Wisconsin.

So far, he has 153 hits, 19 home runs and a .301 batting average along two minor league seasons.

I mailed to Varsho on January 5 and got the cards back on January 18, for a 13-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jack Reinheimer

Stepping away from vintage cards for a bit, here is a nice 2015 Bowman Refractor that I got signed TTM by Jack Reinheimer.  It turned out a lot better than I thought it would.

Reinheimer (b. 1992) played in the majors for 2 games in 2017 with the Diamondbacks.  He's currently with the Reno Aces, the AAA affiliate of the Diamondbacks.  What I didn't realize was that he was from Charlotte, and he played at ECU.  He's only batting .236 so far this season, so hopefully he will heat up and see his way back to the majors, where he hopefully will collect his first hit.

I mailed to Reinheimer via Diamondbacks spring training on February 15 and got the card back on March 26, for a 39-day TAT.

TTM Success - Damian Miller

I'm so far behind on TTM posts, it isn't even funny.  I still have stuff from the 2016 National that hasn't been posted (and probably won'e be).  Still, I continue to plug away at my posts; at least it gives me something to do in my free time.

Here is a success from former catcher, Damian Miller that helped me add some 2000s cards to my binder.  The above 2006 Topps is from a set that I just don't have too many extras from.  I had a decent sized box of them, but when I was moving, the box turned over, and fell out of the truck into the street.  Of course, it was raining, and a lot of the cards were ruined.  I was pretty disappointed.  At some point, I will buy a hobby box or two of these and restock.

I also added a 2001 and a 2007 Topps to the binder.  His Sharpie seems as if it was on its last legs, but the signature is still visible.

Miller (b. 1969) played in the majors from 1997 to 2007 for the Twins, Diamondbacks, Cubs, A's and Brewers.  He had 834 hits, 87 home runs and a .262 batting average.  He was an All Star in 2002 and won the World Series with the DIamondbacks in 2001.

I mailed to Miller on February 5 and got the cards back on March 5, for a 28-day TAT.

TTM Success - Ryan Burr

I took a shot at a minor leaguer for TTM recently, and got a nice success from Ryan Burr.  He adds another 2010 Bowman Team USA to my collection.  I guess I need to go for the set, but I have to find a cheap Alex Bregman since someone scammed me out of the two that I had.

Burr was in the Diamondbacks organization until recently, when he was traded to the White Sox.  He was sent to the White Sox organization on August 11 for future considerations.  I was lucky enough to get my cards back from Visalia Rawhide.

His minor league record so far is 7-4 with a 1.97 ERA and 144 strike outs.

I mailed to Burr on June 28 and got the cards back on July 24, for a 26-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jay Bell

Yesterday, a ton of TTMs came rolling in, after not receiving many this past week.  Now, with no mail today, I might be able to catch up a little bit.  Maybe not.  Anyway, I was really happy with this TTM success from Jay Bell.  I was able to get some great cards signed, a few of which I picked up at my LCS.

The above 1994 Pinnacle might be my favorite of the bunch, and I believe it either came from one of the boxes Mom got me, or it may even be from my original childhood collection.  I don't remember, but regardless, it is a great shot.  Horizontal cards always look best when signed, and this one does as well.  The action shot helps also!

I'm pretty sure that these two Fleer Ultra Gold Medallion cards came from my LCS, I believe.  They are from 1998 and 1999 and both look really cool.  I was out of the hobby when these came out, but I think I would have really enjoyed opening packs of this had I stuck around.

Finally, here is a 1997 Bowman.  I guess this is Bowman Chrome, but it is more foil than chrome, so I don't really know.  The card looks great, though.  I'm really happy I found this at the LCS and was able to get it signed.

Bell (b. 1965) played in the majors from 1986 to 2003 for the Indians, Pirates, Royals, Diamondbacks and Mets.  He had 1,963 hits, 195 home runs and a .265 batting average.  He was a two-time All Star, was a Silver Slugger Award winner and Gold Glove Award winner.  He finished as high as 12th in the NL MVP voting (1991) and won the World Series with the Diamondbacks in 2001.  He appeared on the 2009 Hall of Fame ballot and received 0.4% of the vote.

I mailed to Bell on October 24 and got the cards back yesterday for a 17-day TAT.

TTM Success - Brad Ziegler

I got another TTM back from Spring Training on Friday when I got this really cool return from Diamondbacks pitcher, Brad Ziegler.  I had some nice parallels of him that I wanted to try, so I went ahead and sent them.  Ziegler pretty much signed 100%, so I figured sending these parallels would be ok.  The above purple parallel from 2015 Bowman turned out great.  It is numbered 72/250.  I really like the personalization and inscription.  The blue sharpie really looks nice.

This gold parallel from 2014 Topps turned out nice also.  I'm glad I took the chance and sent them on.

Ziegler (b. 1979) has played in the majors from 2008 to 2015 for the A's and Diamondbacks.  He has a career record of 30-21 with a 2.47 career ERA.  He has been one of the better relievers in the game today.  He also saved 30 games for the Diamondbacks last season after transitioning to be their closer.

Ziegler is one of the more prolific TTM signers that currently plays in the MLB.  I sent to him at Spring Training on February 22 and git the cards back signed on Friday (3/11).  This was a 18-day TAT.

Set Complete - 2014 Topps Chrome

I got an awesome care package in the mail from a guy named David who emailed me out of the blue saying he could finish my 2014 Topps Chrome set.  He sent a ton of other stuff that will be blogged at another time, but the fact that my 2014 Topps Chrome set is complete is something I wanted to blog right away.

Thanks so much for the cards, David.  I really appreciate it!

Cards From Mom

I visited my parents' house a couple weeks ago and when I got up that Saturday morning, my mom greeted me with a couple blasters of cards that she had picked up.  Mom has been asking me when I was going to post about the boxes on here, well, what better day than Mother's Day?

You see, my mom is the one who really got me into cards.  She would always take me to the card shop when I was younger and would spoil me with tons of cards.  I always enjoyed it, I mean who wouldn't?  The best part, though, was that Mom always bought some packs, too.  She had as big a collection as I did back then.  Too bad the both of us didn't know that those cards would be part of the era known as the "Overproduction Era."  Oh well, the memories of sitting in Mom's car, opening packs (which, is a habit that still carries over - whenever I buy packs, I always open them up in the car) and sneaking the cards into the house so Dad didn't find out is something I will always remember.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!  I love you and thanks for getting me started (Mallory thanks you too!).

Thoughts on the Postseason So Far...

Does everyone else agree with me that this postseason has been awesome?  3 series went to game 5.  All of the 'early picks' to win it all have been knocked out.  I feel like the remaining matchups are pretty even.

I don't know who I am picking to win it all, but I'm sure the rest of the postseason will be just as memorable!

Here are some thoughts:

I'm looking forward to seeing if Koji can do well for Texas.  He has been unimpressive so far, but here's to hoping that he can look good in his series.

I'm also hoping that Verlander pitches well.

I think Ryan Braun, even though he looks so goofy, is an amazing hitter.

Prince Fielder is the real deal.  Hope he is an Oriole next year (highly unlikely).

Chris Carpenter complete game shutout.  Man, if he wasn't so injury prone.

It was really cool seeing David Hernandez do well for the Diamondbacks.  I think the trade of Hernandez for Reynolds was a good deal on both ends.

Ryan Howard slips getting out of the box and injures himself.  Insult to injury.  Have to feel for the guy.

I like Charlie Manuel.  I don't think it was his fault that his team didn't win.  Of course, I didn't think it was Francona's fault the Red Sox lost.

Andy MacPhail is out as Orioles GM.  I hope they move quickly in getting a replacement.  I sincerely don't think it will be Buck.

Who is everyone pulling for in the ALCS/NLCS?