2025 National VIP Party Signers

The 2025 National has come and gone.  From Wednesday to Sunday, I searched a lot of boxes, got a bunch of stuff signed, waited in a lot of lines and smelled a lot of B.O.  Still, I had a great time and met some all-time greats.  The festivities started on Wednesday with the VIP Party signers.  I had gotten autographs of Al Oliver and Bill Madlock before.  I was down to a scant few cards of them, and am now pretty much cleared out.  The above 1976 Hostess card came out of a stack that Max gave me a few years ago.  I found it in a box not too long ago and was glad to get it signed.

I also had a 1981 Topps left over of Oliver and got it done, as well.  I also had a few of the 2023 Pro Debut Bill Maslock.  Those are cool cards and this one looks great signed.

Finally, I got Bill Cartwright on this card.  This is a 1995 Topps Stadium Club that I picked up from Sportlots.

The VIP Party was packed, but this year they had food stations in each corner, which made getting food easier.  The autograph lines didn't take too long, which was nice.  The VIP Party was a good precursor to the show and a.sign that we were in for some crowds.  Stick around for recaps from what else I got signed this year.

2022 National Free Signer - Bill Madlock

Bill Madlock was another of the free VIP signers who I was able to get at the National, but had already gotten in the past.  Thankfully, I had a bunch of Madlock's cards, still, so I added some nice early 80s to my autograph album.  The above 1981 Topps turned out really well.  I always enjoy this set, and was glad that I had it among the few loose 81s I still have left.

I also added a 1982 Topps and a 1983 Topps to the album, since I ended up with three vouchers for Madlock.

He was pretty nice, and I should have posed for a selfie, but I was in a rush to get everything signed that I had with me, so I didn't pose with Madlock.

TTM Success - Bill Madlock

I could have sworn that my friend, Max, had given me a signed 1987 Topps Bill Madlock.  I checked my albums, and there was no Madlock to be seen, so I sent this one off to a private signing.  The card came back, and looks awesome.

Madlock (b. 1951) played in the majors from 1973 to 1987 for the Rangers, Cubs, Giants, Pirates, Dodgers and Tigers.  He had 2,008 hits, 163 home runs and a .305 batting average.  He was the NL batting champion 4 times (1975 - .354; 1976 - .339, 1980 - .341 and 1983 - .323).  He batted over .300 in 8 of the full seasons in which he played.  His best MVP finish was 6th (1976 - NL) and was an All Star 3 times (1975, 1981, 1983).  He won the World Series in 1979 with the Pirates.  He appeared on the 1993 Hall of Fame ballot and received 4.5% of the vote.

I mailed to the private signing on February 11 and got the card back on March 19, for a 36-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $19.00.

Max Sends An Amazing Mailday

My buddy Max sent me a box that I got today.  Inside was a lot of stuff that I really loved, but it was a simple gesture from him that really blew me away.  He sent me a game used ball that he picked up at some point, but this ball he signed himself, and inscribed it with the above inscription.  I have a ball signed by another friend, Michael (actually, he has sent me several) and I have also received a ball "signed" by my nephew.  Collecting autographs of famous baseball players is fun and all, but when something as small as a signed ball from a friend or family member comes in, I really enjoy getting them.  Max is such a great guy, and I am so lucky to be able to call him a friend.  I was able to meet him at The National last summer, and had a blast.  He and his family were such amazing hosts, and made us feel really welcome.

Not only did he include the signed baseball, but Max also sent me this signed mini football.  Max is a gifted baseball player, but he is also a very talented football player.  He was the kicker, center and defensive end on his youth team which won a National Championship this past season.  He and his dad skyped me from their hotel room during the tournament, which was really cool.  I wish I could have gotten down to Florida during his games and saw him play.

Max and I have a pretty good system worked out.  I send him cards that he needs for conventions and games, and in return, he sends a couple of them back to me after he has gotten them signed.  The assortment of cards above all came from some of the many huge boxes of cards that I have.  I have always had a ton of 1987 Topps, so using those for something other than kindling.  The more current cards, the two Bowman and the Team USA came from some cards I had lying around and the rest came out of some really cool mid-90s boxes that my mom hooked me up with.  I was especially pleased with how the 1994 Score Paul Wagner came out.

Because I couldn't fit the tenth card onto the scanner, this 1988 Topps Bill Madlock gets its own scan.  It actually turned out pretty great.  I am really growing to love the late 80s designs.  They look really awesome signed, so I intend to add some more to the binder as I get more and more TTMs in.

Max also included some cool cards for my collection, which were the second half of his Christmas present to me.  This Nick Markakis Baseball Heroes relic is really nice.  I think this is an underrated set.

This Inception auto of Hunter Harvey is also really cool.  I like the design of Inception, and was happy to add this to the collection.

Finally, Max included this 2015 Bowman Chrome gold parallel of Steve Pearce that is numbered 13/50.  I liked Pearce when he was an Oriole, but he is with the Rays, now.  He always has done well when playing at Tropicana Field, so we will see how that translates in playing half of his games there.

Thank you so much for the awesome package, Max!  I really appreciate it, and it made my day!

Mail From Max - Awesome IP Autos and More

My good friend, Max, recently went to Cubs Convention in Chicago and picked up a ton of autographs in person.  I had reached an agreement with him to get me the above baseball signed by Bill Madlock.

Madlock (b. 1951) played in the majors from 1973 to 1987 for the Rangers, Cubs, Giants, Pirates, Dodgers and Tigers.  He had 2,008 hits, 163 home runs and a career average of .305 over 15 seasons.  He was a 4-time batting champ (1975, 1976, 1981 and 1983) and won the World Series with the Pirates in 1979.

Madlock probably won't get into the Hall of Fame, but he had a great career and I'm happy to have this baseball.  Thanks, Max!

Max went above and beyond by also including an amazing array of signed cards that he had picked up at the convention.  It appears that a lot of them were ones I had sent along, such as this 2012 Topps Chrome orange refractor of Tsuyoshi Wada.

This Wada was really nice as well.  I had sent Max quite a few of them, and I wasn't expecting to see them again, but it was really cool of him to think of me when he was getting them signed.

Max and I had a little confusion not too long ago when I was on Skype with him and we were going through cards together.  He was talking about how Jacob Turner was now a Cub, and I had thought he said Justin Turner.  So, I sent him a bunch of Justin Turner cards.  Oops.  Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.

Here is another auto from Bill Madlock.  This 1984 Topps card is really nice.  I keep forgetting that I used to own a 5,000 count box full of 1984s.  I sold it a long time ago.  I just wish I could do the same with my 1987 box.

Here is an IP auto of Glenn Beckert on a 1975 Topps.  Max had a ton of 75s and ended up sending me a bunch.  I am sitting on them at the moment, trying to figure out what I want to do with them.  I may collate them and get Chris to worn on building a set when he is older.  We'll have to see, though.

This Bob Dernier was really unexpected.  I actually had sent some of Dernier's cards to another guy from Instagram and the 1990 Topps was in the package.  That's kind of funny, but Max wasn't the person who had asked for them.

This Albert Almora card was among one of the first deals I made with Max.  I was really happy to see it in the package.  I had bought a ton of these when I was at the National in Baltimore in 2012 out of a dime box.  It was really cool to see the card again, and this time it is signed.  Not bad for a dime.

It has been a long time since I have posted a 1987 Topps card on the blog.  This Lee Smith card scanned really well and the black sharpie auto accentuates the card, I think.  It just looks sharp.  The fact that Smith will eventually get into the Hall of Fame is an added bonus.

This 1980 Topps Jay Johnstone is really cool, mainly because of the hideous Padres jersey.  I love the late 70s, early 80s jerseys.  They were so colorful.

Max threw in some 2013 Panini Cooperstown cards in the package since he knows I like Hall of Famers.  This orange sparkle of Tony Perez looks really cool in person.  It didn't scan very well, but trust me, it looks nice.

Max was also able to provide me with a few Brooks Robinson cards that I didn't have in my collection.  This green parallel from '13 Cooperstown is really nice.  I can't believe that I didn't have it yet, but now I do, so that's cool.

This 2009 Topps manufactured patch card was another that I needed.  I have avoided picking up these because I am still working on the letter patch set (can someone PLEASE find me the R?) but this one is a really cool card.

Finally, Max added this 2007 Allen & Ginter Brian Roberts relic to the deal.  I already had a couple of these, but it has been a while since I have gotten a Roberts relic and this brought back fond memories of the player who got me back into collecting.

Thanks so much for the package, Max.  It was full of so much great stuff, and almost all of it was unexpected.