2024 National Free Signer - Carlos Baerga

The free signers from the National are finally winding down, with just a few more to go.  This one was with Carlos Baerga, who I had gotten TTM back in 2017.

I had this really nice 1998 Fleer Metal that was the main card I wanted to get signed. I had it signed with gold paint pen, and it looks awesome.

I had an extra voucher for Baerga and got his 1995 Topps done (bottom right).  They also called wild cards on him, and I knocked out a few others (top from left: 1992 Topps and 1993 Topps, and bottom left: 1994 Donruss).

Baerga was really nice.  I was glad to get a few extra cards out of my slider box, since I spent a lot of time finding his stuff.

Christmas Gift From Dalton

I was completely surprised at the huge box of stuff that came in recently from my good friend, Dalton.  He and I have been friends on Instagram and Snapchat for a long time.  He always comes to me for advice, and I try to help him out as best I can.  He had been hinting that he was going to do something big for Christmas, but I wasn't sure what it would be.  I never expect anything in return for helping him out, so when this big box came in, I was floored.

The box wasn't all filler, either.  He filled it up with some amazing stuff.  Some of the box was stuff I bought off of Dalton to help him finance some of his family's Christmas gifts, and the rest were surprises that he threw in.  The above Zach Britton signed photo was one of the surprises.

Dalton offered to sell me this signed Orioles photo a few times, but I didn't really have the money at the time.  I was really surprised that he ended up just including it in the package.  I asked him about giving so much, and he responded with "I wanted to make your Christmas amazing."  Well, he sure did that.

I was able to guess this signature right away, Trey Mancini.  I'll probably keep it in the top loader that Dalton provided, since my album pages aren't big enough.

Dalton knows how much I enjoy adding new cards to my auto binder, so he included three signed cards that he had.  I had gotten Carlos Baerga TTM (and I assume that's where Dalton got this one), but I hadn't gotten this particular card signed, so it was nice to get.  I assume he got the above Tim Laudner signed in person at a Twins Alumni event or something, seeing as the Twins are his hometown team.

I actually saw a bunch of Pat Dean cards the other day as I was cleaning up my minors box.  I wondered if I could get any signed, and I saw that Dalton included this.  I like these Elite Extra Edition cards; they look really nice when signed.

Finally, the stuff that really blew me away was all of this that Dalton included.  The bottom two balls (Manny Machado and Mark Trumbo) were what I bought off of Dalton to help him out.  The rest were ones he threw in.  Included was a multi-signed ball that included Greg Maddux, Ron Kittle, two game used balls and another that he had gotten signed, but I forget by whom, haha.

Dalton is a really good kid.  I sincerely enjoy helping him out.  I never did it with any thoughts of receiving anything in return.  He always has time to chat, even though he is always busy.  I think the world of him, and really am blown away at his kindness and generosity.  Thank you so much, Dalton.

TTM Success - Carlos Baerga

I added a really nice success to my list with this one from Carlos Baerga.  He was one of the better offensive second basemen that I remember from my formative years following the game.  The above 1996 Topps Gallery turned out really nice, and it was out of the box I busted while I was at Andrew's house.

I really liked the action shot on this 1998 Topps.  The white Mets hat also looks pretty cool, I think.

Finally, these two round out the success.  The 1996 Bowman looks pretty good, and the 1995 Stadium Club Super Teams card looks really freaky, but in a good way.

Baerga (b. 1968) played in the majors from 1990 to 1999 and 2002 to 2005 for the Indians, Mets, Padres, Red Sox, Diamondbacks and Nationals.  He had 1,583 hits, 134 home runs and a .291 batting average.  He was an All Star three times (1992, 1993 and 1995) and was a Silver Slugger Award winner in 1993 and 1994.  His best finish for MVP (AL) was in 1993 when he finished 10th.  He appeared on the 2011 Hall of Fame ballot, but didn't receive any votes.

I mailed to Baerga on May 30 and got the cards back on July 20, for a 51-day TAT.