TTM Success - Curt Schilling

A private signing with Curt Schilling popped up recently that had him at the cheapest price that I had seen him, so I signed up.  I thought I had this 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces in my collection somewhere, but I couldn't find it.  I bought this one off of Ebay for the signing.  I wanted something with the bloody sock in the autograph album. 

Since the price was so reasonable, I went ahead and sent out my 1991 Crown Orioles card as well.  I had seen Schilling on a recent documentary and he honestly looked pretty rough.  I didn't want to wait around to get these signed, so I went ahead with this signing.

Schilling (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1988 to 2007 for the Orioles, Astros, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Red Sox.  He had a career record of 216-146 with 3,116 strike outs and a 3.46 ERA.  

He was a 6-time All Star (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2004).  His best finish in the Cy Young Award voting was second, which happened 3 times (2001, 2002 and 2004).  His best finish in the MVP Race was 10th in 2001 and 2002.

He won the World Series with the Diamondbacks in 2001 and the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.  He appeared on 11 Hall of Fame ballots but has come up shortly of election.  The highest vote % he received was 71.1%, just short of the 75% required.  His politics and a failed venture into the gaming industry (that cost investors a ton of money) are some of the reasons keeping him out.  He will get in eventually. 

I mailed to the signing on January 27 and got the cards back on April 12, for a 75-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $35/card.

A Care Package From Patrick

I'm not the best trader in the card community.  That is something that I have come to accept in my years doing this hobby.  Where I fail in that aspect, I feel like I make up for it in generosity and helping young folks build their collections.  Ever since I helped out at the card shop in Winston-Salem, I have always done everything I could to help kids and teens add cards to their collections that they normally wouldn't have access to.  The other part of that, that I enjoy, is how my helping people leads to new friendships.

I made a friend on Instagram recently named Patrick, who hails from Minnesota and is naturally a Twins fan.  He and I have chatted pretty much every day, and I have helped him find some nice vintage for his collection, and also made a couple care packages for him to add some Twins to his binders.

He's a really nice guy, and seemingly enjoys the hobby as much, if not more than I do!  In response to the packages I sent him, Patrick went through his boxes of cards and his albums to find me some Orioles cards that he could send my way.

Check out the Jose Canseco cameo on this card.  I've seen hundreds of these and never noticed Jose on the card until today!

Clearly, I don't send care packages out to people just to get stuff in return.  I felt bad when Patrick messaged me and said that he didn't have a whole lot of Orioles cards, because I didn't want to deprive him of any of his cards.  He sent me something anyway, which was really nice of him, and meant a lot to me.  There were no relics, autos, or high end cards in the package.  Patrick took from his collection because he felt it necessary to send a care package in return.  That in itself carries much more meaning for me than any auto or relic ever could.  He went out of his way to try to make me happy with a care package (and included a nice note), and that is all you can really ask for.  Although there weren't any "glorious" cards in the package, the sheer thoughtfulness of Patrick is what I will take away from this.  These cards that he sent mean a lot to me, and I hope he knows that.

I know he appreciates me helping him add some nice stuff to his collection.  I also know that when he is in the position I am in later on, he will go out of his way to help out someone who may be new to the community, or is trying to build their collection.  I can tell that is how Patrick is.  I'm glad I have been able to help him, and I sincerely appreciate him sending me this care package.  I'm also very happy that I have a new friend that I can send care packages to!

Thanks, Patrick!

My Son Gave Me Some Minor League Cards

At our last card show in December, as we were leaving on the final day, one of the few vendors remaining gave my son a box of minor league cards from the early 90s.

Chris and I weren't expecting much, as many of the packs had been busted.  Several had been opened, so I figured that whomever had the box got the card they wanted out of the box and left the rest to anyone who took it.  I was surprised at some of the cards that Chris and I pulled.

The card that I thought would definitely be gone was, in fact, in one of the unopened packs.  Here, you see a minor league card of Big Hurt.  Frank Thomas is a definite Hall of Famer, and pulling this card from a pack was a nice surprise for Chris and I.  Well, more for me, because Chris didn't know who Frank Thomas was.

 Another good card was this Jeff Bagwell.  Like Frank Thomas, I think it is a matter of time before Bagwell gets into the Hall.  Many people forget that he was once a Red Sox prospect.

 I got a couple Orioles, the highlight being this Chris Hoiles card.  I have met Hoiles on several different occasions and he has always been awesome.

Another former Oriole is Curt Schilling.  Another possible Hall of Famer, too.  I wonder how Schilling's career would have gone if he had remained an Oriole instead of being shipped to the Astros in the ill-fated Glenn Davis trade.  Yuck.

So, I will put these cards aside to one day give back to Chris.  They were a nice product to open a while ago on a rainy Sunday.  He sure enjoyed it.