Some Independent League Autos From Mike W

Last season, I sent some cards to a guy I met while graphing in High Point for him to get signed in Gastonia.  I wasn't able to get down there, so Mike W. got a few cards signed for me.  I was able to send him some Curtis Terry cards I had, which was nice.  The Terry cards were left over from when a friend of mine was going to see Saint Paul.  Terry was released and ended up in independent ball.

Mike also got a couple Jack Reinheimer cards signed for me.  I had gotten Reinheimer TTM a couple years ago, but had a couple cards left over.

The above 1990 Topps Goose Gozzo was another card someone had missed during a 50/50.

Finally, these three Zach Jarrets were missed by me when I wasn't able to get him after he came through here with Frederick.  He was released by the Orioles and ended up on Gastonia.  I'm glad I was able to get these team set cards done, finally.

I hope to see Mike again in High Point.  I really enjoy going there and getting those independent guys.

Spring Training Returns From Drake

My friend, Drake, may appreciate how I have my autograph albums set up almost as much as I do.  I enjoy the variety of each page and how so many different cards from different sets populate the albums.  Drake has helped me get cards signed for a few years now, and he really came through during this year's Spring Training.

He even mentioned to Maikol Escotto (above) how the card he was signing would end up as the cover photo of a future blog post (even though I don't blog by request).  I honored Drake's wishes and put this card first as part of a deal we made while he was assembling the return package.

Drake helped me clear a lot of room in my prospects boxes by taking the cards he took for Spring Training.  He also helped get a bunch of cards out of the box of shame, which clears room for some missed opportunities from this season.

I was really happy to add the 2022 Panini Capstone Pablo Lopez (top right) to the album.  Those cards look really nice, and look even better signed.

I was really happy with the 2022 Topps Cosmic Chrome Griffin Jax that Drake got done for me.  That was a cool box that I ordered off of Topps.com, and this is the first from that set that I have been able to get signed.

Drake got Joey Gallo to sign (top left), but Gallo switched markers on him.  I don't care, though, he gets added to the album anyway.  The 2014 Bowman Byron Buxton turned out nicely, as well.

Several Bowman Draft highlight this page, as well as a 2017 Topps Heritage Minors Chance Sisco.  I missed Sisco a few times, but was finally able to get this card out of my boxes.

Drake added a couple extras of his own, like the 2019 Topps Heritage Minors Brock Deatherage blue parallel and the 2014 Leaf Perfect Game Andrew Cabezas.  He also tossed in the 2022 Panini Prizm Curtis Terry, which was nice, since Terry is a former Wood Duck.

There is a 2001 Topps Rocco Baldelli that Drake got done for me, as well as a 2020 Topps Big League orange parallel of Chance Sisco that I really wanted to get signed.  Drake read my mind, and got that one taken care of for me.  He also provided me with several project cards with multiple players to try to get signed.  Thanks buddy!

I was surprised to see this 2021 Topps Heritage Minors Austin Martin stickers insert get signed.  I'm sure it was tough to add it to his page, but it is cool to add one of these to my album.  Martin was tough last season when I went to Wichita, so for Drake to get two cards done for me out of my box of shame, I was really happy.

Finally, Drake added this 1989 Donruss signed by David Cone that Drake traded for.  He had a friend get Cone at Royals opening day (I think), and it is something really awesome to add to the album.

Thank you for all of your hard work, Drake!

TTM Success - Curtis Terry

A former Wood Duck made the majors, and got his first Topps card when 2022 Topps came out.  I was able to get Curtis Terry to sign a 22 Topps, and a 2022 Topps Opening Day when I sent TTM to him at Spring Training.

Curtis was called up to the Rangers, but ended up being DFAed and was picked up by the Twins.  Right now, he is at AAA St Paul.

Terry (b. 1996) was a 13th round pick by the Rangers out of Archer High School in Georgia in the 2015 June Amateur Draft.  As a Wood Duck, he played in 67 games (in 2019) and batted .322 with 12 home runs.  He was called up to the Majors last season for a cup of coffee (Wood Duck fans will see what i did there).  He had 4 hits, no home runs and a .089 batting average over 13 games.  My hope is he sticks with the Twins and gets a better chance.

I mailed to Terry on March 15 and got the cards back on March 28, for a 13-day TAT.

June 2019 Graphing Recap of Salem Red Sox at Down East Wood Ducks

It was a tough series for me to graph, but I did have some success this past weekend getting a few more cards signed while the Salem Red Sox were in town.

I was very low on cards for both teams, but I was able to finish everything I had for Salem, including some 50./50s for my friend, Gerard.  Also, Thad Ward was called up to Salem, so I was able to get three cards out of my box and have them signed while he was here.  The above 2018 Bowman Chrome sparkle refractor was a last-minute find in my box yesterday before we left for the game.  I don't know how I missed it beforehand, but I luckily found it and got it done.

Ward and Bryan Mata were both really nice, and signed everything that Chris and I had.  I had several Matas left from my 50/50 with Gerard, but all I had of Ward were the three cards that I found in my box.

Mata has a nice, bold signature, and it shows up well on cards in blue.  At 19, he is the youngest player on the Red Sox.

Marcus Wilson, on the other hand, has been in the minors since 2014, but has only reached AA, briefly.  He was traded by the Diamondbacks to the Red Sox earlier this year.  He played 19 games this season with he Red Sox AA team in Portland, Maine, and had a .161 batting average.  Demoted to Salem at High A, he now has a .348 average with 7 home runs.  He showed this weekend that he can mash High A pitching, but has yet to do so at a higher level.  Probably bitter that he is back slumming it in the Carolina League, Wilson will sign only one card per series for autograph seekers.  That's too bad, because he really put on a show.  Maybe the stutter-step around the third base coach while doing his home run trot was a bit much; it seemed to rile up the Wood Ducks bench this weekend.

Wilson had called me out for getting a card signed on Thursday, and asking him to do another on Friday.  I'm not worried about him, though.  I drafted a couple other folks at the park to get the two additional cards that I wanted signed, and they helped me out by getting them done.  Don't worry, I was beyond respectful, even though his attitude rubbed me the wrong way.

The Wood Ducks made some personnel changes, since this was the first game back from the All Star break.  Moved up to Frisco are Leody Taveras and Jason Bahr.  Jairo Beras is back in Kinston following a demotion from Frisco, and Curtis Terry has been promoted from Hickory.

Finally, my attention to details at the Wood Ducks games paid off.  I had heard our friend, Billy, tell us that Bryan Harvey shows up at the games from time to time as a rover for the Rangers.  I happened to look through a box of 1993 Flar on Wednesday for someone who will be at the National, and found a Harvey card.  I put it in the book immediately, thinking it would be a good idea to have it ready.  That was good timing, since he was there on Thursday.  I got that card signed, then had enough time this weekend to find a few more cards.

The Wood Ducks are out of town until July 1, then they will play a series against the Winston-Salem Dash.  I need to load up on some more cards so that I am ready for the series.