TTM Success - George Brett

A recent bonus I got from work went away pretty quickly when I signed up for this private signing with George Brett.  I needed Brett on two cards for my 1987 set, and he hasn't signed a whole lot the last few years.  I wanted to go ahead and knock the cards out and get them into my album.

Both of the cards turned out great, and I am happy they both are finally done.  I have knocked out some of the tougher team leaders cards lately, which has been very helpful in pushing me toward my goal of completing the set.

I am about 60 or so cards from finishing the set, so I have a decent shot at getting close.  If some of the tougher guys agree to doing signings, then I have as good a shot as any.  Also have to keep an eye on those saved Ebay searches.

I mailed to this signing on April 1 and got the cards back on June 25, for a 71-day TAT.

TTM Success - Juan Marichal

It is really nice when you can find a Hall of Famer who signs TTM.  I saw that Juan Marichal was signing, and even though I already had him on a ball in my Hall of Fame collection, I wanted to send off a card.

I got this 1962 Topps that had been in my collection for a long time signed.  It will look great in my album.

I mailed to Marichal on March 28 and got the card back on July 25, for a 119-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $10.00.

This post officially catches me up (for now) on all of the TTMs that I was behind on.  I'm hoping I have some waiting on me when I get home from the National.  Of course, I have a whole slew of posts coming from my trip, so maybe I don't want too many TTMs waiting on me...

Another TTM Success From Andre Dawson

My quest for signed 1987 Topps has led me back to a few players who I got TTM years ago when I was sending out baseballs.  One of those players is Andre Dawson.  Knowing what I know now, I probably should have done cards all along.  It is so much cheaper to send a few cards than it is to send baseballs.  Add in the fact that back then, I was sending out the cheap Target balls, and a good many of them have failed to hold autographs over the last eight years.  Oh well, you live and learn.

Dawson charges $10/card, so I sent a check for $40 and these 4 cards.  I was almost set at three, but I liked the 1996 Pinnacle Zenith (top of page) so much, I added it in.  I started off with the 1987 Topps, but I wanted to get a 96 in the album, since I have very few of those.  I also loved the Expos uniform and hat on the 1981, so that one had to be sent out as well.  In the end, I think I did well.

Dawson (b. 1954) played in the majors from 1976 to 1996 for the Expos, Cubs, Red Sox and Marlins.  He had 2,774 hits, 438 home runs and a .279 batting average.  He was the 1977 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NL MVP.  He was an 8-time Gold Glove Award winner (1980-1985, 1987 and 1988) and an 8-time All Star (1981-1983 and 1987-1991).  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010 (his 9th ballot) when he received 77.9% of the vote.

I mailed to Dawson on January 2 and got the cards back on February 2, for a 31-day TAT.

TTM Success - Whitey Herzog

In my quest to add more signed cards to my 1987 set, I spent a little money to add some bigger names.  One of those was Hall of Fame manager, Whitey Herzog.  He charged $5/card, which I gladly sent along.  I went ahead and sent the above 1986 Topps so I could add another card to my album.

Here is the 1987 that I sent, and it turned out really nice.

Herzog (b. 1931) played in the majors from 1956 to 1963 for the Senators, A's (Kansas City), Orioles and Tigers.  He had 414 hits, 25 home runs and a .257 batting average. 

Herzog managed in the majors from 1973 to 1990 for the Rangers, Angels, Royals and Cardinals.  He had a career record of 1,281 - 1,125 (.532%).  He won the NL pennant three times with the Cardinals (1982, 1985 and 1987) and won the World Series in 1982.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010 by the Veterans Committee.

I mailed to Herzog on September 25 and got the cards back on October 2, for a 7-day TAT.

TTM Success - Brooks Robinson

I still have to let this sink in.  Getting Ernie Banks TTM a few years ago was huge.  I even got Brooks Robinson TTM, but it was basically through a signing he was doing through the Dugout Zone in Maryland.  This time, the TTM was a real TTM.  I sent out cards, a note, an SASE and some cash and landed my all-time favorite player (sorry, Cal).  Not only did I get Brooks, but I got him on some pretty sweet cards.  The above 2007 Masterpieces turned out so awesome.  Brooks also inscribed it 1970 WS MVP without me even asking.  Also, this is the first Masterpieces card that I have been able to get signed, and it is a beauty.  The card is just amazing.

I saw that someone on Instagram got Brooks back without having to pay the exorbitant amount that Dugout Zone charges (he got Brooks for $1/card!), so I checked with the guy and confirmed the address that he used.  It was the one listed on Sportscollectors.net, so I wasn't begging anyone for a private address.  I wrote a two-page letter to Brooks explaining my fandom (and man-crush) and included $10 cash.  I wrestled between sending the above 1962 Topps or a 1969 Topps Deckle Edge, ultimately sending the '62.  The '62 was an extra card that someone somewhere gave me, long after I had already picked up a '62 for my Brooks Topps run.

Additonally, someone somewhere gave me an extra 1959 Topps, which has now shifted into my Brooks Topps run, because the above '59 was removed for TTM.  I chose that one because I distinctly remember where I got it.  I was at my dad's engine builder's 60th birthday party in Spartanburg, SC.  We were waiting for the party to start, and a few of us walked across the street to check out the mall.  There just so happened to be a card show going on, and one of the vendors had this '59 Brooks for sale for $20.  I went ahead and bought it, and added it to the PC.  Now, it is forever part of my autograph album, and likely part of whatever Topps or Orioles Autograph Project I pursue next.

Being the amazingly awesome person that Brooks is, he included this Hall of Fame post card signed, as well.  This will go in my signed post card album, and will not leave the collection!

Robinson (b. 1937) played in the majors from 1955 to 1977 for the Orioles.  The greatest defensive third baseman of all-time (no, not Adrian Beltre, Cal!), Brooks had 2,848 hits, 268 home runs (the exact same amount as Jim Palmer had in wins) and a .267 batting average.  He won an unprecedented 16 Gold Glove Awards in a row between 1960 and 1975.  He was named to 15 All Star Games in a row between 1960 and 1974.  He was the 1964 AL MVP.  He was in the top 5 of the AL MVP voting 5 times in his career.  He won the World Series with the Orioles in 1966 and 1970, and was named the 1970 World Series MVP.  Brooks was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983 on his first year on the ballot and received 92.0% of the vote.  Brooks's #5 was retired by the Orioles at the conclusion of the 1977 season.  With Frank Robinson (no relation), Brooks was part of the inaugural Orioles Hall of Fame class.

I mailed to Brooks on January 5 and got the cards back on January 20, for a 15-day TAT.

Hall of Fame TTM Success - Tony LaRussa

I haven't added to my Hall of Fame signed baseball collection in a long time, so I decided when I got my case of OMLBs in for the National, I would go ahead and try Tony LaRussa TTM to go ahead and get one out of the way.

I mailed to LaRussa on June 27 and got this ball back on Friday (July 8) while I was in Baltimore.  Still counts as an 11-day TAT.

LaRussa (b. 1944) played in the majors from 1963, 1968 to 1971 and 1973 for the A's (KC and Oakland), Braves and Cubs.  He had 35 hits, no home runs and a .199 batting average.

LaRussa would become the manager of the Chicago White Sox in 1979 and would go on to manage from 1979 to 2011 for the White Sox (1979-1986), Oakland Athletics (1986-1995) and St. Louis Cardinals (1996 to 2011).  He amassed a 2,728-2,365 record (.536) over 33 seasons.  He was the Manager of the Year in 1983, 1988, 1992 and 2002.  He led the White Sox to the post season in 1983, losing to the Orioles.  He took the A's to the World Series in 1988, 1989 and 1990, winning in 1989.  He led the Cardinals to the World Series in 2004, 2006 and 2011, winning in 2006 and 2011.

LaRussa was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014 by the Veterans Committee, in his first time on the ballot.  He is my 122nd Hall of Famer on a baseball.

TTM Success - Bobby Doerr, Again

While I was looking for cards to send out for TTM, I found some more of one of the best all-time TTM signers, Bobby Doerr.  Doerr, at 97 years old (he will be 98 on April 7), is the oldest living Hall of Famer and the last surviving player to have played in the 1930s.  I mailed this 2008 UD Goudey to him on March 4 and got the card back on March 24, for a 20-day TAT.

Doerr (b. 1918) played in the majors from 1937 to 1944 and 1946 to 1951 for the Boston Red Sox.  He had 2,042 hits, 223 home runs and a lifetime .288 batting average in an era when second basemen were not known to have pop in their bat.

Doerr was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1986 by the Veterans Committee.  I probably won't send to Doerr any more, since I have gotten him a few times now.  However, if any of you are even considering sending TTM to get autographs, I highly recommend trying Doerr.  He was the first ever TTM success I got, thanks to a suggestion from my buddy, Drew.  You can read about it, here.

TTM Success - Wade Boggs

This was one of the more exciting TTMs that I have received so far in my endeavor to send out cards instead of baseballs.  I learned that Hall of Famer Wade Boggs would sign pretty much whatever you sent, if you paid a small fee, I had to give it a shot.  He was actually in the first big batch of cards I sent out on February 18, and on Thursday (March 10), I got the cards that I sent him back, all signed.

The above 1991 Topps was the one that I really wanted to see again.  I love the clouds in the background.  I think this may be one of the most beautiful cards that Topps has produced.  I believe that the 1991 set was one of Topps's best efforts as far as photography is concerned.  They have continued to improve, but I really feel like 1991 was a very eye-appealing set, that might be a bit underrated as far as collectors are concerned.

Initially, I was only going to send the 1991 Topps in for a signature, but I figured that since I was paying a fee, I should try to maximize my efforts.  Then, I remembered that my good friend, Max, gave me this 1984 Topps '83 Batting Leaders card that he got signed IP by Bill Madlock.  I knew I had a pretty good chance of getting Boggs on the other half, so I figured I should go ahead and send it in.  The gamble paid off and I now have this card signed by both guys featured on it.

To round out what I was sending in to Boggs, I searched the huge boxes of cards that my mom had given me recently and pulled out a bunch of Boggs's cards.  I whittled down the selections to three additional cards.  One of the boxes she got me had a bunch of 1986 Topps inside.  I had recently thought of picking up a wax box of them so I could start looking for cards out of it to send to Max for autos, and even consider doing some TTMs.  Fast forward a few weeks, and I am on a serious roll with the TTM submissions; I love the boxes she gave me.  They have really come in handy for this little project.  I think it is funny that had she called me about the boxes a year ago, I probably would have told her that I wasn't all that interested in a bunch of Topps cards from the 80s and 90s.  Now, I can't wait to see what else she is able to find.

I've enjoyed this aspect of collecting so much lately, that I have been formulating a project that will tie into the TTMs that I have sent and am planning to send.  I love how all of these different cards look when they come back signed.  I think I have added more signed 1987 Topps than any other set so far.  I haven't really counted, though.  I probably will soon.

Another set that seems to always look good signed is the 1989 Topps set.  This Boggs turned out really nice, even though I guess him signing across his face does look kind of strange.  I still believe the 1989 set might be one of the best overall designs that Topps has offered.  Yeah, ok, the set itself might be worthless, but I think I am gaining a whole new perspective on an actual value of a set that extends far beyond money.

I hope you all are enjoying the recent flood of TTMs.  I am seriously loving it and my friend, Drew was right when he said it was addictive.  I have a ton of cards pending, and a few more queued up to be sent.  I also have a few successes still sitting here, waiting to be blogged.

Boggs (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1982 to 1999 for the Red Sox, Yankees and Devil Rays.  He had 3,010 career hits, 118 home runs and a .328 career batting average.  He was a 12-time All Star, a 5-time batting champ and batted .300 or better in 15 of the 18 seasons in which he played.  He also never struck out more than 68 times in a season.

Boggs never won an MVP award, having finished as high as 4th in the AL MVP voting (1985) and had to leave the Red Sox as a free agent to win his only World Series Championship, which he won with the Yankees in 1996.

Boggs was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility (2005) with 91.9% of the vote.  I paid a $10 fee, sent to him on February 18 and got the cards back on March 10, making him a 21-day TAT.

Hall of Fame TTM Success - Jerry Coleman

My last TTM success was June 1, 2013 and there has been quite a gap in between my sending off anything to get signed.  Mainly because I just haven't had time to get anything together to send.  Or, my own laziness.  Take your pick.  Nevetheless, I did, in fact, get a TTM success today.  This is my 75th TTM success and just so happens to be my 95th Hall of Famer.  The ball is signed by 2005 Ford Frick Award winner Jerry Coleman.

Jerry Coleman (b. 1924) played in the majors from 1949 to 1957, all for the Yankees.  He had 558 hits, 16 home runs and a career .263 batting average over 9 seasons.  He was a member of 4 World Series championship teams (1949, 1950, 1951, 1956).

After his playing days were over, Coleman switched to broadcasting.  Coleman became the voice of the San Diego Padres and 1972, a position he held every year since, except for the 1980 season (He managed the Padres that season).

I mailed to Coleman on November 12 and got him back today, making him a 10-day TAT.  He signed my ball with no fee.

Hall of Fame TTM Success - Joe Garagiola

I have reached 75 baseballs signed by Hall of Famers.  When I began collecting Hall of Fame signed baseballs in January 2010, I never thought I would get this far.  Today, I added a ball signed by Hall of Fame broadcaster (Ford Frick Award winner) Joe Garagiola.

Mr. Garagiola signed my ball for a fee of $25.00 toward his charity.  I mailed the ball to him on July 25, 2012 without the donation and got a note back from him explaining why he was asking for a $25 donation, and I was happy to oblige.

I also got this signed chrome card from him, which was really nice.  He has really good handwriting, and the blue marker really pops off of the card.

Garagiola (b. 1926) played in the majors from 1946 to 1954 for the Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs and Giants.  He had 481 career hits, 42 home runs and a lifetime average of .257.  He won the World Series in 1946 with the Cardinals. 

Garagiola worked for NBC for nearly 30 years, calling games with legends such as Curt Gowdy and Vin Scully.  As a result of his years broadcasting, he was a recipient of the Ford Frick Award in 1991, thus becoming a member of the Hall of Fame.

Garagiola is my 75th Hall of Famer and 3rd Ford Frick Award Winner (the others being Ernie Harwell and Bob Uecker).

Hall of Fame TTM Success -- Steve Carlton

I came home from work today and the first thing my son told me was "You've got a surprise Daddy, you got something in the mail!"  He made me close my eyes as I came in the house, when I opened them, there was one of my mailers on my desk.  Inside my mailer was a ball that I had sent off on November 28, 2011 to Hall of Famer Steve Carlton.

I was beginning to worry about my ball, as I had sent it along with a check.  The check was cashed on December 8, 2011, so I guess Carlton was holding the stuff and signing all of his requests at once.  No big deal, as I now have my 63rd Hall of Famer and my 45th TTM success!

Carlton signs baseballs for a fee of $35.00 made payable to 'The Grace Fund,' which is Carlton's charity.  So, the autograph fee goes to a worthy cause! 

Steve Carlton (b. 1944) pitched in the majors from 1965 to 1988 for the Cardinals, Phillies, Giants, White Sox, Indians and Twins.  He has a career record of 329-244, 4,136 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.22.  He won the Cy Young Award four times (1972, 1977, 1980 and 1982) and won the World Series in 1967 and 1980.  He was traded by the Indians to the eventual World Champion Twins in 1987 but was left off of their playoff roster.

Carlton was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1994 (his first ballot) when he was named on 95.6% of the ballots cast.

Hall of Fame TTM Success - Phil Niekro

I got my 32nd TTM success and my 47th hall of fame signed baseball on Friday, September 9, 2011 from former Atlanta Brave Phil Niekro.

Niekro played from 1964 to 1987 for the Braves, Yankees, Indians and Blue Jays and had a career record of 318-274, 3,342 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.35.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1997 (his 5th ballot).

I mailed to Niekro on August 29 and got the ball back on September 9, making him an 11-day TAT (but this might have been shorter had I not sent so close to the Labor Day holiday).  He signs for a fee of $20 for baseballs and inscribed my ball with his HOF induction year.  Pretty nice signature, too.

TTM Success - Tommy Lasorda

I got a nice surprise in the mail today, a ball I sent off way back in October to the one and only Tommy Lasorda. I sent this ball off the same time I sent off to Virgil Trucks. Looks like Lasorda finally got to my box. I'm really happy that this one came; I was afraid that it wouldn't. Lasorda makes my 32nd ball of a Hall of Famer. It was even forwarded from my old address, which is good. I have maybe 4 more balls that had mailers addressed to my old apartment. So, that being said, I now have 2 iconic managers in Lasorda and Earl Weaver, both being had by TTM. I bet Lasorda gets TONS of mail, so I definitely am lucky he was able to get to my baseball and send it back. I also love that he personalized it.

TTM Success - Fergie Jenkins

I got home on Tuesday to another TTM success - Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins. He charges a $25.00 fee, so I sent a check along with this ball in hopes that I could get his signature. Jenkins didn't disappoint; the auto looks great! I mailed to him on May 7, 2011 and got the ball back on May 17 - making him a 10-day TAT. Not too bad! Mostly known as a Cub, Jenkins began his career as a member of the Phillies in 1965. He was then traded to the Cubs in 1966 and played there until moving on to Texas and Boston followed by returning to the Cubs before calling it a career. Jenkins went 24-13 for the Cubs in 1971, earning the 1971 NL Cy Young Award. He went 25-12 for Texas in 1974 and finished second in the Cy Young voting that year to Oakland's Catfish Hunter. Jenkins was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991 on 75.4% (his 3rd time on the ballot). With Gaylord Perry, I have 2 of the 3 inductees from that year; needing Rod Carew to complete the 1991 Ballot. Jenkins is my 28th Hall of Famer and my 16th TTM success.