TTM Success - Chris Cortez

The 2024 Bowman Draft TTMs are just about caught up.  This one was from Chris Cortez.  He signed my 2024 Bowman Draft Chrome and paper.  Both cards are nice but he doesn't have much of a signature. 

Cortez (b. 2002) was a 2nd round pick by the Angels during the 2024 July Amateur Draft out of Texas A&M.  He has yet to make his professional debut. 

I mailed to Cortez on December 19 and got the cards back on January 15 for a 27-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Zach Neto

A few more 2022 Bowman Draft signed cards remain after my initial wave came though in mid-January.  This next one that came in TTM was signed by Zach Neto.  The card turned out nicely as Neto has a decent autograph.  There are a couple other players' cards that came in that don't look all that great, but this one is fine.

Neto (b. 2001) was a first round pick (13th over all) in the July 2022 Amateur Draft by the Angels out of Campbell University.  He played in two levels of the Angels system last season (high A and AA) and had 44 hits, 5 home runs and a .299 batting average.

I mailed to Neto on January 10 and got the card back on January 20, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Sonny DiChiara

Another 2022 Bowman Draft is in, with this TTM success from Angels prospect, Sonny DiChiara.  The card turned out nicely, signed in black Sharpie.

DiChiara (b. 1999) was a 5th round pick by the Angels in the 2022 July Amateur Draft out of Auburn.  He played at AA Rocket City last season.  He had 23 hits, 1 home run and a .195 batting average.

I mailed to DiChiara on January 3 and got the card back on January 13, for a 10-day TAT.

Raisel Iglesias Signs Again

Two more Raisel Iglesias cards were added to my autograph album following this TTM success.  I came across the above 2018 Topps Hi Tek and wanted to get it signed.  I added the below 2018 Topps National Baseball Card Day card to the package, so I could have one of them in the album, as well.

Iglesias (b. 1990) has played in the majors since 2015 for the Reds and Angels.  This season he went 7-5 with 34 saves, 103 strike outs and a 2.57 ERA.  He compiled a 7-5 record finishing a league leading 59 games (65 overall) for the Angels.

I mailed to Iglesias on August 19 and got the cards back on September 2, for a 14-day TAT.  I mailed to Angels Stadium.

TTM Success - Jo Adell

I added another prospect auto to my album when I answered a call to send cards to the Jo Adell Foundation.  I sent this 2017 Bowman Defining Moments card, along with a donation of $25.00, and it came back signed.

Adell (b. 1999) was a first round pick (10th overall) by the Angels in the 2017 June Amateur Draft.  So far, he has reached the Angels AAA team, and has 269 hits, 35 home runs and a .298 batting average across 3 minor league seasons.  He is a non-roster invite for this year's Spring Training.

I mailed to Adell on December 17 and got the card back on January 11, for a 25-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chris Turner

I have built another backlog of TTM successes while I have been talking about the National, so it is time to knock a few posts about those out.

I sent off 4 cards to Chris Turner, and they all turned out really well when they came back in.  The above 1994 Score Gold Rush looks much better in person that the scan.

I also got him on a 1994 Donruss, 1994 Topps and a 2001 Topps.

Turner (b. 1969) played in the majors from 1993 to 2000 for the Angels, Royals, Indians and Yankees.  He had 90 hits, 4 home runs and a .237 batting average.

I mailed to Turner on June 18 and got the cards back on August 3, for a 46-day TAT.

Ethan With a Huge Addition For My Set

My friend, Ethan, promised me a while back that he would try to get me Mike Scioscia for my 1987 Topps set.  He ended up coming through, and the card finally arrived today.  I think this was one of my cards that I sent to him back during Spring Training, but I don't remember.

Scioscia (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1980 to 1992 for the Dodgers.  He had 1,131 hits, 68 home runs and a .259 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1989 and 1990 and finished 18th in the NL MVP voting in 1985.  He won the World Series with the Dodgers in 1981 and 1988.

As a manager, he led the Angels from 2000 to 2018.  His managerial record was 1,650-1,428 (.536 %).  He won the World Series in 2002.  He was the AL Manager of the Year in 2002 and 2009.

Thanks so much for getting this done for me, Ethan!

TTM Success - Bob Lee

Recently I picked up these 1960s cards of Bob Lee at a card show here in town.  I wanted to add some more 1960s cards to the album, and his looked pretty nice.  Each year I picked out was one that I needed more of in the autograph album, like the above 1967 Topps.

I also needed more 1964 and I definitely needed more 1965 in there, so this TTM success worked out really well for me.

The best part of the TTM success, though, was this hand written note from Lee on the back of the note that I sent him.  I believe he had a stroke recently, and you can tell from his handwriting that signing his name, and writing the note was laborious for him.  It meant a lot to me that he took the time to write the note (and to sign my cards), when it was tough for him to do so.  There are major leaguers playing today who won't be bothered by signing stuff for fans, and here is this guy who probably has to struggle just to hold a pen signing whatever is sent to him.  I sincerely appreciated Mr. Lee doing this for me, and the note will be put away with all of the other player notes I have received.

Lee (b. 1937) played in the majors from 1964 to 1968 for the Angels, Dodgers and Reds.  He had a career record of 25-23 with 315 strike outs and an ERA of 2.71.  He also had 64 career saves.  He was an All Star in 1965.

I mailed to Lee on October 28 and got the cards back on November 10, for a 13-day TAT.

TTM Success - Cameron Maybin

It is really tough for me to know which current players sign TTM, but thankfully, I have seen some successes on Instagram.  Those successes have prompted me to send to a few guys, who I may not have tried before.

I was glad to get this return from Cameron Maybin via the Angels.  I regretted, however, that I sent too soon because I found a great card of him after I had already gotten these back,  I might try him at Spring Training, then, to get that card signed (2016 Topps).  Still, I added a 2008 to the binder, and now this set isn't the rarest in the album.

I also added a 2017.  I don't have many of these signed yet, but I think they will start filling in between now and next year's spring training.  They look nice when signed, though.

Maybin (b. 1987) has played in the majors since 2007 for the Tigers, Marlins, Padres, Braves and Angels.  He currently has 765 hits, 52 home runs and a .259 batting average in his career.

I mailed to Maybin on June 12 and got the cards back on June 22 for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Adam Kennedy

Here is a really cool TTM success that was populated almost solely from the "boxes in the back" of the card shop.  There are two Topps cards that were mine, but the rest of the cards were ones I wasn't around to see when they first came out.

The above 2000 Topps Finest was the one I was most excited about seeing come back.  It turned out really nice, and scanned pretty well.

this 2000 UD SP Minors is pretty cool.  They had a bunch of these cards in the back, and I found a few good ones of some TTM guys, so I'm hoping a few more of them come in.

Kennedy's Sharpie looks like it was about to die, but I still got a few other nice cards signed.  I even was able to add a few ticks to the Topps Autograph Project, as well with the 2005 and 2007 Topps.  Those two sets are pretty low in the rankings in the project, at 8 cards for 2005 and 4 for 2007.

Kennedy (b. 1976) played in the majors from 1999 to 2012 for the Cardinals, Angels, A's, Nationals, Mariners, and Dodgers.  He had 1,488 hits, 80 home runs and a .272 batting average.  He was the 2002 ALCS MVP and won the World Series with the Angels in 2002.

I mailed to Kennedy on March 20 and got the cards back on April 3, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Julio Becquer

Here is another of the 1961 Topps cards that I had picked up at the antique shop.  This one was a pretty rough card, but I didn't mind it.  As long as the card isn't destroyed, I will send them out for TTMs.  It makes me feel a little better, really, to send out a card that has minor flaws, as opposed to a gem mint 10 that could be subject to being beat up by the USPS.

Becquer (b. 1931) played in the majors in 1955, 1957 to 1961 and 1963 for the Senators, Angels and Twins.  He had 238 hits, 12 home runs and a .244 batting average.

I mailed to Becquer on January 27 and got the card back on February 14, for an 18-day TAT.

TTM Success - Albie Pearson

I was able to get an Oriole on a 1960 Topps with this success from Albie Pearson.  I wasn't expecting the awesome inscriptions on all of the cards, so that was a nice bonus.  I still haven't gotten many 1960 cards signed, so when I found this card in my vintage box, I put it in the mailer with the two cards below that I picked up in Columbia.

This was part of the 1961 Topps purchase at the Columbia antique shop last month.  Pearson charges $5/card, so I definitely got my money's worth out of this TTM success.

Pearson (b. 1934) played in the majors from 1958 to 1966 for the Senators, Orioles and Angels.  He had 831 hits, 28 home runs and a .270 batting average.  He was the 1958 AL Rookie of the Year and was an All Star in 1963.  That season, he appeared on his only MVP ballot, finishing 14th.  He was obtained by the Orioles in 1959 in a trade when the Orioles sent Lenny Green to the Senators.  He was the fourth overall pick in the 1960 premium expansion draft for the newly created Angels.

I mailed to Pearson on January 16 and got the cards back on January 27, for an 11-day TAT.

Amazing In Person Graphing Success - Tim Lincecum

I had one of my best IP autograph success today, almost by accident.  I am in Baltimore with my sister and have tickets to the Orioles series against the Angels.  My goal was to try to get Mike Trout on a ball.  I was actually really close to getting him, but I wasn't quite lucky enough, but I did get someone pretty awesome, Tim Lincecum.  You can see the ball that I got signed, it turned out great.

When Lincecum came up to where I was at, a small kid in front of me who had already had his ball signed offered to get mine signed as well, since he was right up against the wall.  This helped my ball get to the front, and Tim signed it.  While he was signing, I told him "You are my son's favorite player, ever.  He loves you!"  Tim looked at me, smiled and said "Make sure you tell him I said hello!"  I got out of the crowd and jumped on my cell phone to call my mom.  Chris, my son, is visiting my parents, so she had to get him out of the pool and to the phone.  I told Chris what Lincecum said and he was speechless.  I really wish Chris had been able to make the trip, but my fear is that had he been here, Lincecum wouldn't have been signing.

I was graphing with my friend from Instagram, Stefan, and another Instagrammer, Brian.  Stefan was able to get Lincecum twice and then got Trout!  Stefan has pledged to help me get Trout tomorrow, so maybe I will come away from this trip with some really good autos!  I had a really good time hanging out with the guys.  I am now getting into meeting up with fellow graphers, and have hat a lot of fun.  I know I'm really late to the game, but these kids have a lot of knowledge and expertise!

As far as the game, I hope that I am able to say that I saw Ubaldo Jimenez's last start as an Oriole.  You hate to see someone lose their job, but with the $50 million contract that he signed, he isn't hurting.  Let's hope Buck can find some decent starters somewhere, lest the Orioles lose their grip on the AL East lead.

How Mike Trout Became My New Best Friend

I busted my requisite three jumbo boxes of 2015 Topps Series 1 when they came out.  I had planned on doing a breakdown of what I pulled, but chaos ensued after I revealed my hits on Instagram.  My biggest hit was the above Mike Trout auto.  While I have been an outspoken critic of Trout (not because I don't believe he is a GOOD player, I believe he hasn't shown anything about walking on water just yet), I was really glad to pull the card.  I recognize the fact that Trout is a good player, who has the potential to be a great player, but come on, a .288 batting average isn't exactly setting the world on fire.  Anyway, I had planned to keep it, until my friend, Blaine commented after I posted that he would make me a good offer on the card.  He didn't disappoint.

Blaine offered me, not one, but two Mickey Mantles in exchange for the Trout auto.  Two Mantles.  I didn't even let him get out the "T" in flight (Jay Mohr joke) before I said DEAL!  I wasn't going to pass up a deal for two Mantles, and I really was glad that one of them was the 1964. I haven't even begun to start the 1964 set, but this will be a nice start to the set, once I do get moving on it.

Why, hello there, old friend!  Blaine is the guy I traded my 1962 Mantle to, in exchange for some cash, a 1960 Koufax and some other stuff.  I didn't want to give it up at the time, but Blaine doesn't mess around when it comes to deals, so I accepted.  Anyway, I was happy that Blaine included it in the deal, as well.  I didn't want to give the card up, and now, it's back home where it belongs!  I do believe that this is the very first time in all of my years of collecting that I have traded away and then traded for the same card.  This time, the card is on lockdown!

So, I am really glad I pulled the Trout auto.  My thinking is, Trout is a good player, but he could get hurt tomorrow.  Mantle will always be Mantle, so doing this deal, for me, was a no brainer.  I also appreciate Blaine in that he is an amazing person to work with, and he doesn't fool around with deals.  He makes a great offer right off the bat, and we were able to come to terms really fast.  I really think the Trout was up for less than 5 minutes before the deal was agreed upon.  That's pretty awesome!

Something Cool From the Estate Auction

I know several Dodger fans who will enjoy this next post.  One of the coolest things I picked up from the online estate auction (you know, the one where I got the Early Wynn and Lou Boudreau signed baseballs) is the below pennant from the grand opening of Dodger Stadium.

I got this for a steal.  I saw several of these going for $175 on Ebay and let's just say I got this for a fraction of that!

I saw it among the listings in the auction and I figured it would be a cool addition to the man cave or maybe even flip at a later time for a HOF signed ball or something.  We'll see.  I just think it is pretty awesome.

Construction began on Dodger Stadium in 1959 and was completed in 1962.  The pennant comes from the Grand Opening celebration, April 9, 1962, that was held for officials and the community the day before Opening Day 1962 where the Dodgers would face the Cincinnati Reds.  Dodger Stadium is now the third oldest ballpark in the majors behind Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.

My Early AL Rookie of the Year Pick

I wasn't going to continue this theme, you know, the early picks for the postseason awards, but after my post on Andrew McCutchen, I felt like I had to acknowledge what is being accomplished in Anaheim, or Los Angeles, or Orange County, or California (wherever the Angels are from today).

Mike Trout is having probably one of the best rookie seasons on record.  After being called up in May, he has been on a blistering pace, batting .356 with 16 homers, 49 RBIs and 36 stolen bases.  At only 20 years old, he is playing like a seasoned veteran.  The Angels have certainly benefited from his play as of late.  They were floundering until Trout (see what I did there?) was called up.  Now they are competing for the AL West crown with the Texas Rangers and look like a sure bet to enter the playoffs, if not the West winners, at least as a wild card.

I would imagine that Trout has had a lot to do with that.  He might even be a good candidate for AL MVP.

Set Complete - 2011 Topps

FINALLY!  It feels like it has been forever since I have completed a set (probably been since 2010 Topps Chrome?  I haven't checked...).  Anyway, I completed 2011 Topps by picking up 2 jumbo boxes at last weekend's card show.  I wasn't able to collate the set until this weekend because I have been really busy, but I finally got it done.

Cool thing is, I also had enough "rings" in the Topps Diamond giveaway to unlock a free set, so with that and the two I put together, I will have 3 2011 sets.

I have 59 of the 60 rings.  I still need the Mantle, and it is probably a long shot for me to get it, but man, how sweet would it be to get one of the 60th anniversary diamond rings?

So, I would be willing to trade or sell one of my hand-collated sets, in case anyone is interested.

I also have a partial (series 2 only) set that is missing maybe 20 cards or so.  I'd be willing to trade or sell it pretty cheaply. 

If anyone would like any base cards that I have duplicates of, I have a decent sized stack of those as well.  I have already pulled most Tigers, Yankees, Dodgers, Braves and Orioles from that, but there may still be some stuff in there to be had.  I have a guy who buys a lot of commons from me at the shows, so make sure you put an inquiry in before he gets them (mid December is my next show).

Finally, I have a good many inserts and stuff that can be had via sale or trade.  Email me and let me know!!!