Another TTM Success From Mark Prior

Over the last week or so, TTMs have been scant to some in.  Checking the mail every day has been a drag, since the mailbox is virtually empty when I open it.  One reason why may be because over the last month or so, most of the TTMs I have sent out have been to Spring Training.  Spring Training TTMs are a chore every season and I keep saying I'll cut back next season.  This year (like the last several), I sent out 50 Spring Training TTMs.  So far, only 3 have come back.  The players and coaches sometimes hold the cards (if they do sign at all) and send in the off-season.  One success came back in January from 2024 Spring Training.  So I have a little tiny sliver of optimism that maybe I'll see some of this year's attempts come in.

This TTM success from 2024 Spring Training came in from Mark Prior.

Prior is the pitching coach for the Dodgers.  I had gotten him TTM back in 2020, again from Dodgers Spring Training. 

I mailed to Prior on February 10, 2024, and got the cards back on January 14 for a 339-day TAT.

TTM Success - Mark Prior

This was a TTM success that I was really excited to get back.  I had waited quite a while, but got a couple signed cards back from Mark Prior.  The above 2002 Upper Deck MVP card was added to my mailer by Prior, himself, which was really awesome.  I like this card's design, and if I were choosing cards to send him, I would have definitely sent this along.

This 2004 Donruss World Series card was the one that I did send him.  It was heavily creased in the mail, so that is why Prior included the other card, I think.  I know nothing about this series; I believe the card came out of a repack box that I picked up somewhere along the way years ago.  It turned out really well, and will be a unique addition to my autograph album.

Prior (b. 1980) was a first round draft pick (43rd overall) by the Yankees in the 1998 June Amateur Draft, but didn't sign.  He was, again, a first round pick (2nd overall) during the 2001 June Amateur Draft, this time by the Cubs.  He played in the majors 2002 to 2006 for the Cubs, amassing a 42-29 record with 757 strike outs and a 3.51 ERA.  Never quite realizing his phenom potential, Prior showed flashes of brilliance (he went 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA in 2003 and finished 3rd in the Cy Young Voting, 9th in the MVP voting, and was an All Star), but was beset by injuries.

I mailed to Prior on February 5, 2019, and got the cards back on March 23, 2020, for a 412-day TAT.  I sent the cards to Dodgers Spring Training camp.