TTM Success - Mike Paradis

A few Orioles cards got out of the box and into the album when I got this TTM success back from Mike Paradis.  It is kind of sad that these cards span two years, but Topps used pretty much the same photo (or close to it).

I got these three different 1999 Bowmans signed; a paper, chrome and a foil.  The card at the top was his 2000 Bowman Chrome.

Paradis (b. 1978) was a first round (13th overall) pick by the Orioles in the 1999 June Amateur Draft out of Clemson.  He played in the minors from 1999 to 2004 in the Orioles system, reaching AAA.  He had a record of 29-47 with 415 strike outs and a 5.24 ERA.  He was among a long string of failed first round draft picks by the Orioles during the "Dark Times".

I mailed to Paradis on January 17 and got the cards back on February 4 for an 18-day TAT. 

2023 National Signed Card Pickups

Of course I still have stuff to post from this year's National.  In an attempt to catch up on my TTM posts, I put some National stuff on the back burner.  In cleaning up my desk and card room recently, I found this stack of random autos I picked up on the last day of the show.

I found a vendor who had boxes of IP autos at good prices.  I picked up a bunch of those autos.  As Michael and I were walking out of the show, I had a little money left to spend and came across a vendor who made me a great deal on the above Ronald Acuna signed Allen and Ginter.  The price was great, and the card is PSA authenticated.  I had to pick it up.

Among the random IP autos I got, I grabbed a bunch of old team set stuff. The above Ryan Minor is really nice.  Minor has recently entered Hospice care for his Stage IV colon cancer.  I met Minor several times and he was always a great guy.  It's super sad to hear what he's going through. 

Some other cards I picked up were an assortment of Kinston Indian signed team set cards.  I grabbed duplicates of some of these and gave them to my friend, Billy, toward the end of the season.  It's really cool to go back and see some of these old team set cards.

Finally, I got a handful of old Orioles IP autos and two other random cards.  I really enjoyed going through their box.  I probably would have gotten more, but I was sitting there until the first signing of the day.

I hope the same guy is at the 2024 National, so I can grab some more.