Last Bit of Autos From The National

As far as I know, this is the last of the stuff that I brought home from last year's National.  It only took me about 7 or 8 months to get it all posted.  There were a couple vendors at the show who had some nice, cheap cards signed by deceased former players (and one other), so I figured I would grab a few for my album.  For some reason, I never sent the above 1957 Topps to Virgil Trucks for him to sign.  Whenever I see a Trucks card, I usually pick it up, and this one was no different.

I got the Burke Waldron (above left) cards from the Signatures for Soldiers.  I wanted to send one TTM, but Waldron passed away before I could.  I also liked the Monte Ivrin 1988 Pacific, 1959 Topps Mudcat Grant and 1961 Topps Bill Virdon 1960 World Series Highlight.  These were all cards I would have liked to send out back then, but didn't get a chance (probably because I didn't have extras of said cards).

I'm hoping to signer list for the National comes out soon.  I'd like to start pulling cards for those guys as soon as possible.  The days will be flying away, and July will be here before I know it.

TTM Success - Jim "Mudcat" Grant

I added some really cool signed cards to my album with this TTM success from Mudcat Grant.  I have a ball signed by Grant already, but I also wanted some cards of his in the album.

I got cards from 1964 Topps and 1971 Topps signed and they all look cool.  Grant signed for a fee, but these cards were well worth it.

I mailed to Grant on March 2 and got the cards back on March 9, for a 7-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $5/card.

I wrote a bio on Grant back in 2013 when I picked up his signed baseball.  You can read it here.

Birthday Package From Michael

I got a huge box from my friend, Michael last week for my birthday.  Inside the box was a ton of stuff that I really wasn't expecting.  He sent along another round of his own game used stuff from his recently completed baseball season.  I sure hope he makes the big time, or else, I will have a bunch of stuff I'll have to send back to him once he has kids.

Something really cool in the box was this game used baseball from the 2013 season.  April 24, 2013, to be exact.  It is a pitch from Brandon Morrow to Nolan Reimold which ended up as a foul back to the screen.  Nice!

I was really surprised to find these signed baseballs in the box.  Starting from the top left is Roy White, Tom Nieto; Bottom left: Marty Barrett and Jim Mudcat Grant.

I already had a Grant ball, a ball I got for free while in Cooperstown, but it was badly faded.  I can now upgrade it like I have been wanting to for a while.

Barrett played from 1982 to 1991 for the Red Sox and Padres.  He had a decent career, with 938 hits, 18 homers and a .278 batting average.  He was the 1986 ALCS MVP.

Nieto inscribed his ball with '87 WS Champs, which is pretty cool.  He played from 1984 to 1990 for the Cardinals, Expos, Twins and Phillies.  He won the World Series while with the Twins in 1987, of course.He didn't actually play in the World Series with the Twins, but he did play in the 1985 World Series while with the Cardinals.

White played his entire career with the Yankees from 1965 to 1979 and was a 2-time All Star.  He had 1,803 hits, 160 home runs and a lifetime average of .271.  He played in three World Series with the Yankees from 1976 to 1978, winning two (1977 and 1978).

Thanks so much for the birthday box, Michael, I really appreciate it!

Card Shop Pickups While I Was In Charlotte

I had to spend a few days at the end of this week at my company's corporate office in Charlotte for the open house of the new office building and our annual OSHA refresher course, among other things.  The new location of the office is a straight shot to the card shop in Matthews, NC, which I try to get to every time I'm in town.

Yesterday, I was able to make it by the shop and pick up a few supplies for some friends as well as some set needs for myself.  The highlight of which is the above 1969 Topps Nolan Ryan.  This card is his second year card and a tough one to pick up.  I had narrowly lost too many to count, so when I saw that they had one at the shop for a decent price, I had to grab it.

Something I had completely forgotten was that this card was on my Top 10 Wishlist.  With this acquisition, I now have knocked out half of the cards on the list and still have a little less than half the year to go.  I also have already met one of my goals that I set forth at the beginning of the year; to have half of the cards knocked out.

I made great strides on my 1959 Topps set by picking up 31 cards that I needed for my set.  I now need 130 cards to complete the set.  Those high number All Stars are really kicking my butt, but they can be had.  I foresee the Mantle being added to next year's Top 10 Wishlist, if I don't find a deal on it in the meantime.

In the bargain bin at the shop, I got this Earl Weaver relic card.  It has some damage around the relic, which I didn't see initially, but for $2, I wasn't going to complain.

I got this lava parallel Brooks Robinson Panini Museum Collection for $3, which I thought was fair.  I had laid my notebook down on the counter to mark off some cards, and saw this, so I had to have it.

I'm really happy with my pickups, and I had a great weekend.  I know I've dropped quite a bit recently on cards, but I really hope to have the 1959 set wrapped up soon so I can concentrate on other sets.  We'll see if I can move it along, but at this pace, I feel like I'm doing pretty well.

More 1971 Topps From Sportlots

I am now 12 cards away from finishing my 1971 set after receiving 7 more cards that I needed.  One of which is another appearance on the blog of Jim "Mudcat" Grant.  Check out those sideburns.  I kind of wish the condition of this card, and the other 6 that I got were in a little better shape, but that is a common theme with both the 1971 set and trying to build a set consisting of High Numbers on a budget.  I did get a nice unmarked version of the final checklist for the set, so that's a plus.  I always feel weird paying good money for a checklist, but I guess when the set is 42 years old, a checklist can become a tough card to get.  Oh well.

Vacation Leftovers - Mudcat Grant Signed Baseball

As school resumes today (at least around here), I want to reflect on some leftovers from my vacation.  When we went to Cooperstown, one of the vendors gave me a free signed baseball for purchasing so much from him.  I had a choice of several faded autographs, and settled on the above Jim 'Mudcat' Grant signed ball.

As you can see, it is faded pretty severely, but since it was free, I definitely am not going to complain.  I have been wanting to send TTM to Grant, and now, this ball makes that unnecessary.

Chris also got a free Boog Powell signed baseball from the same guy, which was really nice, since he gave it to him right after he walked in the door, prompting me to seriously consider buying some of his wares (which I did, of course).

Jim 'Mudcat' Grant (b. 1935) played in the majors from 1958 to 1971 for the Indians, Twins, Dodgers, Expos, Cardinals, A's and Pirates.  He had a career record of 145-119, 1,267 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.63.

His best season was in 1965 with the Twins when he was 21-7 with a 3.30 ERA, 6 shutouts and 142 strikeouts.  He was an All Star that season and finished 6th in the AL MVP voting (the year Zoilo Versalles won).  He didn't win the Cy Young Award that year since it was still shared by both leagues and Sandy Koufax won with all 20 votes.

He went 2-1 during the 1965 World Series which the Twins lost to the Dodgers.  He also appeared in the 1971 ALCS with the A's, but he likely got a ring from the Pirates since he played 42 games for them, garnering 7 saves in the process.  He was purchased from the Pirates by the A's on August 10 of that year, thus missing a chance to pitch in another World Series.

Cards From Tom

I got an email recently from Tom over at "Angels in Order" saying that he had a few cards for me that would fit into my set needs.  He emailed me the card numbers, but when I got them, I didn't realize that the two 1969 Topps cards he had were the above Hall of Famer, Al Lopez and the below Jim "Mudcat" Grant.  I actually have a post I am planning on doing concerning Grant.  I always forget that Lopez is a Hall of Famer, so I will likely be getting one of his signed baseballs sometime soon.

These are definitely some nice 1969 Topps cards, that's for sure.  Check out the airbrushing on Grant's hat.

I need to get over to Tom's blog and try to knock out some of his needs, especially since he sent me this stuff uncolicited, which I really enjoy.  Not only did Tom send me these two 1969s that I needed, but he also sent me 3 2013 Topps Emeralds for that set as well.  Thanks so much, Tom!