Some Autographs From AJ

My buddy AJ recently sent me a few autographs because he felt that they'd be in a better place in my autograph album as opposed to his closet.  I was amazed when I opened the package and saw the cards inside.  He told me ahead of time that he would be sending me a few IP autos that he had gotten but didn't tell me who had signed the cards.  When I saw this 1990 Topps Roger Clemens, I was very surprised. 

AJ also sent me a 2006 Fleer Jeff Francis, 2019 Bowman Draft Christian Cairo and 2019 Bowman Draft Brett Baty.  I hadn't gotten these three guys before, so that was cool.

Finally, here is a 2019 Topps Stadium Club Adam Jones.  This is a really nice card.  Im disappointed that I didnt get a return from Jones during Spring Training. 

I feel really bad because I opened the package from AJ when it came in, was super excited to get the cards, then I put them aside to scan for a later post.  In that time, I completely forgot that it was AJ who sent them to me.  He reminded me when I posted on Instagram that he had sent them.  AJ, again, I'm sorry that I forgot.  Thank you so much for the cards.

2024 National Paid Signer - Roger Clemens

Roger Clemens was my first paid signer this year at the National. I had wanted to meet Clemens for quite some time now, so I went ahead and bought a voucher for him.  I chose the above 1994 Collectors Choice checklist to get signed because I really like these cards and had already gotten Clemens on his 1987s.

Clemens was super nice and let me post for a picture with him.  I had told him that I met Kody (his son) a couple weeks before, which he thought was cool.

I had chosen several cool guys to meet this year, and some equally as cool cards to get signed. Stay tuned to see what else I got signed. 

TTM Success - Roger Clemens

This might be one of the biggest TTM successes that I have gotten in quite a while.  It is also the most expensive.  There are a few players who have multiple cards in the 1987 Topps set.  Roger Clemens is one of them.  So, to get the three cards he has in the set signed, I had to shell out $25.00/card to his foundation.  I couldn't stop there, though.  I have long enjoyed his 1991 Topps and figured that since I was going to all of this trouble, I might as well add that card the the TTM request as well.

I'm glad I did.  This card is awesome.  1991 Topps is a very under-appreciated set.  There are several cards with great photography, and I have two of them in my album, now (the Wade Boggs being the other).  The card looks awesome signed, I think.

Clemens has three cards in the 1987 set.  He has an '86 record breakers card (card number 1), a base card (card number 340) and an All Star card (card number 614).  I was able to remove 3 cards from my checklist with one TTM success.

Clemens (b. 1962) played in the majors from 1984 to 2007 for the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees and Astros.  He holds a career record of 354-184 with 4,672 strike outs and a 3.12 ERA.  He won the Cy Young Award seven times (1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2004) and was the AL MVP in 1986.  During the 1986 season, he went 24-4 with a 2.48 ERA and 238 strike outs.  He won 20 or more games in 6 seasons; he struck out more than 250 batters 5 times).

He was on 11 All Star teams and won the World Series in 1999 and 2000 while with the Yankees.

Clemens ranks among the all-time leaders in wins (9th), games started (7th), strike outs (3rd), WAR (8th, if you care about that stat) and WAR for Pitchers (3rd).  From my 25+ years of watching baseball, I can honestly say that Clemens was the greatest pitcher that I ever saw pitch.

Clemens has been eligible for the Hall of Fame since 2013 (6 ballots) but has not received more than 57.3% of the vote.  Anyone that has followed baseball knows that Clemens making the Hall is a long shot at best due to his connection to steroids.  Clemens has not tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, and has denied taking them.  However, he has been linked countless times, and has been investigated by Congress.  The congressional investigation did not lead to any indictment, but for many folks, this has been enough to hold him out of the Hall.

My own personal opinion, since this IS my blog, is that Clemens should be in the Hall of Fame.  Who should and shouldn't be in the Hall is another discussion for another day, but Clemens was probably the greatest pitcher of his generation.  Whether he did or did not do steroids, he was amazing.  He sold tickets to games.  He sold a ton of merchandise.  Kids had his posters on their walls.  He was the best.  He probably could strike out some major leaguers today, even at 55 years old.  Clemens was great.

I mailed to Clemens on January 20 and got the cards back on February 26, for a 37-day TAT.  I included a check to his foundation for $100.00 ($25/card).  He charges $100.00 for baseballs, in case anyone was wondering.

Card Show Rookie Card Pickups

One thing I was looking for, or one type of thing, rather, was picking up some notable rookie cards for my collection.  At the card show, I was able to do just that.  I got several copies of a couple rookies with the intention of keeping one of each for myself and flipping the rest on for a small profit.  That should tell you that I got these pretty cheaply.

I remember when the above Mark McGwire and below Roger Clemens rookie cards were really expensive.  $50 each, if I remember correctly.  My how the mighty have fallen.  I got each of them for a few bucks each.  I got two copies of each card.  I already had one of each in my 85 set and now I have one each to put with my notable rookies.

Each card I got is in really good shape.  If I were into it, I would consider shipping a couple off to be graded.  However, I really don't care for grading cards, so they will stay in top loaders in my collection.

One card I found really cheap and am unable to explain why was the Kirby Puckett RC.  It was the same price as the Clemens and McGwire.  Oh well, I took advantage.  I already had an additional Puckett RC, so the two I added at the show are sale able or trade able.  They look good and I enjoy the retro Twins uniform.

This card I was able to get for $10.  A 1962 Topps Joe Torre RC.  This one if strictly for my RC collection and not for sale or trade.

I was looking for this specific card before I even embarked on the card show trip and was glad to find it at a reasonable price early on.

2 1991 Topps Box breaks...

Over the past 2 weeks, we (Pete, P.A., Kimaloo and I) busted 2 boxes of 1991 Topps at $20.00 total ($5.00 for each of us) for each box. Obviously, there wasn't the promise of a 'big hit' or anything like that (with the exception of looking for the Chipper Jones RC. I traded to P.A. a card of some old man who beat the snot out of Robin Ventura (Nolan Ryan) for some guy who played a lot of games in a row (Cal Ripken) when we broke the first box. I felt it was a pretty nice straight-up trade. Ater the second box yesterday, I have to say, I had more fun opening this stuff than I have had with some of the more recent releases. I liked how we would mock the awesomely bad mulletts, the stars that never were, etc. It had us reminiscing about Bo Jackson, Howard Johnson, Nolan giving an uppercut to Ventura, Cal and Billy as brothers and double play partners, etc. I highly recommending getting a couple of friends together, each dropping 5 bucks and opening a box of some 90's 'crap'. You just might remember why you fell in love with cards when you were a kid, instead of feeling all 'doom and gloom' about the collapse of the late 90's or the overabundance of autos and GU cards today. Here are some of the highlights from the 1991 box bust at All About Sports (shameless plug) last saturday and yesterday......I think the Roger Clemens is a really great photo, sometimes action shots aren't necessary and you can 'tell a good story' with a still photo... I had to put the Cal and Brady cards on here, one, because of the trade with P.A. (Nolan for Cal) and the fact that I was literally excited when I pulled the Brady (Ooooh Cool is what I said I think...). Finally, I think the best photo I saw out of the cards I opened was this: