TTM Success - Don August

During one of my many Skype sessions with my buddy, Max, he helped me with a list of guys who were currently doing TTMs.  We Skype quite a lot, and it always consists of the both of us looking through boxes and finding stuff for each other.  He told me about Don August, a former pitcher that he has met IP and has gotten a bunch of his autographs.

I went through the boxes that Mom had gotten me and found a ton of August's cards.  I was only going to send a few, but I saw that August will sign anything and everything you send him.  Not wanting to be greedy, I figured I would send some of the extras to a few of my friends who haven't fully embraced the TTM concept.

I was really happy to find the 1985 Topps Team USA cards of him, and the 1989 cards look really cool as well.

The top left card is a 1988 Topps traded.  Those always turn out nice due to the different kind of cardboard Topps was using for the Traded sets back then.  I was also happy to add signed versions from 1989 Fleer, 1988 Donruss and 1990 Donruss.

August (b. 1963) played for the Brewers from 1988 to 1991.  He had a career record of 34-30 with an ERA of 4.64 and 181 strikeouts.  He pitched really well in 1988 when he went 13-7 with a 3.09 ERA.  I imagine he ended up with some injuries that derailed his career after that.

After talking to Max, he told me that August was super nice in person.  He sat and talked to Max for about half an hour at this year's Brewers Fest.  I learned the other day when I posted the TTM success on Instagram that August substitute taught my friend, Bryce, a bunch of times last year.  Bryce also said Mr. August is amazingly nice in person.

After hearing those "testimonials" from my buddies, I have a whole new respect for Mr. August.  It reminds me of the way Virgil Trucks used to be with fans.  I really wish there were more current and former players who would go this far out of their way for fans.  Seeing kids like Max and Bryce be able to sit down and have a conversation with a former MLBer is something that I think will keep kids interested in the game and ultimately the hobby!

Thank you so much for the amazing TTM success, Mr. August.  I'm not sure if you will see this post, but maybe it will find its way to you.  Also, thank you for being so good with the young fans of the game.

I mailed to August on March 2 and for the cards back (all 8 of them) on Friday (3/11) making him a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Wade Boggs

This was one of the more exciting TTMs that I have received so far in my endeavor to send out cards instead of baseballs.  I learned that Hall of Famer Wade Boggs would sign pretty much whatever you sent, if you paid a small fee, I had to give it a shot.  He was actually in the first big batch of cards I sent out on February 18, and on Thursday (March 10), I got the cards that I sent him back, all signed.

The above 1991 Topps was the one that I really wanted to see again.  I love the clouds in the background.  I think this may be one of the most beautiful cards that Topps has produced.  I believe that the 1991 set was one of Topps's best efforts as far as photography is concerned.  They have continued to improve, but I really feel like 1991 was a very eye-appealing set, that might be a bit underrated as far as collectors are concerned.

Initially, I was only going to send the 1991 Topps in for a signature, but I figured that since I was paying a fee, I should try to maximize my efforts.  Then, I remembered that my good friend, Max, gave me this 1984 Topps '83 Batting Leaders card that he got signed IP by Bill Madlock.  I knew I had a pretty good chance of getting Boggs on the other half, so I figured I should go ahead and send it in.  The gamble paid off and I now have this card signed by both guys featured on it.

To round out what I was sending in to Boggs, I searched the huge boxes of cards that my mom had given me recently and pulled out a bunch of Boggs's cards.  I whittled down the selections to three additional cards.  One of the boxes she got me had a bunch of 1986 Topps inside.  I had recently thought of picking up a wax box of them so I could start looking for cards out of it to send to Max for autos, and even consider doing some TTMs.  Fast forward a few weeks, and I am on a serious roll with the TTM submissions; I love the boxes she gave me.  They have really come in handy for this little project.  I think it is funny that had she called me about the boxes a year ago, I probably would have told her that I wasn't all that interested in a bunch of Topps cards from the 80s and 90s.  Now, I can't wait to see what else she is able to find.

I've enjoyed this aspect of collecting so much lately, that I have been formulating a project that will tie into the TTMs that I have sent and am planning to send.  I love how all of these different cards look when they come back signed.  I think I have added more signed 1987 Topps than any other set so far.  I haven't really counted, though.  I probably will soon.

Another set that seems to always look good signed is the 1989 Topps set.  This Boggs turned out really nice, even though I guess him signing across his face does look kind of strange.  I still believe the 1989 set might be one of the best overall designs that Topps has offered.  Yeah, ok, the set itself might be worthless, but I think I am gaining a whole new perspective on an actual value of a set that extends far beyond money.

I hope you all are enjoying the recent flood of TTMs.  I am seriously loving it and my friend, Drew was right when he said it was addictive.  I have a ton of cards pending, and a few more queued up to be sent.  I also have a few successes still sitting here, waiting to be blogged.

Boggs (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1982 to 1999 for the Red Sox, Yankees and Devil Rays.  He had 3,010 career hits, 118 home runs and a .328 career batting average.  He was a 12-time All Star, a 5-time batting champ and batted .300 or better in 15 of the 18 seasons in which he played.  He also never struck out more than 68 times in a season.

Boggs never won an MVP award, having finished as high as 4th in the AL MVP voting (1985) and had to leave the Red Sox as a free agent to win his only World Series Championship, which he won with the Yankees in 1996.

Boggs was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility (2005) with 91.9% of the vote.  I paid a $10 fee, sent to him on February 18 and got the cards back on March 10, making him a 21-day TAT.

TTM Success - Greg Gagne

I got a huge TTM success back on Monday (March 7) when I got 5 cards signed by Greg Gagne.  I finally was able to put one of these 1989 Bowmans to use.  These cards are nice, since they are bigger than normal cards and were always hard to store.  I guess they were trying to bring back the essence of the pre-57 cards, but I'm glad they went and shrunk the cards for the 1990 set.  The card that I got signed, though, looks really cool.

Here is a nice blue 1990 Topps that looks really good with the blue sharpie that Gagne used for his signature.  I always liked the 1990 set.  When 2015 came out, it reminded me of the 1990 set, which also reminds me a little of the 1975 set.

This 1993 Upper Deck looks really cool, too.  The blue sharpie again matches well with the colors of Gagne's uniform and also the color scheme of the card.  I doubt that was intentional on his part, but bravo to him anyway, it makes the card look really sharp.

Ah, 1996 Collector's Choice.  These came out right when I got out of collecting cards for a while.  Still, it was cool to get one of them signed.

This 1997 Fleer Ultra tuned out really nice.  Borderless cards like this or Stadium Club really turn out great.  I don't feel like any of the cards I have sent turned out bad.  I just get excited when I get an autograph.  I think I would be excited if a player sent me a signed napkin.

Gagne (b. 1961) played in the majors from 1983 to 1997 for the Twins, Royals and Dodgers.  He had 1,440 hits, 111 home runs and a lifetime .254 batting average.  He finished 22nd in the 1993 AL MVP voting and won the World Series with the Twins in 1987 and 1991.

I went 5/5 with the cards that I sent and got them in a 14-day TAT.

Instagram Trade With Billy

I completed a trade recently with a guy named Billy.  He is a rare case of a younger person who is into building older Topps sets.  So, I sent him two team bags of 1984 and 1986 Topps in exchange for a few 1994 Topps that he had for my set.

I have since put together a stack of 1987 Topps that Billy needed for that set.  He is waiting to find a few things that he can send me for them, but I think I almost have that set knocked out for him.  It was nice clearing out some room in that box.  I really want to complete this 1994 set soon so it isn't hanging over me this summer.  I will then work on the 1995 set.

Thank you so much for the trade, Billy!

TTM Success - Claude Osteen

I got two TTM successes in on Monday (3/7).  One of them was former pitcher Claude Osteen.  The cards I sent (I sent three) were all in the batch from Max.  Osteen was actually one of the first I considered doing when I set out on sending some of these old cards TTM.  The above 1975 SSPC looks really cool signed.  As you can see, he signed it really small with a thin blue ink pen.

This card looks really cool.  I sent two of them, and both got signed.  The extra will go to Max, since he hooked me up with the cards, and really, the idea to do all of this.

There is more I want to say about this card though, and all the more reason to enjoy this project because I wouldn't have noticed it otherwise.  Take a look at that awesome airbrush job on that hat!!  Man, Topps wasn't messing around there.  I have come to appreciate the crazy airbrushing that they have done over the years.  This might be one of the best examples.  Also, the colors on this card really stand out.  I'm glad I chose this to send to him, because it will definitely look good in my auto album.

Osteen (b. 1939) played in the majors from 1957, 1959 to 1975 for the Reds, Senators, Dodgers, Astros, Cardinals and White Sox.  He had a career record of 196-195 with an ERA of 3.30 and 1,612 strikeouts.  He was a 20-game winner in 1969 and 1972.  He was a three-time All Star (1967, 1970 and 1973) and finished 30th in the 1964 AL MVP voting.  We all remember that year being the year that Brooks Robinson won the MVP award.  He won the World Series with the Dodgers in 1965.  Osteen received as high as 0.5% of the vote on the Hall of Fame ballot before falling off after only his second year in 1982 with 0.2%.

I mailed to Osteen on February 18 and got all three cards back on March 7 for an 18-day TAT.

TTM Success - Mark Gubicza

I got a second TTM success on Saturday (3/5) when I got a bunch of cards in from former pitcher, Mark Gubicza.  My good friend, Max, told me that I should send quite a bit to Gubicza, since he is known to sign anything and everything that is sent to him.  I didn't want to seem too greedy, but I did see a bunch of his cards that I thought would look cool signed.

Obviously, I had to send him one of my 1987 Topps cards.  I have so many of them, I needed to be able to put one or more of them to some kind of use.  It turned out great.  I am not seeking to get the entire set signed, but 1987 has been my default card of choice for many of the TTMs I have sent out recently.

These two 1989 Topps turned out really nice in blue sharpie.  I'll probably gift one of these to someone, but I'm not quite sure who, just yet.  I do enjoy the 1989 set quite a bit, since it was the set my first baseball cards came from.

Finally, here are the other three cards I got.  It is always nice finding some use for a 1992 Donruss Triple Play card.  I feel like I had those coming out of my ears at some point.  I think it was because the boxes were so cheap way back when, we ended up busting a ton of them.  The 1992 Stadium Club turned out great as well.  One card I didn't scan was a signed 1996 Fleer.  It turned out really nice, as well.  Much like the Charles Johnson, the matte finish really makes an auto look good on those cards.

Gubicza (b. 1962) played in the majors from 1984 to 1997 for the Royals and Angels.  He had a career record of 132-136 with an ERA of 3.96 and 1,371 strikeouts.  He was a 2-time All Star (1988 and 1989).  He won 20 games in 1988 when he finished 3rd in the AL Cy Young Award balloting.  He won the World Series in 1985 with the Royals.

I mailed to Gubicza on 2/22 and got him back on 3/5 for a 12-day TAT.  He signed all of the cards I sent.

TTM Success - Buck Showalter

On Saturday I got a TTM success that I was really excited about.  I got four cards back from Orioles manager, Buck Showalter.  The above 2005 Topps gold parallel was the card I was the most happy to get back.  I don't know why, I guess because I have had it for so long.  You may be able to see that there is some damage on the card on the right side.  It was a victim of a common problem with mid 90s to mid 2000s Topps cards.  The over gloss on the card allows for it to stick the the other cards near it if it ever gets hot.  I was able to salvage this one out of a box of junk, and held onto it.  Now, it has been salvaged yet again as a TTM success.

I figured I would try to send a few other cards to Buck and see if I could get multiples signed.  I was lucky enough to get three Topps Heritage cards signed.  Heritage always looks good with an on-card auto.

I had gotten Buck before TTM.  That was a couple years ago on a ball.  I have since replaced that ball with an IP auto from Buck, and gave the TTM one to my friend, Frankie.

I have already inspired one young Instagram follower to send to Buck since he has seen my post about this TTM success.  I hope he can get a success like I did.

I mailed to Buck on 2/22 and got the cards back on 3/5, making them a 12-day TAT.  Not bad for a guy who is really busy right now.