TTM Success - Chris Krug

I had this 1966 TOpps card of Chris Krug sitting in my "to be mailed" box for quite some time, and I finally got the card sent out.  It came back signed (with the faintest pen), so I am glad to put it away in my album.

Krug (b. 1939) played in the majors in `965, 1966 and 1969 for the Cubs and Padres.  He had 41 hits, 5 home runs and a .192 batting average.

I mailed to Krug on January 20 and got the card back on January 28, for an 8-day TAT.

TTM Success - Tike Redman

These two cards from Tike Redman turned out really well, I think.  I saw that he was signing TTM, and picked the above 2002 Bowman up from my LCS.

This 2004 Topps was in one of the sets I picked up from the LCS that he was just going to throw out.  I'm glad I got it, because I have been able to add some more 2004s to my autograph album.

Redman (b. 1977) played in the majors from 2000 to 2001, 2003 to 2005 and 2007 for the Pirates and Orioles.  He had 385 hits, 17 home runs and a .281 batting average.

I mailed to Redman on January 15 and got the cards back on January 27, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chico Walker

Another private signing came along and I added another card to my 1987 Topps set.  This Chico Walker really turned out well.

Walker (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1980 to 1981, 1983 to 1988 and 1991 to 1993 for the Red Sox Cubs and Mets.  He had 299 hits, 17 home runs and a .246 batting average.

I mailed to the signing on January 3 and got the card back on January 25, for a 22-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $10.00.

TTM Success - Will Wilson

I was really happy to get these signed cards back TTM from former NCSU standout, Will Wilson.  The above Donruss American Pride card turned out great, even with the inscription.

Wilson also signed and inscribed a 2019 Stars & Stripes and a 2019 Bowman Draft.

Wilson (b. 1998) is originally from Kings Mountain, NC, which is outside of Charlotte.  He was drafted in the first round (15th overall) of the 2019 June Amateur Draft out of NC State University.  He was traded to the Giants along with Zack Cozart back in December.

Wilson played 46 games with Rookie Level Orem Owls and had 52 hits, 5 home runs and a .275 batting average.

I mailed to Wilson on January 10 and got the cards back on January 24, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Hayden Wesneski

I sent off a few 2019 Bowman Draft cards so I could add a few of them to my collection, and clear out some room for more cards to come in.  I had to dig a little deeper than normal to find some of the addresses to send to, but I was able to come away with a success from Hayden Wesneski.

I had him sign a 2019 Bowman Draft and a 2019 Bowman Draft Chrome.  Both cards turned out great.

Wesneski (b. 1997) was a 6th round draft pick by the Yankees in the 2019 June Amateur Draft.  He was 1-1 with 30 strike outs and a 4.76 ERA, all with Pulaski.  I don't remember seeing him when I saw Pulaski last season, but I only had cards for a couple guys, and Draft hadn't come out yet.

I mailed to Wesneski on January 3 and got the cards back on January 24, for a 21-day TAT.

TTM Success - Billy Rowell

Billy Rowell was once a prospect in the Orioles system.  He was a first round draft pick, who, lets say, didn't live up to his potential.  I remember reading an article on him after he was drafted where he said he was on his way to the Hall of Fame.  I remember thinking "Ooh, hang on, kid" and here we are.

I had met Rowell back when he was playing for Frederick.  Long before I was graphing cards, I made sure to get Rowell on a baseball, since he was a former first round pick.  Thinking back, I wish I had been graphing cards back then, because I had a bunch of his stuff.  Now, all of his cards are buried in an Orioles box somewhere in my closet.

I did uncover these two cards fairly recently, and saw that Rowell was signing TTM.  I'm glad I sent them, because surprisingly, Rowell wrote me a note in return.  He thanked me for being a fan, and said that he had some good times in Frederick.  I really appreciated the note.  He was always nice to me in the times I met him, so I have nothing bad to say about him.  I just wish he had panned out.

Rowell (b. 1988) was a first round draft pick out of high school by the Orioles in the 2006 June Amateur Draft.  He played in the minors from 2006 to 2011, reaching Bowie (AA).  He had 513 hits, 40 home runs and a .261 batting average across 6 MiLB seasons.

I mailed to Rowell on January 13 and got the cards back on January 24, for an 11-day TAT.

1987 Topps Pickups

I picked up a couple signed cards for my 1987 Topps set recently.  I added two deceased players that I saw pop up on Ebay for decent prices.

Eddie Milner (b. 1955 - d. 2015) played in the majors from 1980 to 1988 for the Reds and Giants.  He had 607 hits, 42 home runs and a .253 batting average.  Milner passed away at the age of 60 in 2015; no cause of death was revealed.

Tony Fernandez (b. 1962 - d. 2020) played in the majors from 1983 to 1995, 1997 to 1999 and 2001 for the Blue Jays, Padres, Mets, Reds, Yankees, Indians and Brewers.

The 5-time All Star had 2,276 hits, 94 home runs and a .288 batting average. He was a 4-time Gold Glove Award winner and his best finish in the MVP voting was 8th (1987, AL).  He won the World Series in 1993 with the Blue Jays.  He appeared on the 2007 Hall of Fame ballot and received 0.07% of the vote.