Andrew Comes Through

My longtime close friend, Andrew, really helped me out recently when he made one of his weekend trips to Evansville, Indiana.  He attended a show there to get my 1987 Topps All Star Don Mattingly signed.  This was the last of three Mattinglys that I needed for the set, and this show came in at a price about half of what Mattingly normally charges.

I had also seen that White Sox prospect, Colson Montgomery, would be at the show, so I sent off the above 2022 Bowman Invicta that I had bought early last season, but missed him.  This card turned out awesome, and will look great in my album.

Finally, Andrew sent along a Christmas gift that he had found for me, a 2019 Leaf Trinity numbered 3/15 of Cody Freeman.  I love this card!

Thank you so much for helping me out, Andrew!

2023 Orioles Caravan Recap

Baseball is almost upon us.  As the football season is set to wind down this coming weekend, baseball is about to ramp back up with pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training soon.  Now that there is no pandemic stopping things or a lockout keeping players away, I finally was able to do an activity involving the Orioles.

I hadn't been to Fan Fest since the last one the Orioles held, back in 2019.  I didn't go to the first Orioles Birdland Caravan in 2020.  Then, baseball autograph activities took a hit with COVID and then the lockout.  This year, however, I made a trip to three of the stops on the caravan and came away with some signed Orioles cards.

The first session was Saturday morning in Frederick, Maryland.  Chris, my friend Ryan, and I made the trip from Ryan's place to Frederick to get Nick Vespi and Grayson Rodriguez.  Ryan was able to score a voucher to get Adley Rutschman, but I was shut out.  Good thing, too, because of Rutschman's stupid exclusive deal, folks were only being given a pre-signed Orioles post card and a photo opportunity with Adley.  For the $50/voucher price point, that was a dud.  Thankfully, I got into the Grayson Rodriguez voucher queue online with no problems and purchased my allotted two vouchers.  The cards turned out nicely.  I had to buy Nick Vespi cards online, and got them in before the trip, which was nice.

Our next session was in Bowie, Maryland, so we hit the road.  We stopped at a Five Guys in Bowie, then headed to the venue for Ramon Urias and Heston Kjerstad.  This was my first opportunity to get Kjerstad in person.  He was talking and laughing with one of the handlers, so I didn't get a chance to talk with him, though.  Urias seemed nice.  I was happy to finally get my Panini Prizm card done.  I had sent it to a friend in Arizona for a potential signing, but was able to get him to send the card back in time for the caravan.

Ryan's eagle eye spotted Mike Elias in the room, so I used one of the generic Orioles cards to get him on.  I know the card is a 1994 Score, but with Camden Yards as the backdrop, it was nice to get the Orioles GM on a card.

We stayed the night in York, PA, so we would be close to the next venue for Sunday morning.  We had vouchers for Dean Kremer and Felix Bautista.  Ryan and I found out Saturday night that Dean Kremer was sick and wouldn't make it to the caravan on Sunday.  The Orioles put Larry Sheets in the session in Kremer's place.  My friend, Michael, came through in the clutch and had Larry Sheets cards ready for us on Sunday morning.

I was glad to get my 2022 Topps Update Chrome Bautistas signed. The purple refractor turned out nicely.

I was excited to finally be able to get John Means on some cards.  My 2021 Topps Now no hitter card is awesome.  I've been waiting a while to try to get it signed.  I also got some Dillon Tates signed that have been in my boxes for a few years.

One of the coolest things that happened during the York event was that Orioles assistant GM, Sig Mejdal, was walking along the line and chatting with fans.  I talked to him for a few minutes.  He is a really good guy, and how he got into baseball is very interesting.  Long story short, he was an engineer at NASA who studied MLB stats as a hobby.  He broke into the league as a member of the Cardinals.  He worked with Orioles GM, Mike Elias with the Astros and followed Elias to the Orioles.  The job those two are doing as a team has been very impressive.

I had a great time at the caravan and can't wait for the season to start.

TTM Success - Kevin Campbell

A 1993 Donruss was added to the album, with a clean signature and nice inscriptions from former pitcher, Kevin Campbell.  You don't see a lot of good penmanship with many of today's players.  I like to see a great signature on a card; it really makes them turn out so nicely.

Campbell (b. 1964) played in the majors from 1991 to 1995 for the A's and Twins.  He had a record of 4-3 with 83 strike outs and a 4.55 ERA.

I mailed to Campbell on November 7 and got the card back on December 13, for a 36-day TAT.  He did keep my three other cards, though.

TTM Success - Jerry DiPoto

A couple cards from 1994 and a nice Stadium Club card were sent out TTM and came back signed back in December.  The above 1994 Score Jerry DiPoto turned out nicely.

I really liked the above 1998 Stadium Club, and was glad I could get it signed.  Stadium Club always seems to be a nice product, and this set is pretty high quality.  The card is a bit thicker than a normal card and it super glossed; it almost seems shallacked.

DiPoto (b. 1968) played in the majors from 1993 to 2000 for the Indians, Mets and Rockies.  He had a record of 27-24 with 352 strike outs and a 4.05 ERA.

DiPoto has been a general manager for the Diamondbacks (2010), Angels (2011 to 2015) and Mariners (2015 to 2022).  He was promoted to President of Baseball operations by the Mariners in 2022.

I mailed to DiPoto on December 2 and got the cards back on December 12, for a 10-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Branden Boissiere

While I had gotten Branden Biossiere IP this past season, I was still excited to send to him TTM in order to get the above 2022 Topps Pro Debut into my autograph album. 

Topps, for some unknown reason, likes to issue the most important minor league cards after the season has concluded. So, I have had very few opportunities to get any Pro Debut signed yet.  Don't get me started on Heritage Minors or Bowman Draft.

Still, it was nice being able to get one of the cards done.  I had also found this 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome refractor in my box that I missed this past season, so I sent it TTM as well.

Boissiere (b. 2000) was a 3rd round pick by the Nationals in the June 2021 Draft out of the University of Arizona.  He has played in the Nationals system since 2021, reaching Low A (Fredericksburg).  He has 106 hits, 6 home runs and a .238 batting average so far in his minor league career.

I mailed to Boissiere on November 15 and got the cards back on December 12, for a 27-day TAT.

TTM Success - Steve Shields

A couple late 80s cards were added to the autograph album when I got this TTM success back from Steve Shields.  One would think that I would have a ton of 1988 and 1989 Topps in the album, but I don't have nearly as many as I do of some of the early 80s issues.  I think a big part of it is that going through those boxes can be kind of tedious, so I avoid them a lot of times.  I have been trying to add some more 88s and 89s to the album, though, so more may be coming in soon.

Shields (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1985 to 1989 for the Braves, Royals, Mariners, Yankees and Twins.  He had a record of 8-8 with 126 strike outs and a 5.26 ERA.

I mailed to Shields on October 27 and got the cards back on December 12, for a 46-day TAT.

TTM Success - Mike Diaz

Another signed 1987 Topps has arrived and my needs list has shrank by one.  This Mike Diaz came via a private signing on SCN.  I only need around 47 more cards to complete the set; it is getting so close.

Diaz (b. 1960) played in the majors in 1983 and from 1986 to 1988 for the Cubs, Pirates and White Sox.  He had 19 hits, 31 home runs and a .247 batting average.

I mailed to the signing on September 9 and got the card back on December 12, for a 94-day TAT.