TTM Success - Chad Patrick

A nice wave of 2021 Bowman Draft TTMs has begun to come through.  That makes checking the mail fun again.  I have sent off a ton of TTM requests already this month, after sending only sporadically to end 2021.  This success came from Chad Patrick after I had to change the address I wrote on the envelope, after I had already mailed the cards.

The folks at my post office know me well enough where after one of my friends told me I had sent to the wrong address, I was able to ask before the envelope left the building, and they allowed me to dig through the bin and find my envelope.  Apparently, my friend is friends with Patrick, so he told him that my cards were on the way, and he graciously signed for me.  The purple chrome parallel I showed is numbered 241/250.

Patrick (b. 1998) was a 4th round pick by the Diamondbacks in the July 2021 Amateur Draft out of Purdue.  He played at Low A Visalia this past season, where he went 0-0 with 6 strike outs and a 4.76 ERA.  This was only over 2 games, by the way.

I mailed to Patrick on January 7 and got the cards back on January 15, for an 8-day TAT.

TTM Success - JT Schwartz

There were no logged attempts to get JT Schwartz TTM when I mailed my card off a couple weeks ago, so I may have been one of the first folks to mail to him.  That's always kind of cool, being able to add someone to the SCN database.  I don't actually log my attempts on there until I get something back from the player.  I think by the time my card came in, someone else had added him to the database, but I know my success was the first logged one.  I used a good address lookup site and did some research into Schwartz and found a working address.  The card turned out nicely.

Schwartz (b. 1999) was a 4th round pick by the Mets in the 2021 July Amateur Draft.  He played this past season at Low A Port St. Lucie.  He had 16 hits, no home runs and a .195 batting average.

I mailed to Schwartz on January 7 and got the card back on January 15, for an 8-day TAT.

TTM Success - Micah Ottenbreit

Micah Ottenbreit was the first TTM success to come in this year from 2021 Bowman Draft.  It can be fun trying to get some of the new players to sign what usually is th first card in their careers.  I, and some friends, try to get successes from as many of the players as we can.  A lot of them, I have to do some research and find addresses to send to, which makes it like a scavenger hunt.  I sent off close to 30 TTMs to these guys, and have already been successful on quite a few.

Ottenbreit (b. 2003) was a 4th round pick by the Phillies in the 2021 July Amateur Draft out of Trenton High School in Michigan.  He played in the rookie level Florida Complex League this past season, going 1-0 with 4 strike outs and a 4.50 ERA.

I mailed to Ottenbreit on January 7 and got the card back on January 15, for an 8-day TAT.

TTM Success - Shane Drohan

The above 2020 Bowman Draft Chrome refractor really scanned nicely.  Here is another series of recent cards that came back signed.  I went through a handful of 2020 Bowman Draft as I was waiting for 2021 Draft to come in and dropped these in the mail when I saw that Drohan signed.  All of the cards turned out great.

Drohan (b. 1999) was a 5th round pick by the Red Sox in the 2020 June Amateur Draft out of Florida State University.  Last season he played at Low A Salem (who did not come through Kinston).  He had a record of 7-4 with 86 strike outs and a 3.96 ERA.

I mailed to Drohan on January 3 and got the cards back on January 15, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - Spencer Strider

There have been quite a few cards removed from my prospects boxes recently.  I sent off a few 2021 Pro Debut and Heritage Minors cards via TTM and had to make room for my 2021 Bowman Draft that came in.  One of the players I sent to earlier this month was Spencer Strider.  He has been signing regularly, so I got my 2021 Topps Pro Debut, a 2020 Bowman Draft and 2020 Bowman raft Chrome signed.

The cards turned out great.

Strider (b. 1998) was a 4th round pick by the Braves in the 2020 June Amateur Draft out of Clemson.  He made his Major League debut this past season, appearing in 2 games.  He went 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA and no strike outs.

I mailed to Strider on January 3 and got the cards back on January 15, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jose Rosado

When I sent these cards TTM to Jose Rosado, Betty White was sill alive (so was Chris Cornell), the card shop was still open in Greenville, the Wood Ducks had finished their first month of ball and I had no idea what social distancing was.  My point is, these cards were out there for a very long time.  Still, the cards finally came back, even though it looks like Rosado used a marker that may have been older than Betty White.

I had mailed the cards to the Trenton Thunder, back when they were still a team (thanks, Rob Manfred).  I was excited to see the super old stamp that I had used, and was happy to finally cross Rosado off of my TTM list.

Rosado (b. 1974) played in the majors from 1996 to 2000 for the Royals.  He had a record of 37-45 with 484 strike outs and a 4.27 ERA.  He was an All Star in 1997 and 1999.

I mailed to Rosado on May 3, 2017, and got the cards back on January 14, 2022, for a 1,717-day TAT.

TTM Success - Bill Plummer

TTMs are flowing back into my mailbox, after what felt like a long dry spell.  I have sent off all sorts of different types of cards, even venturing back into the box of vintage football cards that my friend, Max, gave me.  This TTM success, however, was from Bill Plummer on some nice 70s cards and a 1992 Topps from when he was a manager.

Plummer's signature is neat and compact, but looks great on the cards that I sent.  I mailed out a 1973 Topps, 1976 Topps, 1977 Topps and a 1992 Topps.  All of the cards turned out great.

Plummer (b. 1947) played in the majors in 1968 and from 1970 to 1978 for the Cubs, Reds and Mariners.  He had 168 hits, 14 home runs and a .188 batting average.

He managed the 1992 Mariners to a 64-98 record (.395 win %) during his only stint as a manager.

I mailed to Plummer on November 8 and got the cards back on January 14, for a 67-day TAT.