TTM Success - Darryl Motley

I crossed another 1987 Topps off of my list when I took part in another private signing on SCN.  This Darryl Motley card turned out pretty well, and the price was right.

Motley (b. 1960) played in the majors in 1981 and from 1983 to 1987 for the Royals and Braves.  He had 324 hits, 44 home runs and a .243 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Royals in 1985.

I mailed to the signing on February 4 and got the card back on February 28, for a 24-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $8.00.

TTM Success - Jim Holt

Some more older Topps cards came back TTM signed by Jim Holt.  The cards turned out well.

All I could find of Holt in my boxes were these two cards, but they were plenty for me to send.  He has a pretty nice signature.

Holt (b. 1944) played in the majors from 1968 to 1976 for the Twins and A's.  He had 428 hits, 19 home runs and a .265 batting average.  He won the World Series with the A's in 1974.

I mailed to Holt on January 29, and got the cards back on February 27, for a 29-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jakob Junis

I have been really happy with my returns from Spring Training this year.  Last year, I didn't get near as many returns.  This year, I am well over half of what I sent out, and I still have a week to go.  There are a few guys who I would love to get back, but the ones I have gotten back have been some nice ones.

Jakob Junis signed two card for me, a 2018 and 2019 Topps.  Both turned out well.

Junis (b. 1992) was a 29th round pick out of high school by the Royals in the 2011 June Amateur Draft.  He has played in the majors since 2017.  He has an 18-15 record with 244 strike outs and a 4.35 ERA.

I mailed to Junis on February 6 and got the cards back on February 26, for a 20-day TAT.

Signed 87 Set Pickup - Tom Seaver

This was going to be a tough card to get, far before Tom Seaver announced that he would be retiring from public life due to a recent diagnosis of dementia.  He had already largely given up signing, and I knew my best hope of adding him to my collection was going to be through the secondary market.

Luckily, I have two other guys I know that either are putting the set together, or have already completed it.  They both have been helping me look for some of the tougher guys, and when one of them messaged me the other day to tell me that a Seaver popped up on Ebay, I jumped at the chance to go ahead and cross that name off of my list.

The cost was pretty high, but in the end, I would have regretted letting it pass, so I made sure the card would be in my album.

Seaver (b. 1944) played in the majors from 1967 to 1986 for the Mets, Reds, White Sox and Red Sox.  He had a career record of 311-205 with 3,640 strike outs and an ERA of 2.86.  He won the 1967 NL Rookie of the Year Award and was a three-time NL Cy Young Award Winner (1969, 1973 and 1975).  He was a 12-time All Star (1967 to 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1981).  His best MVP finish was 2nd in 1969.  He won the World Series with the Mets in 1969.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1992 with a then-record 98.8% of the vote.  His vote percentage still ranks third all-time.

TTM Success - Mitch Garver

Another nice Spring Training TTM success came in, this one being from Twins catcher, Mitch Garver.  I really liked the 2019 Topps, and made sure that card was one that I sent.

He also signed this 2018 Topps, which turned out well.

Garver (b. 1991) has played in the majors since 2017 for the Twins.  He has 90 hits, 7 home runs and a .259 batting average.  He was drafted in the 9th round of the 2013 June Amateur Draft out of the University of New Mexico.

I mailed to Garver on February 12 and got the cards back on February 26, for a 14-day TAT.

March 16, 2019, Raleigh Card Show Recap

I hadn't been to a card show since last year's National, and I really wasn't planning on going to the Raleigh show this past weekend.  I received a message from my friend, Jackson, who wanted to go, and he asked me if I would go with him to the show.  I figured it would be nice to spend time with him, so I decided to go ahead and attend.

I had some Christmas money that I hadn't spent, so I had a little bit of a budget.  I bought mostly stuff for other people, which is usually the case.  I did, however, find a few things for myself.  Most of what I bought was vintage stuff for TTMs and cirrent prospect stuff for graphing.  I did grab a few things for the collection, like the above 1949 Bowman Ralph Kiner.

The Kiner is really rough, but I liked it, and it was part of a bulk vintage deal with one of my favorite vendors.  I paid $20 for this card and a stack of lower grad vintage for TTMs.

This blue wave Riley Pint auto was part of the last deal I made.  The guy had a ton of nice Bowman parallels and autos.  I got a decent stack from him for $50.

I picked up a bunch of current and former Wood Ducks autos, as well.  I got this Eric Jenkins as part of a 2/$5.00 or 5/$10.00 deal.

Kyle Cody is a case of "buy low" at this point.  He has been out with arm injuries, but when he was on the Wood Ducks, he was pretty much "lights out".  I'm hoping he can bounce back and also spend a little more time in Kinston before he moves up (for selfish reasons, of course).

 I loved this green shimmer Cody auto, and this was the card that started that bulk $50 deal.  Jackson found it for me, and I made sure to take it home.

 This Jairo Beras auto was a steal.  He is a really cool guy, and even if he doesn't make the Show, I will hold onto this, since we met him several times.

I guess I have a small bit of a PC for guys that I have met, so adding this Jose Trevino made sense.  He was an awesome guy, even though he wasn't a Wood Duck.

This Ryan Ripken auto was a throw in on the bulk deal, and I was glad to grab it.  I was also glad I have finally learned not to wear Orioles gear to a show.  I got hosed back in the day when Ripken was first drafted, since I had an Orioles shirt on.

Finally, my big ticket item was this graded 10/10 Leody Taveras auto.  I paid $50 for it, and I think it will only go up.  I expect to see him again in Kinston this summer, but probably for not very long.

I had a great time at the show.  I was happy with everything I picked up, and I really appreciate Jackson inviting me.

TTM Success - Mark Teahen

I was really glad to get a bunch of these late 2000s cards signed TTM from Mark Teahen.  I have a ton of this kind of stuff, and would love to get more of it signed, but players from that time-frame don't sign a lot of TTM.  This 2007 Turkey Red is definitely one of the types of cards that I really wanted in my autograph album.  It turned out really well with Teahen's signature.

I also added a 2005 Upper Deck, 2008 Piece of History and a 2007 Finest.  They al turned out well, I think.  Piece of History was an interesting set that I opened quite a bit of when I was at the old card shop.

Teahen (b. 1981) played in the majors from 2005 to 2011 for the Royals, White Sox and Blue Jays.  He had 759 hits, 67 home runs and a .264 batting average.

I mailed to him on February 11 and got the cards back on February 26, for a 15-day TAT.