TTM Success - Sheng-En Lin

Another current player that I was able to get to sign TTM recently was Reds prospect. Sheng-En Lin. He signed my 2024 Bowman Draft (above) and my 2025 Topps Pro Debut chrome and base cards (below).

I had his blue foil parallel, but had misplaced it. Of course I found it after I sent these off. Typical of me.

Lin (b. 2005) was an international signing by the Reds out of Taiwan. He has played in the Reds system since 2023 when he was 17. He has reached A ball, but spent this whole season on the IL. He has 74 hits, 3 home runs and a .258 batting average. 

I mailed to Lin on May 18 via Daytona, and got the cards back on June 18, for a 31-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Whit Merrifield

A private signing I had been hoping for popped up recently. I had been trying to get Whit Merrifield on some cards since my dad poured his driveway back in 2021. My brother took some cards for me, but didn't see Merrifield after that. Since then, I pulled a couple nice parallels, which were the ones that I ended up sending out. Above is an awesome blue shimmer foil from 2024 Topps.

This one is a blue foil from 2025 Topps. In person, it is a darker shade of blue. My scanner kind of brightened it.

Merrifield (b. 1989) played in the majors from 2016 to 2024 for the Royals, Blue Jays, Phillies and Braves. He had 1,249 hits, 94 home runs and a .280 batting average. He led the league in hits in 2018 and 2019. He was an All Star three times (2019, 2021 and 2023). He finished 17th in the 2018 AL MVP race.

I mailed to the signing on May 2 and got the cards back on June 11, for a 37-day TAT. I paid a fee of $25/card.

TTM Success - Cam Eden

Another recent player that I found had been signing TTM was Cam Eden. Chris and I had met him when we were in Buffalo a couple years ago, but at that time, he had no cards. Fast forward a bit, and he got into some update sets.

I sent Eden a 2024 Topps Heritage High Number (top) and a 2024 Topps Update (above) for the TTM request, and they both look great.

Eden (b. 1998) played in the majors in 2023 for the Blue Jays. He had 1 hit, no home runs and a .167 batting average. 

I mailed to Eden on March 21 and got the cards back on June 5, for a 76-day TAT.

TTM Success - Cade Smith

An actual current player has been signing TTM recently. I was told that Cade Smith was signing, so I pulled a few cards and sent them to him via the Guardians. He signed the above 2025 Topps Heritage. That design looks really good, and even better in my autograph album. 

He also signed a 2024 Topps Heritage High Number and a 2024 Topps Update.

Smith (b. 1999) has played in the majors since 2024, for the Guardians. He has a record of 20-7 with 314 strike outs and a 2.26 ERA. He led the AL in saves this season with 41. He was an All Star this year. He finished 9th in the 2024 Cy Young Award voting and 5th in the AL Rookie of the Year race.

I mailed to Smith on May 18 and got the cards back on June 5, for an 18-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Gary Beare

A 1978 Topps was added to the autograph album when this card came back signed by Gary Beare. I don't have a lot of bulk 1978 Topps remaining. I think I sold off most of them way back in the day. Still, there are a few left that I could send out TTM. I just need to be a little more diligent when going through the box.

Beare (b. 1952) played in the majors in 1976 and 1977 for the Brewers. He had a record of 5-6 with 64 strike outs and a 5.15 ERA.

I mailed to Beare on November 12 and got the card back on June 1 for a 201-day TAT.

September 1-6, 2026, Graphing of the Otters at Bird Dawgs

This Bird Dawgs season ended on September 6, and with that, graphing for me this season has closed. I was going to go to Durham and then Norfolk, but I opted out in favor of resting and relaxing at home. It was a long season.

The Evansville Otters came to town with a few guys who had team set cards from across the minors. They also had teo guys with cards listed on their coaching staff, but I learned on the first night of the series that those two guys didn't make the trip. That was a shame, but we still enjoyed the series.

The Bird Dawgs were a much better team this season. They had several players hit over .300, even a couple hit over .330. That's pretty dang good. Stephen DiTomaso even broke the single season hits record for the Frontier League. That was something awesome to see that last series.

Stephen signed a ball for me with the hits record inscription, and then gave me a cracked bat after the final game. He's such a great guy. I really hope an affiliated club picks him up.

In all, we got the following autographs: Blake Barthol x 2, Mark Black x 2, Logan Brown x 2, Joan Gonzalez x 4, Marco Gonzalez x 4 and Anthony Tomczak x 4, Nate Wohlgemuth x 2, and Stephen Ditomaso x 2 (22 total autographs). 

Another TTM Success From Nate Schierholtz

While going through my boxes, I pulled a couple 2010 cards to send out to Nate Schierholtz. I had gotten him back in 2019, so it has been long enough to send to him again. The above 2010 Upper Deck turned out great.

I also sent out this 2010 Topps. It also looks good. 

I mailed to Schierholtz on January 39 and got the cards back on May 30, for a 121-day TAT.