TTM Success - Evan Gattis

Here is another fairly recent player who I discovered (via Gerard, I think) was signing TTM. Evan Gattis signed this 2018 Topps for me and it turned out nicely. There are a few more guys he told me about that I need to search cards for.

Gattis (b. 1986) played in the majors from 2013 to 2018 for the Braves and Astros. He had 605 hits, 139 home runs and a .248 batting average. He finished 7th in the 2013 NL Rookie of the Year voting. He won the World Series in 2017 with the Astros.

I mailed to Gattis on March 16 and got the card back on April 11, for a 26-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Joel Brewer

A couple years ago, I hastily bought Perfect Game cards of several Wood Ducks players. One of whom didn't actually have cards. I had searched Michael Brewer and bought a lot of 10 Joel Brewer cards because Ebay suggests stuff even when a search should reveal nothing. So, in my haste, I accidentally bought the lot of 10 Joel Brewer cards and was stuck with them for quite a while. 

I finally found an address for Joel Brewer and sent three of the cards out TTM to give it a shot. I got the correct address, as the cards came back signed. 

Brewer (b. 1999) played one season in college at the University of South Carolina. He had 4 hits, no home runs and a .235 batting average.

I mailed to Brewer on March 14 and got the cards back on April 11 for a 28-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Corey Knebel

A more-recent card came back signed TTM when this 2023 Topps came back from Corey Knebel. The card turned out great. 

Knebel (b. 1991) played in the majors from 2014 to 2018 and 2020 to 2022 for the Tigers, Brewers, Dodgers and Phillies. He had a record of 13-16 with 407 strike outs and a 3.26 ERA.

I mailed to Knebel on March 11 and got the card back on April 11, for a 31-day TAT. 

August 18-23, 2026, Graphing of the Aigles at Bird Dawgs

The Bird Dawgs season is quickly coming to a close. I missed a month of baseball at Grainger Stadium due to two big trips overlapping the Bird Dawgs home schedule, so when I got back from the National, there were only two home series left. Trois-Rivieres came to town on August 18, and Ibwas excited to get former Yankee, Greg Bird on a ton of cards. Except, he didn't travel with the team. I did get Evan Rutckyj to sign his 2013 Bowman. I was glad I had one of them in the box.

I also got Lizandro Rodriguez to sign some cards of his that I had left over from when I saw him with Columbia a couple years ago. Then, I had new Bird Dawg, Wes Albert on a Tri City team set card. I have accepted the sad fact that the Bird Dawgs won't have a team set again this year. Boo.

In all, I got the following autographs: Wes Albert x 2, Evan Rutckyj x 1, Lizandro Rodriguez x 7. (10 total autographs).

TTM Success - Justin Hagenman

Finally, I can chip away at posting some TTMs since I have gotten through most of what I plan to post from this year's National. There are a bunch to show off, beginning with this return from Justin Hagenman on a couple 2025 Topps Update. I had pulled the above green foil parallel when I broke my box right when it came out. I was glad to see it come back signed. 

He also signed my base card, which turned out great.

Hagenman (b. 1996) played 9 games last season and 1 game this season for the Mets. He has a record of 0-1 with 25 strike outs and a 4.39 ERA.

I mailed to him on January 14 and got the cards back on April 11 for an 87-day TAT.

2026 National Free Signer - Steve Lyons

The last free signer that I was getting at this year's National was Steve Lyons. His line took the longest, but it was because he made a point to talk to everyone. I appreciated that, even though I really wanted to get back to the bargain boxes that Nate and I were looking through.

I did make it back to the bargain boxes with about 30 minutes to spare.

Lyons (b. 1960) played in the majors from 1985 to 1993 for the Red Sox, White Sox, Braves and Expos. He had 545 hits, 19 home runs and a .252 batting average. 

2026 National Paid Signer - Eddie Murray

This card that I found in my collection of Eddie Murray was somewhat of a mystery to me. I had no idea where I had gotten the card from, and I had no idea what it even was. I'm glad you can lens search on Ebay, because I was able to figure out that this is a 1983 KG Glossy blank back card. It's thinner than most baseball cards, so I had to handle it carefully. I liked the clean design and thought it would be a good addition to the autograph album. It definitely stands out.

I had met Murray a couple times before, and he was just as nice this time. He even shook my hand as I was leaving. Very classy guy. I still need to get him on the 1991 Crown Orioles card, but I keep putting it off.

He was the last paid signer I got on a card. There were two others I got on baseballs that I'll show later on. Also, there's one more free signer to go, then I need to catch back up on graphing and TTM posts.