TTM Success - Frank Riccelli

TTMs have finally started to come back in.  Part of that is because as the season has winded down, I have had more time to drop some requests in the mail.  I've made a dent in the to-be-TTMed box, and need to add back to it.  Here's one of the random cards I had in there that I finally got around to sending out.  This is a 1980 Topps signed by Frank Riccelli.

Riccelli (b. 1953) played in the majors in 1976, 1978 and 1979 for the Giants and Astros.  He had a record of 3-3 with 32 strike outs and a 4.39 ERA.  I mailed to Riccelli on August 1 and got the card back on August 16, for a 15-day TAT.

TTM Success - Kyle Drabek

This TTM success from Kyle Drabek took a while to come in, but I was happy when it did.  This 2011 Bowman turned out nicely.  I wish it had been a parallel or something but 2011 Bowman base cards look nice, as well.

I also got a 2010 Topps Pro Debut and a 2014 Topps signed.  Getting 2010 Pro Debuts out of my box is always great, considering I have a ton of them.  I remember being really excited when Pro Debut first came out, so I bought a box, busted it and put the cards up.  I'm glad I did, since I went through that box later and found a Mike Trout.  Not bad.

Drabek (b. 1987) played in the majors from 2010 to 2016 for the Blue Jays, White Sox and Diamondbacks.  He had a record of 8-15 with 123 strike outs and a 5.26 ERA.

I mailed to Drabek on October 7 and got the cards back on August 15, for a 313-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Danny Darwin

Here is a cool 1991 Topps Desert Shield card that I found at the National in a dime box.  I knew I'd have a good shot to get it signed by Danny Darwin, so I picked it up and dropped it in the mail.  The card looks awesome.

I mailed to Darwin on July 31 and got the card back on August 13, for a 13-day TAT. 

September 3-8, 2024, Graphing of the Green Jackets at Wood Ducks

My emotions are still raw regarding the Wood Ducks finally being done in Kinston for good.  So, instead, I'll discuss the graphing results of the final home series and then weigh in later on about the Wood Ducks exit.

Since we saw that Brock Porter was back with the Woodies to close out the season, I ordered some Bowman parallels to get signed.  My favorite was the above lunar crater parallel.  These parallels look so good, in my opinion. 

I also picked up a lunar glow (left), lava refractor (middle) and a Bowman Chrome (right).  I'm glad they got here in time before the series ended.

My Pro Debut boxes came in Saturday, as I was leaving for the game, so I had to bust the boxes Saturday night when I got home and got a Luis Guanipa signed on Sunday for my first signed 2024 Pro Debut. 

Titus Dumitru is on the Braves 1994 Score that I had brought for one of the Braves top draft picks (who turned out to not have traveled with the team).  Titus was really cool, so it was easy to pick him to sign the card.

I finished off every Luis Guanipa that I had, as well as every 50/50.  Guanipa was the only prospect with mainstream cards who traveled with the team.

Augusta's coaches all had cards.  I had gotten Wynston Sawyer before, so I was out of his stuff.  Connor Justus and Elvin Nina had a couple cards, and I finished all of them off.

Einar Diaz had a ton of cards, and I took a 50/50 on him.   I got everything done, which was great.

Finally, Roy Silver showed up so (in his words) he could see Grainger Stadium one more time.  He is a really nice guy, and I was glad to see him one more time.  The Allen and Ginter Silver card was a nice touch to get signed by Roy.  I had found the card in a box and Jesse came up with the idea to try to get it signed by Roy Silver.  Silver liked the idea and had no problem signing it for me.

In all, I got the following autographs: Brock Porter x 9, Roy Silver x 4, Einar Diaz x 18, Luis Guanipa x 33, Connor Justus x 11, Kadon Morton x 1, Titus Dumitru x 1, Elvin Nina x 2, Anthony Susac x 1 and Pablo Guerrero x 1 (81 total autographs). 

August 30-31, 2024, Graphing of the Bisons at Bulls

A couple weeks ago, Jesse and I went to Durham to finish off some Buffalo guys that Chris and I may have missed when we went to Buffalo in July.

Josh Kasevich wasnt with Buffalo when we originally saw them, but I was able to find his cards pretty quickly.  I got most of what i brought of Kasevich signed. 

Jonatan Clase stopped for me be the dugout pregame, signing my 2022 Heritage Minors.  Jesse couldnt get his book out fast enough and Clase ran off.  We tried to get him again outside post-game but he wouldn't stop for us. 

I got all but two of my Eric Pardinho cards signed, finally.  He was really nice.  I also helped Max out by grtting his 2014 Topps Donnie Murphy signed.

Hagen Danner was cool.  Usually when someone's card has the wrong picture, they won't sign it.  Danner signs his 2024 Topps Heritage with a "This ain't me" inscription.

Danner signed everything we had, which got quite a few cards out of the boxes.

Cole Wilcox was finally with Durham and I got a couple Panini Stars and Stripes cards signed.  These have been in my box for a long time, and are finally signed.

Speaking of finally getting cards signed, I finally got my 2020 Bowman Ian Seymour, and these two Heriberto Hernandez cards signed.  

We also finally got cards signed by Morgan Ensberg.  You have to walk with him when he signs, as he will not stop.  Look up the reason why. It's crazy.

I picked up a Bulls team set, and knocked out a bunch of them.  There aren't many left that haven't been signed.

Over the two games, Jesse and I did pretty well. Buffalo was a pretty good team to get, and we didn't have to worry about trying to do arrival.

In all, we got the following autographs: Kenny Hook x 2, CJ Hinojosa x 1, Cole Wilcox x 4, Wool E Bull x 1, Jonatan Clase x 1, Mason Fluharty x 1, Josh Kasevich x 6, Eric Pardinho x 4, Rob Brantly x 1, Brett Ebers x 1, Morgan Ensberg x 10, Heriberto Hernandez x 2, Tyler Ladendorf x 1, Jake Mangum x 1, Enmanuel Mejia x 1, Mason Montgomery x 1, Tristan Peters x 1, Joe Record x 1, Joe Rock x 1, Reynaldo Ruiz x 1, Ian Seymour x 2, Riley Welch x 1, Nathan Wiles x 1, Hagen Danner x 11, Braydon Fisher x 2 and Donnie Murphy x 2 (61 total autographs). 

1987 Topps Set Pickup - Chet Lemon

This is my most recent pickup for my signed 1987 Topps set, a Beckett certified Chet Lemon.  I jad recently read an article about how Lemon has suffered a series of strokes, so I grabbed this one off of Ebay.  The article was really good and explained why folks hadn't heard much out of Lemon for some time now.  His wife wanted to let fans know, since there are plans to have Lemon at an upcoming Tigers game commemorating the 1984 World Series Champion Tigers.

Lemon (b. 1955) played in the majors from 1975 to 1990 for the White Sox and Tigers.  He had 1,875 hits, 215 home runs and a .273 batting average.  He was a three-time All Star (1978, 1979 and 1984).  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1984.  He appeared on the 1996 Hall of Fame ballot but received only 0.2% of the vote. 

I like having my set in an album, but I don't want to crack this case.  I'll probably put an unsigned Lemon in the album with a slip of paper saying "see graded card" or something like that.

TTM Success - Dave Meier

Here is a quick TTM success that I got from Dave Meier on a 1985 Topps card.

The card turned out nicely after sitting in the to-be-TTMed box for a few years.  I finally got around to sending it out.

Meier (b. 1959) played in the majors in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988 for the Twins, Rangers and Cubs.  He had 70 hits, 1 home run and a .253 batting average.

I mailed to Meier on July 15 and got the card back on August 13, for a 29-day TAT.