TTM Success - Lonnie Smith

I used PastPros again and knocked another name off of my 1987 checklist.  I also went ahead and added this 1995 Score, which shows Lonnie Smith as an Oriole.  I always loved the 1995 Score set, and would have built it, if my base cards I had hadn't all been stuck together.  Oh well, this one survived, and is now safe in my album.

Here is the 1987 Topps that I needed, which turned out well.

Smith (b. 1955) played in the majors from 1978 to 1994 for the Phillies, Cardinals, Royals, Braves, Pirates and Orioles.  He had 1,488 hits, 98 home runs and a .288 bating average.  He was an All Star in 1982.  His best finish in the MVP voting was also 1982 (NL), when he finished second to Dale Murphy.  He won the World Series with the Phillies in 1980, with the Cardinals in 1982 and with the Royals in 1985.

I mailed to Smith on September 20 and got the cards back on September 28, for an 8-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $5/card plus the $2 PastPros fee.

TTM Success - Joe Borowski

This TTM success from Joe Borowski was nice because it got me a few signed cards from the mid-2000s.  These are years where I don't have a lot of extra base, so some of these guys are hard to come by.  The above 2005 Topps turned out really well, I think.

These are actually two different 2008 Topps.  The top one is the shorter printed gold foil and the bottom is the more common silver foil.

Finally, here is a 2007 Upper Deck.  I remember busting a box of this way back when, and really enjoying this set.

Borowski (b. 1971) played in the majors from 1995 to 1998 and 2001 to 2008 for the Orioles, Braves, Yankees, Cubs, Devil Rays, Marlins and Indians.  He had a career record of 22-34 with 372 strike outs and a 4.18 ERA.  He led the league in saves in 2007 with 45.  He also had a 5.07 ERA that season, so he must have had quite a few clunkers as well.

I mailed to Borowski on September 10 and got the cards back on September 28, for an 18-day TAT.

TTM Success - Roosevelt Brown

I'm pretty sure I found this 1999 Flair Showcase Wave of the Future Roosevelt Brown at the National this summer.  I figured I would give it a shot to send TTM, and it really came out well.  It has the surface of a Sportsflics card, so I wasn't too sure the auto would hold.  I have never gotten a Sportsflics card signed, so I was really in the dark how this one would look, but since it came from a dime box, it was worth a shot.

Just in case the Flair Showcase didn't work out, I also sent this 2000 Bowman.  This one looks really great, so the TTM request was a true success.

Brown (b. 1975) played in the majors from 1999 to 2002 for the Cubs.  He had 111 hits, 11 home runs and a .251 batting average.

I mailed to Brown on August 21 and got the cards back on September 25, for a 35-day TAT.

TTM Success - George Stone

Here are some more 70s cards that I unearthed in order to get this TTM success from George Stone.  I found the above 1971 Topps at my LCS, and other than the normal wear and tear on a 71, it turned out pretty well.

The above 1973 and 1976 Topps turned out well.  I like them both, but the 1976 stands out for some reason.  That is a kind of forgotten set.

Stone (b. 1946) played in the majors from 1967 to 1975 for the Braves and Mets.  He had a career record of 60-57 with 590 strike outs and a 3.89 ERA.

I mailed to Stone on July 25 and got the cards back on September 23, for a 60-day TAT.

TTM Success - Billy Grabarkewitz

It took two tries, but I got a couple cards signed by Billy Grabarkewitz.  I had grabbed the above 1970 Topps while at Conrad's in Columbia.  I wanted to add another to my album, and this one turned out great.

I also found this one in the box of 1973s that I got from there, and it looks really sharp.

Grabarkewitz (b. 1946) played in the majors from 1969 to 1975 for the Dodgers, Angels, Phillies, Cubs and A's.  He had 274 hits, 28 home runs and a .236 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1970.

I mailed to Grabarkewitz on September 10 and got the cards back on September 23, for a 13-day TAT.

TTM Success - Broderick Perkins

Here are some cards I got signed TTM by Broderick Perkins.  Perkins is rocking the very retro Padres uniform in this 1982 Topps.  Those old brown and yellow hats were pretty bad, but I suppose you could call the design a classic now.

It looks like Perkins was pretty excited to have his own baseball card, judging by the photo on this 1979 Topps Padres Prospects card.

Finally, here are 1983 and 1985 Topps and a 1983 Donruss.

Perkins (b. 1954) played in the majors from 1978 to 1984 for the Padres and Indians.  He had 340 hits, 8 home runs and a .271 batting average.

I mailed to Perkins on January 22 and got the cards back on September 23, for a 244-day TAT.

TTM Success - Harry Spilman

I added another card to my 1987 Topps set thanks to a private signing for Harry Spilman.  The auto cost me $15, but I crossed another card off of my checklist.

Spilman (b. 1954) played in the majors from 1978 to 1989 for the Reds, Astros, Tigers and Giants.  He had 192 hits, 18 home runs and a .237 batting average.

I mailed to Spilman on August 23 and got the card back on September 20, for a 28-day TAT.