Tuesday, March 6, 2018

TTM Success - John Stearns

As usual, I am falling way behind on posting, especially with TTMs.  That is a good thing, though, because it means I will have stuff to write about for quite a while.  It will get even more hectic when Wood Ducks season starts in less than a month.  So, I will continue to plug away, and maybe squeeze a few extra posts in when I can.

Here is a TTM success from John Stearns that I had been wanting to send out for a long time.  For whatever reason, I sat on his cards in my box, and didn't send.  Finally, earlier this year, I sent out a ton in the span of a few weeks.  That rush on TTMs led me to go ahead and drop these in the mail.  Luckily, they came back fairly quickly, and all look pretty good!
I liked the 1979 Topps record breaker at the top of the page.  Some of those subset cards are really cool to get signed.  I also got his 1976, 1979 and 1982.

Stearns (b. 1951) played in the majors from 1974 to 1984 for the Phillies and Mets.  He had 696 hits, 46 home runs and a .260 batting average.  Stearns was an All Star 4 times (1977, 1979, 1980 and 1982).  By the way, he stole 25 bases as a catcher in the National League in 1978, to which the 1979 Topps record breaker card refers.  His National League record was broken in 1998 when Jason Kendall stole 26.  Stearns's 1978 total now ranks tied for 6th between both leagues.  Funny thing, however, is that Roger Bresnahan stole 34 in 1903 in the NL, but the card probably refers to the modern era.

Stearns appeared on the 1990 Hall of Fame ballot, but did not receive any votes.

I mailed to Stearns on January 8 and got the cards back on February 6, for a 29-day TAT.

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