TTM Success - Joe Ellis

Here is another cool vintage basketball card that I picked up from the LCS in Winston-Salem to get signed by Joe Ellis.  These cards are really cool, but I need to figure out where I sat my postcard album, because those are the only pages I have that would fit these cards.

Ellis (b. 1944) played professionally from 1966 to 1974 for the San Francisco/Golden State Warriors.  He had 4,623 points and 716 assists in his career. 

I mailed to Ellis on May 8 and got the card back on May 25, for a 17-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Tyler Stovall

A random 2010 Topps Pro Debut was added to the autograph album when I got this one back signed TTM from Tyler Stovall.  He added a nice Bible verse to the card with his signature.

Stovall (b. 1989) was a second round pick by the Braves during the 2008 June Amateur Draft out of Hokes Bluff High School in Alabama.  He played in the minors from 2008 to 2011, all in the Braves system (reaching A ball).  He had a record of 6-9 with 160 strike outs and a 5.86 ERA.

I mailed to Stovall on May 14 and got the card back on May 24, for a 10-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Garrett Richards

A trio of TTMs came in this week, one of which was this success from Garrett Richards.  This 2013 Topps Update gold parallel turned out nicely.

I also got this 2018 Topps Stadium Club, which also looks nice.  The card curved a lot since the mail person left the mailbox open while it was raining. I put the card in a top loader between two of my 5,000-count boxes.  That helped straighten it up.

Richards (b. 1988) played in the majors from 2011 to 2022 for the Angels, Padres, Red Sox and Rangers.  He had a record of 55-50 with 853 strike outs and a 3.87 ERA.  

I mailed to Richards on March 25 and got the cards back on May 23, for a 59-day TAT.

May 23, 2024, Graphing of the Redbirds at Bulls

Needing to burn some PDOs, I took yesterday and today off with the intention of hitting arrival at Durham.  I was able to rack pretty well during the trip up there; so much so, I was able to get autographs 5 times (arrival, batting practice, inside pregame, inside postgame and outside postgame.  I prepped for the trip for several weeks and was really happy with how I did, along with my friend, Jordan.  The main card I wanted to get done was the above 2024 Topps Jordan Walker black gold insert.  I hit it outside, so everything else later was gravy.

Shane Baz was the other guy that I really wanted to get.  He hit a whole page outside on arrival.  The (bottom left) 2018 Bowman Hi Tek was the other card I really wanted to get.  Baz was really cool.  He did comment outside postgame about how many cards I had.  What can I say, I had a ton. 

Chris Devenski was the first graph we got; he was really cool and signed a 2019 Topps Heritage, and the above (bottom left) 2016 Heritage Minors Minor Miracles card that I just happened to see that he was on.

I spent a lot of time looking for the 2017 Topps Heritage Minors CJ Hinojosa (top, second from left), so I was really excited to get it done.  The 2013 Topps Emerald Parallel of Rob Brantly just happened to appear on my desk and I was able to add it to the book for this trip.  I was alsonavle to get Ronny Simon and Logan Driscoll. 

Yu Chang was on the IL, but was still in town.  He hit two per for us the two times we saw him.  He was really nice and I hope I can get him a few more times. 

The guys on Memphis were all really cool.  I got Ben Johnson, Howie Clark, Moises Gomez, Jose Fermin, Adam Kloffenstein and Zack Thompson.  The Fermin was the first IP 2024 Topps that I've gotten.  His signature looks awesome.

Cesar Prieto hit everything I had in the book.  He said he'd sign after stretching, then walked by without signing.  I called his name again, and he pointed at me, acknowledged me and came back by.  He was really nice.

I also hit Luken Baker, who is a large human being, Andre Pallante and again, Jordan Walker.

Finally, here is a 2022 Topps Pro Debut Michael McGreevy.  I got him inside postgame.  He pitched a great game (a complete game), but took the 1-0 loss after a passed ball allowed a runner to score.

In all, we got the following autographs: Shane Baz x 11, Rob Brantly x 5, Yu Chang x 5, Chris Devenski x 2, Logan Driscoll x 3, CJ Hinojosa x 1, Ronny Simon x 2, Edwin Uceta x 1, Luken Baker x 3, Howie Clark x 1, Jose Fermin x 1, Moises Gomez x 5, Ben Johnson x 1, Adam Kloffenstein x 5, Michael McGreevy x 3, Andre Pallante x 3, Cesar Prieto x 6, Zack Thompson x 1 and Jordan Walker x 2 (61).

TTM Success - Rick Parker

Another very dry week of TTM returns dod see me get one, this success from Rick Parker that was sent out last year.  I got some early 90s stuff signed, which helped get some stuff out of the boxes.

I sent off a 1991 Fleer (top), 1990 Topps Traded (left), 1991 Topps (middle) and a 1992 Topps Stadium Club.

Parker (b. 1963) played in the majors from1990 to 1991 and 1993 to 1996 for the Giants, Astros, Mets and Dodgers.  He had 55 hits, 2 home runs and a  .279 batting average.

I mailed to Parker on November 27 and got the cards back on May 21, for a 176-day TAT.

May 14-19, 2024 Graphing of the Mudcats at Wood Ducks

Last week, the Wood Ducks returned to Kinston after two weeks away to face the Mudcats.  The Mudcats have very few guys with cards, but I was able to rack anyway, since the Woodies had their team set come out on Saturday and my boxes of 2024 Bowman came in on Wednesday. 

I planned ahead and picked up a couple Josh Knoth 2023 Leaf Vivid cards.  Another was supposed to come in, but didn't get here in time. The card at the top of the page is a 1/+, which is cool.  Both of the Knoth cards scanned great.

I also got my first 2024 Bowman cards signed by Cooper Pratt.

Yhoswar Garcia was tough; he refused to sign for us a couple time.  When he did stop (finally), he his everything we had.  He probably got tired of seeing me.  Oh well, his stuff is completely done, so I won't have to bother him anymore. 

Finally, the Wood Ducks team set came out earlier than ever.  It was given out as a promotional giveaway this season.  Since the team is leaving after this season, they didn't want to get stuck with a bunch in a closet somewhere. 

The set looks nice.  It rained on Saturday, but I was able to get in and get our sets prior to the game being called.  It set up a double header for Sunday, and they were giving sets out again.  All told, I ended up with 6 of them.

The 6 sets are pretty much spoken for: one for me to get signed, one for me to keep unsigned and load into the Wood Ducks album, one for Chris, one for Gerard, one for Charlie and one for any of my group that may have missed the giveaway.

The double header on Sunday gave me 4 chances to knock cards off of the list.  I almost got everyone, save for a couple pitchers.  There are a few who have already moved up to Hickory, a couple injured guys and a couple who were bumped down to Arizona.

I also got this Bowman Heritage of Marcu Smith signed for Gerard, but he let me keep it.

The Woodies won the series 4-2, which was great, since the Mudcats always play them tough.

In all, we got the following autographs: Alejandro Rosario x 3, Josh Knoth x 4, Cooper Pratt x 6, Yophery Rodriguez x 2, Paul Bonzagni x 3, Willian Bormie x 3, Julian Brock x 3, Jorge Cortes x 3, Kolton Curtis x 3, DEWD x 3, Arturo Disla x 3, Kohl Drake x 3, Buddy Fultz x 3, Jose Gonzalez x 3, Wes Hunt x 3, Gleider Figuereo x 4, Kyle Larsen x 3, Jesus Lopez x 5, Carlos Maldonaldo x 3, Case Matter x 3, Wady Mendez x 3, Brayan Memdoza x 3, Danny Mendoza x 3, Chandler Pollard x 3, Brian Pozos x 3, Thomas St. Clair x 3, Justin Sanchez x 3, Luke Savage x 3, Marcus Smith x 4, Tommy Specht x 3, Marcos Torres x 5, Ryan Straney x 3, Josh Trentadue x 3, Echedry Vargas x 5, Kai-Noa Wynyard x 3, Juan Baez x 2, Yhoswar Garcia x 32 and Bishop Letson x 2 (152 total autographs). 

TTM Success - Dave Gambee

A couple weeks ago, when Jesse and I went up to High Point, we stopped in at the LCS in Winston-Salem.  They had some boxes to search in the middle of the shop, and I found a few vintage basketball cards that I decided to pick up and send out for TTMs.  This 1970-71 Topps of Dave Gambee was the first one to come back.

Gambee (b. 1937) played professionally from 1959 to 1970 for the Hawks (St. Louis), Royals (Cincinnati), Nationals (Syracuse), 76ers, Rockets (San Diego), Bucks, Pistons and Warriors (San Francisco).  Gambee was a good lesson for me in former basketball team names.  I never knew Syracuse had an NBA team; I also didn't know the Hawks used to be in St. Louis, Cincinnati had a team, or that the Rockets were once in San Diego.  That's one of the many things I like about these vintage cards from other sports leagues.

Gambee had 7,935 total points in his career.  He won the NBA championship in 1966-67 with the 76ers.

I mailed to Gambee on May 6 and got the card back on May 17, for an 11-day TAT. 

A Couple IP Autos From Jordan

Finally, I was able to get this 2022 Topps Heritage Minors blue parallel of Erick Pena signed.  It got done when my good friend, Jordan, took it to the Mudcats to get signed when Columbia was in town.  I was so disappointed in myself that I put it in a tote instead of my normal minors card boxes.  I tried to get our mutual friend, Mike, to get it signed last season once I realized I had the card, but by then, Pena was in the IL.  Jordan told me he was going to see Columbia and after I told him about the card, he offered to get it done.

Jordan got a Yhoswar Garcia 2022 Topps Heritage Minors signed for me, but I put it with this week's graphs from the Mudcats series.  

Jordan also gave me this 2022 Topps Heritage Minors Miguel Bleis that he got signed.  Bleis was hurt most of last season, so I wasn't able to get him at all.

Thanks so much for getting these cards to me, Jordan.  I appreciate it!

A Quick 50-50 With Dante

A very small 50/50 I did with a guy on Instagram named Dante turned out nicely. He had put on his story that he needed Shelley Duncan when Scranton-Wilkes Barre came to his area.  He split the two Duncans with me; he sent me the above 2008 Topps Update back.

I also asked him if he would take my two Clayton Andrews Mudcats team cards.  He sent them both back, so I included a few extra autos that I had.

The 50/50 worked our great, so I'm hoping Dante asks for more stuff soon.

TTM Success - Mac Suzuki

When I checked the mail yesterday after work, I noticed a strange stamp that I hadn't used before.  Upon closer inspection, the stamp was from Japan, but I had to wait until I got home from last night's double header to see who it was from, Mac Suzuki.  I had sent him a 1995 Fleer and a 1995 Bowman.  Both cards look great.

I didn't have many 1995 Bowman at all; I think this is only the second one I've put in the autograph album. 

Suzuki (b. 1975) played in the majors in 1996 and from  1998 to 2002 for the Mariners, Royals, Rockies and Brewers.  He had a record of 16-31 with 327 strike outs and a 5.72 ERA.  

I mailed to Suzuki on January 6 and got the cards back on May 16, for a 131-day TAT.  I sent him $5 to cover return postage.

Another TTM Success From Paul Hartzell

Back in 2020, I sent to Paul Hartzell TTM and had quite an adventure with my cards. Apparently, my stuff was ruined when the envelope got wet. Hartzell reached out to me on LinkedIn and sent me back some signed cards, along with my sole surviving card, the 1991 Crown Orioles card.  It was left unsigned and sat in my to-be-TTMed box for over 3 years.  I finally dropped it back in the mail and got the card signed.  It got some frequent flyer miles, but can now reside in the autograph album.

I mailed to Hartzell on May 1 and got the card back on May 15, for a 14-day TAT. 

TTM Success - David Lough

My friend, Ryan, told me that former Oriole, David Lough, was signing TTM, so I sent this 2015 Topps out, and it came back signed the other day.  There isn't much to his signature, but the card is signed and in the album. 

Lough (b. 1986) played in the majors from 2012 to 2016 for the Royals, Orioles and Phillies.  He had 190 hits, 13 home runs and a .254 batting average. 

I mailed to Lough on April 30 and got the card back on May 13, for a 13-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Chris Hanburger

Here is a cool vintage football card that I picked up at the LCS in Winston-Salem while I was up there last week.  I got this 1969 Topps football card of Chris Hanburger because Jesse told me that I'd be able to get it signed TTM.  It came back looking great!

Hanburger  (b. 1941) played professionally from 1965 to 1978 for the Redskins.  He was a linebacker his whole career and had 19 interceptions and 2 touchdowns.  He made the Pro Bowl 9 times and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

I mailed to Hanburger on May 6 and got the card back on May 13, for a 7-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Chico Cardenas

Another signed 1964 Topps was added to the autograph album when I got this card back TTM from Chico Cardenas. The card looks great, as most 1964s do.

Cardenas (b. 1938) played in the majors from 1960 to 1975 for the Reds, Twins, Angels, Indians and Rangers.  He had 1,725 hits, 118 home runs and a .257 batting average. He was a five-time All Star (1964, 1965, 1966, 1968 and 1971) and a Gold Glove Award winner (1965).

I mailed to Cardenas on May 3 and got the card back on May 11, for an 8-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $5.00/card.

50-50s From Aidan W

My buddy Aidan took a few cards for me of a couple Asheville guys, and also a couple guys with the Greenville Drive.  I wasn't able to get Tyler Whitaker last season because he was injured when he came through.  I had found this 2022 Bowman Heritage at the National, and was glad Aidan could help me get it signed.

He also helped me get my 2023 Bowman Draft Cam Fisher cards signed, along with two other Whitakers and two Greenville 2023 Topps Pro Debut cards (Cutter Crawford and Juan Chacon).

Thanks for getting these done for me, Aidan!

May 7-12, 2024, Graphing of the Hillcats at Wood Ducks

This week, the Lynchburg Hillcats came back to Kinston to one per me to death.  I had picked up some cards off of Ebay of Wood Ducks coach, Jorge Cortes.  The above 2005 Bowman Heritage relocation card was a cool pickup that I was able to get signed.  Even Cortes commented on how cool the card was.

I had also gotten Cortes's 2004 Bowman and 2004 Bowman gold, along with a Hillcats team set card.

It turned out that former Wood Duck, James Jones, was in town as a roving instructor for the Rangers.  I got a couple of his cards signed, once I dug them out of my boxes.

The Hillcats were rough.  Juan Benjamin did one-per, so it took me some time and a little help from Jesse to get the cards i brought of him signed.  Angel Genao is now personalizing, but he was super nice about it. He seems like a really nice kid.  Ralphy Velazquez was hard to get a read on.  He seems genuinely miserable about being here one day, then super nice the next, followed by absolutely miserable again.  Who knows what the deal was.  I only had one card of him, so I didn't have to ask much of him.

The series was close all-around, topped off by a walk-off win in extras today.  We had a good time this week, even though graphing was a bit tough.

In all, we got the following autographs: Jorge Cortes x 4, Gleider Figuereo x 6, Alejandro Rosario x 3, Alex Clemmey x 6, Angel Genao x 7, Tommy Hawke x 3, Juan Benjamin x 3, Jaison Chourio x 6, Christian Knapczyk x 3, Ralphy Velazquez x 1, James Jones x 3 and Jose Pastrano x 2 (47 total autographs). 

TTM Success - Dan Osborn

This nice 1976 Topps came back signed TTM from former pitcher, Dan Osborn.  He's got a nice signature, and the card looks pretty sharp.

Osborn (b. 1946) played in the majors in 1975 for the White Sox. He had a record of 3-0 with 38 strike outs and a 4.50 ERA.

I mailed to Osborn on May 1 and got the card back on May 11, for a 10-day TAT. 

Another TTM Success From Carl Warwick

Back in 2016, I had sent to Carl Warwick abd got him to sign two cards.  He had signed and personalized a 1964 and 1966 Topps.  This was well before I picked up the complete 1991 Crown Orioles set.  Since then, I've been trying to get some of them signed, so I went ahead and sent to Warwick earlier this month.

He signed the 1991 Crown, and three other cards that I sent.  I had found extra 1964 and 1966 Topps, and Warwick signed them without personalizations now.  I also sent off a 1962 Topps, and Warwick inscribed that one with the 1964 WS Champions inscription.

I mailed to Warwick on May 1 and got the cards back today (May 11) for a 10-day TAT. I paid his fee of $5/card.

A Quick 50-50 With Patrick

My friend, Patrick recently took a couple Grant Gambrell cards that I found in my boxes.  I was glad to get them signed and into the autograph album. Patrick took two of them at his share of the 50/50.

Patrick sees Worcester, and Gambrell is there this year.  He signed a 2020 Heritage Minors and a 2020 Pro Debut. 

Gambrell (b. 1997) was a third round pick by the Royals in the 2019 June Amateur Draft out of Oregon State.  He has played in the minors since 2019 in the Royals and Red Sox systems, reaching AAA.  He has a record.of 14-23 with 255 strike outs and a 4.65 ERA.

TTM Success - BJ Ryan

A private signed with a former Oriole came up recently.  I had been wanting to get BJ Ryan into my album for a while, and I finally did so with some pretty nice cards.  I had to pick up the above 2000 Fleer Ex off of Ebay, and it turned out nicely.

I also got a 2005 Topps and a 2005 Upper Deck.  Both of these came out of the Orioles boxes.

Ryan (b. 1975) played in the majors from 1999 to 2009 for the Reds, Orioles and Blue Jays.  He had a record of 21-28 with 625 strike outs and a 3.37 ERA.  He was an All Star in 2005 and 2006.

I mailed to the signing on March 4 and got the cards back today (May 9), for a 66-day TAT.

TTM Success - Aaron Miles

A TTM success came in this week from Aaron Miles that added the above 2007 Upper Deck and below 2012 Topps Jeritage to the autograph album. 

Both of the cards turned out nicely.  I found two other Miles cards on my desk today; I guess I had pulled them, then forgot to send them along with these two.  Oh well.  These were just fine.

Miles (b. 1976) played in the majors from 2003 to 2011 for the White Sox, Rockies, Cardinals, Cubs and Dodgers.  He had 793 hits, 19 home runs and a .281 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Cardinals in 2006.

I mailed to Miles on March 27 and got the cards back on May 6, for a 39-day TAT. 

Another TTM Success From Bobby Shantz

While going through boxes recently, I found this 1991 Topps Archives of Bobby Shantz.   I thought I'd go ahead and send to him again so I could add it to the album. Shantz is 98 years old and is still signing.  It was an easy decision. 

I mailed to Shantz on April 26 and got the card back on May 6, for a 10-day TAT. I paid his fee of $5.00/card.

May 5, 2024, Graphing of Dash at Grasshoppers

With the rain clearing out Sunday, Jesse and I decided to head to Greensboro to see the Grasshoppers take on the Dash and try to finish off some stacks of cards we had put together last month. We had seen the Grasshoppers at Dash, now we flipped that and Jesse could add another stadium to his list.

We graphed inside pre-game and outside post-game.  Samuel Zavala hit everything we had outside.  That almost completely wiped me out of his cards, save for three 2023 Pro Debuts that i couldnt reasonably fit into one of the books.

Peyton Pallette did something I hadn't seen before. He was late coming onto the field pre-game, so he said he would sign for us when he walked by after the first inning. He made good on that promise and signed everything we had.

I found some old Greensboro team sets for $5.00/set and got this 2010 Guilford the Grasshopper signed during the game.

In all, we got the following autographs: Jack Brannigan x 6, Guilford x 1, Termarr Johnson x 4, JP Massey x 1, Jacob Gonzalez x 2, Wes Kath x 1, Peyton Pallette x 5, Jordan Sprinkle x 5, and Samuel Zavala x 13. (38 total autographs).