2025 National Free Signer - Rich Nye

Back in 2020, I got Rich Nye TTM.  I was out of his cards, but saw that he was added to the autograph lineup early enough in place if Jim Osborn to order cards for the trip.  I hadn't gotten Nye on a 1969 Topps yet, so that was the card that I ordered for myself.  I also ordered a 1970 Topps for Jesse.

Nye was very nice.  I read about him while I was waiting in line.  He is an avian specialist with a concentration in exotic birds.  Prior to that, but following his baseball career, he was a civil engineer and was involved in the construction of the Willis Tower.

2025 National Free Signer - Milt Wilcox

The other of Wednesday's free signers at the National was Milt Wilcox.  He wa supposed ti be at last year's show, but had to cancel.  I wanted to get this 1971 Topps previously signed by Frank Duffy completed.  The card looks great now that it is complete.

They called Wild Cards on Wilcox, so Jesse and I used them up to get some more cards out of the box.  I got my well-worn 1972 Topps (left) and this sharp 1980 Topps (right) signed as well.  Both turned out great.

Wilcox (b. 1950) played in the majors from 1970 to 1975 and 1977 to 1986 for the  Reds, Indians, Cubs, Tigers and Mariners.  He has a career record of 119-113 with 1,137 strike outs and a 4.07 ERA.  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1984.

I was glad to finally get some of my Wilcox cards (many of which I had pulled last year) signed and put away into my autograph album. 

2025 National Free Signer - Hal Morris

Hal Morris was one of the Wednesday fewe VIP signers at the National.  I had gotten him TTM in the past, but I still had a bunch of his cards that I could get signed.  The above 1994 Topps turned out great.

They called Wild Cards on Morris, so I was able to get s few more cards signed.  The 1997 Bowman Chrome (left) turned out great.  The 1996 Topps Gallery (middle) was from the box of cards I busted a long time ago while visiting Andrew.

Finally, the card on the right is a 1996 Topps Finest.  These are also nice cards but they kind of blur or fade.  This one turned out fine and shouldn't fade since it'll be stored in my album.  By fading, I mean the actual card, not the signature.

Morris was really nice.  I was glad to meet him, and his line.moved pretty quickly. 

2025 National VIP Party Signers

The 2025 National has come and gone.  From Wednesday to Sunday, I searched a lot of boxes, got a bunch of stuff signed, waited in a lot of lines and smelled a lot of B.O.  Still, I had a great time and met some all-time greats.  The festivities started on Wednesday with the VIP Party signers.  I had gotten autographs of Al Oliver and Bill Madlock before.  I was down to a scant few cards of them, and am now pretty much cleared out.  The above 1976 Hostess card came out of a stack that Max gave me a few years ago.  I found it in a box not too long ago and was glad to get it signed.

I also had a 1981 Topps left over of Oliver and got it done, as well.  I also had a few of the 2023 Pro Debut Bill Maslock.  Those are cool cards and this one looks great signed.

Finally, I got Bill Cartwright on this card.  This is a 1995 Topps Stadium Club that I picked up from Sportlots.

The VIP Party was packed, but this year they had food stations in each corner, which made getting food easier.  The autograph lines didn't take too long, which was nice.  The VIP Party was a good precursor to the show and a.sign that we were in for some crowds.  Stick around for recaps from what else I got signed this year.

TTM Success - Dick Estelle

My post about Masanori Murakami was missing one card, my 1965 Topps Giants Rookie Stars card.  I got it back from Murakami and sent it off to Dick Estelle.  The card.came back signed quickly and looks awesome.

Estelle (b. 1942) played in the majors from 1964 to 1965 for the Giants.  He had a record of 1-2 with 29 strike outs and a 3.23 ERA.

I mailed to Estelle on April 16 and got the card back on April 25 for a 9-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Neil Medchill

The older Bowman box helped out with a couple Neil Medchill cards that I sent off TTM.  They came back signed in ballpoint pen.  Above is a 2010 Bowman of Medchill.

As usual, the 2010 Bowman Chrome didn't scan for crap, but rest assured, the card looks nice.  I was pretty satisfied with the autos even though the cards were signed in pen.

Medchill (b. 1987) was an 11th round pick by the Yankees in the 2009 June Amateur Draft out of Oklahoma State.  He played in the Yankees system from 2009 to 2013, reaching AAA.  He had 310 hits, 53 home runs and a .234 batting average. 

I mailed to Medchill on December 4 and got the cards back on April 21 for a 138-day TAT.

TTM Success - Pedro Alvarez

Whoops. I forgot to post last night.  Here is a great TTM success that I got back from Pedro Alvarez.  I got him on this 2017 Topps that shows him in an Orioles uniform. 

I also sent this 2014 Bowman that turned out great.

Alvarez (b. 1987) played in the majors from 2010 to 2018 for the Pirates and Orioles.  He had 704 hits, 162 home runs and a .236 batting average.  He led the NL in home runs (36) in 2013.  That season he was an All Star and won the Silver Slugger Award. 

I mailed to Alvarez on March 22 and got the cards back on April 19 for a 28-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Justin Morneau

A great TTM success came back recently from Justin Morneau.  I sent to him via the Twins at the start of the season last year, and the card finally came back signed.

The card is a 2006 Bowman Heritage.  I had a small handful of these cards and it was nice to be able to get one signed.

Morneau (b. 1981) played in the majors from 2003 to 2016 for the Twins, Pirates, Rockies and White Sox.  He had 1,603 hits, 247 home runs and a .281 batting average.  He was a 4-time All Star (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) and th 2006 AL MVP.  He also won thr Silver Slugger Award twice (2006 and 2008).  He appeared on the 2022 Hall of Fame ballot, but received only 1.3% of the vote).

I mailed to Morneau via the Twins on March 26, 2024, and got the card back on April.18, 2025, for a 388-day TAT.

July 26, 2025, Graphing of the Cyclones at Grasshoppers

Last Saturday, I went to Greensboro to cash in one of the rain out tickets I had.  The Greasshoppers were playing the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets High A affiliate.

I was excited to get Konnor Griffin finally.  The above 2025 Bowman insert came out of a blaster box I opened a couple hours before the game.  Mom had picked the blaster up for me.  I didn't have my baby powder with me to prep the card, so Mom had to hook me up with some corn starch from the kitchen.  The corn starch worked.

I had a bunch of cards for Brooklyn.  Everyone except Jesus Baez signed everything I had.  Baez did 2 per pregame and then did 3 post game outside.  

Nate Dohm inscribed one of his 2024 Bowman Draft cards with his nickname, Dohminator.  Funny that I got Dohm and Baez, though, as they both were traded to the Cardinals in the Ryan Helsley trade today.

I was glad to get all of my Colin Houck cards signed.  I had some nice stuff of him, but was afraid he would limit. 

I got Griffin pregame and post game.  Post game he ran with someone's black Sharpie. I didn't mind though. I picked up a 2025 Grasshoppers team set and got a couple cards from it signed.

I also got my sparkle parallel of Carlson Reed signed.  He paused when he was signing and admired the card for a bit.

Finally, I knocked out a couple of my Lonnie White, Jr. cards.  I didn't do too well with the team set, but I have some stuff for the next time I go.

In all, I got the following autographs: Jesus Baez x 5, Nate Dohm x 2, AJ Ewing x 5, Colin Houck x 8, Diego Mosquera x 3, Eli Serrano x 2, Marco Vargas x 4, Konnor Griffin x 2, Geovanny Planchart x 1, Shalin Polanco x 3, Carlson Reed x 6, Enmanuel Terrero x 5, Michael Walsh x 1, Lonnie White x 12 and Connor Wietgrefe x 1 (60 autographs).

July 25, 2025, Graphing of the Ghost Peppers at Rockers

This past Friday, I went to High Point to try to knock a few Gastonia cards out that I missed from my road trip last month.  I didnt exactly clear many Gastonia guys out, but I did do pretty well with High Point. 

A lot of the Gastonia guys that I needed were on the IL.  I did get a couple guys like Tony Fossas and Cory Thompson. 

I did pretty well with High Point, like I said above.  Alex Dickerson was added to the roster since the last time I had been there.  He was really nice and signed almost everything that I had.  I helped Max complete some 2017 Topps Heritage Minors trio cards, which was cool.

In all, I got the following autographs: Tony Fossas x 1, Jack Reinheimer x 4, Cory Thompson x 2, Kevin Watson x 1, Alex Dickerson x 8, Kyle Halbohn x 1, Drew Mendoza x 3, Frank Viola x 9, and Luis Gonzalez x 7 (36 autographs).

TTM Success - Masanori Murakami

This TTM success from Masanori Murakami came back all the way from Japan.  I saw that he signed TTM and picked up a couple of his cards to go along with the First Pitch 2025 Topps card that I had pulled.  I bought this insert card from the Tokyo series early in the year, which turned out great.

Here is the First Pitch card.  Both of the cards look awesome.  I also picked up his 1965 Topps rookie card and got it signed.  It was later sent out to Dick Estelle to complete.

Murakami (b. 1944) played in the majors from 1964 to 1965 for the Giants.  He had a record of 5-1 with 100 strike outs and a 3.43 ERA.  He played 18 seasons in Japan, going 103-82 with 758 strike outs and a 3.64 ERA.

I mailed to Murakami on March 22 and got the cards back on April 15 for a 24-day TAT.  I sent $10.00 to cover the return postage.

TTM Success - Mike Simms

Here are some quintessential early 90s cards that were added to the autograph album by way of a TTM success from Mike Simms.  The above 1991 Fleer looks great signed.

I also got back a 1991 Topps, 1992 Topps, 1992 Upper Deck and a 1991 Score.

Simms (b. 1967) played in the majors from 1990 to 1992 and 1994 to 1999 for the Astros and Rangers.  He had 163 hits, 36 home runs and a .247 batting average. 

I mailed to Simms on March 12, 2024, and got the cards back on April 14, 2025, for a 398-day TAT.

TTM Success - Curt Schilling

A private signing with Curt Schilling popped up recently that had him at the cheapest price that I had seen him, so I signed up.  I thought I had this 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces in my collection somewhere, but I couldn't find it.  I bought this one off of Ebay for the signing.  I wanted something with the bloody sock in the autograph album. 

Since the price was so reasonable, I went ahead and sent out my 1991 Crown Orioles card as well.  I had seen Schilling on a recent documentary and he honestly looked pretty rough.  I didn't want to wait around to get these signed, so I went ahead with this signing.

Schilling (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1988 to 2007 for the Orioles, Astros, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Red Sox.  He had a career record of 216-146 with 3,116 strike outs and a 3.46 ERA.  

He was a 6-time All Star (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2004).  His best finish in the Cy Young Award voting was second, which happened 3 times (2001, 2002 and 2004).  His best finish in the MVP Race was 10th in 2001 and 2002.

He won the World Series with the Diamondbacks in 2001 and the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.  He appeared on 11 Hall of Fame ballots but has come up shortly of election.  The highest vote % he received was 71.1%, just short of the 75% required.  His politics and a failed venture into the gaming industry (that cost investors a ton of money) are some of the reasons keeping him out.  He will get in eventually. 

I mailed to the signing on January 27 and got the cards back on April 12, for a 75-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $35/card.

TTM Success - Drew Finley

Here are a couple 2015 Bowman Draft cards (one paper and one chrome) that I got signed TTM from Drew Finley.  I was trying to thin out some older Bowman and saw that Finley signs.  The cards turned out nicely. 

Finley (b. 1996) was a 3rd round pick by the Yankees in the 2015 June Amateur Draft out of San Bernardo High School in California.  He played in the Yankees and Dodgers systems from 2015 to 2019, reaching A ball.  He had a record of 4-12 with 177 strike outs and a 5.80 ERA.

I mailed to Finley on March 19 and got the cards back on April 12 for a 24-day TAT. 

Rest In Peace Hulk Hogan

They say don't meet your heroes.  I don't exactly know who "they" are, but 10 years ago at the National, I met one of my childhood heroes, Hulk Hogan.  I am an unashamed wrestling fan and have been since I was at least 3 years old.  Today, the world lost an icon at the age of 71 due to apparent cardiac arrest. 

I wrote before about how awesome it was to meet Hogan.  He was friendly, engaging and impactful.  One of the greatest moments I've had among the many times I have met a celebrity or athlete.  

When news of his passing broke, even my mother-in-law knew to shoot me a text message.  I had seen recently on X that he was possibly in bad shape, but it went over my head.  Now he's gone.  I had to call Chris and let him know, as well.  I know that he had his issues, but I'm going to choose to remember our encounter and look back fondly at the memories that I have.  Tonight I don't think I'll take any vitamins but I'll definitely say my prayers.  I'll always be a Hulkamaniac. Rest in peace, Brother!

One more time, here's the video I shot on 2015 when we met Hogan:

TTM Success - Phil Gosselin

Here are a few Topps Heritage cards that I got signed TTM by Phil Gosselin.  The above 2016 Heritage turned out nicely. 

I also sent off a 2017 and 2022 Heritage.  I don't get into my Heritage stuff as much as I would like, so getting these signed was nice.

Gosselin (b. 1988) played in the majors from 2013 to 2022 for the Braves, Diamondbacks, Pirates, Rangers, Reds, Phillies and Angels.  He had 281 hits, 17 home runs and a .254 batting average. 

I mailed to Gosselin on March 3 and got the cards back on April 12 for a 40-day TAT.

A Few More Autos From Max

Soon, I'll be able to spend a little time with my buddy Max.  Hes a great guy and always hooks me up with autographs.  He sent over a handful of signed cards recently.  This 2022 Topps 87 Chrome Silver Pack card of Jake Burger is a great addition to the autograph album.   I'm not sure if I sent this to him to get signed or if it was an extra he sent to me.  I love these silver pack cards and getting them in the album is great.

Max also sent these autographs from Manny Acta, Jerry DiPoto, Gabe Speier, Caleb Thielbar, Alek Thomas and Nick Pratto.  Im pretty sure at least a couple of these are ones that I sent.  Max loves to help me knock out team set cards.  I forgot all about the 2018 SAL Top Prospects card.  I still have a few unsigned cards from that set but over the years, a bunch of them have been signed.

Max sent a cpuple team cards sugned by Jerry DiPoto, Emerson Hancock and Luke Little.  Max helps big time with helping me get these out of the boxes.  Im glad they can get put to use as opposed to sitting in some boxes.  These really do come in handy.

Finally, Max sent me another Wander Franco signed 1987 Topps design card. Franco has become a bit of a running joke between Max and I.  I'm not going to get into the specifics on Franco.  We'll never see him again.  However, sone of these cards may be important if I ever want to assemble some of these 87-themed insert sets, so I'm definitely not going to refuse them.

As always, thanks Max for the autographs.  I can't wait to take you to dinner when I'm in Chicago.

TTM Success - Sam Horn

My friend Gerard helped me get a few Sam Horn cards signed a while back.  When he did, I hadn't picked up my 1991 Crown Orioles set.  I saw a signing for Horn and went ahead and sent this card in to g a f signed.

Horn (b. 1963) played in the majors from 1987 to 1993 and 1995 for the Red Sox, Orioles, Indians and Rangers.  He had 250 hits, 62 home runs and a .240 batting average. 

I mailed to the signing on March 21 and got the card back on April 11 for a 21-day TAT.  I paid the fee of $10.00/card.

Another Care Package From Drake

My friend Drake sent me another scare package recently.  He sent me some really nice cards, some of which I'd never have been able to get myself.  The above 2019 Bowman of Ryan Costello is a really nice autograph.  Costello passed away a few years ago while playing in Australia; I never got to see him play.  My buddy Jackson was on that tour of Australia when Costello passed, along with former Wood Ducks manager, Steven Mintz.

In this batch of cards, Drake sent signed cards of Anthony Vizcaya, Brandon Winokur, Tanner Hall, Charlee Soto, Jaime Ferrer, Billy Amick, Byron Chourio and Kaelen Culpepper.  Drake gets down to Fort Myers at times and helped me by taking a 50/50 of some Twins prospects.  I don't think the Byron Chourio was originally mine.  I don't remember having a blue parallel, so it may have been part of the gift Drake paired with sending back my 50/50s.

Here are signed cards of Joshua Baez, Zach Levenson, Triston Casas, Ed Howard, Alex Binelas, Brett Baty, Ezequiel Pagan and Bobby Wahl.  I do know that the pink Joshua Baez was mine.  Drake saw Springfield and got some cards signed for me there.  The rest are extras he had gotten in the past.

Here are Thomas Jones, Justin Lavey, Hunter Mink, Blake Loubier, Kyle Gaedele and Sam Coonrod.  Drake is close to one of the Frontier League teams and also can see a few teams in the American Association.  He took some Sam Coonrod cards for me, along with a couple Kyle Gaedele.

These are a few landscape-oriented cards of Sam Coonrod and Brandon Winokur.  I know these are a few that I sent for 50/50s.

Drake also sent cards like this Jose Rondon 2015 Bowman Chrome mini purple shimmer.  He said that someone owed him cards and finally paid up.  He sent me some of the extras from that deal, I believe.

Finally, Drake sent some great surprises in the package like CC Sabathia, Allen Craig, Desmond Jennings, Miguel Olivo, WIll Venable, Tyler Glasnow, Marcus Thames and Carlos Rodon.  All of these are guys I wouldn't normally get to see.  I did see Typer Glasnow back when he was on rehab in Durham.  The Sabathia was a definite surprise.

Drake hooks me up more often than not.  I really appreciate the autographs and look forward to the next care package.  Thanks so much, Drake!

Some Autographs From AJ

My buddy AJ recently sent me a few autographs because he felt that they'd be in a better place in my autograph album as opposed to his closet.  I was amazed when I opened the package and saw the cards inside.  He told me ahead of time that he would be sending me a few IP autos that he had gotten but didn't tell me who had signed the cards.  When I saw this 1990 Topps Roger Clemens, I was very surprised. 

AJ also sent me a 2006 Fleer Jeff Francis, 2019 Bowman Draft Christian Cairo and 2019 Bowman Draft Brett Baty.  I hadn't gotten these three guys before, so that was cool.

Finally, here is a 2019 Topps Stadium Club Adam Jones.  This is a really nice card.  Im disappointed that I didnt get a return from Jones during Spring Training. 

I feel really bad because I opened the package from AJ when it came in, was super excited to get the cards, then I put them aside to scan for a later post.  In that time, I completely forgot that it was AJ who sent them to me.  He reminded me when I posted on Instagram that he had sent them.  AJ, again, I'm sorry that I forgot.  Thank you so much for the cards.

Cody Freeman to the Show

The 2021 Down East Wood Ducks season was a special one.  That team was amazing, and Chris and I followed the team to the championship series in Charleston.  That was the season where I also found a connection with one of their players, Cody Freeman.  Cody was always the first player out of the clubhouse that season, and would always walk up to us before each game and ask us how we were doing.  The second game of the season, he walked over and asked if we would be coming to every game; he had seen us the day before at the first game.  We said yes, and he introduced himself.

Months later, Cody spotted me in the Greenville airport as I was on my way to the National.  He was on his way to rehab an injury in Arizona.  He sat beside me in the airplane to Charlotte (ugh those masks!) and we bonded.  Cody was and is such an awesome guy.  Today, as I was eating dinner and watching a movie, I got a text from Jesse telling me that Cody had been called up to the Show!  I have been waiting for this day since 2021.  Cody is MY GUY and I can say that I have followed his career since Low A.

He got the call to the Show.  I'm not crying, you're crying.  I am so happy to see him make it.  It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.  I am really proud to be a fan!  Go get em, Cody!!!!