TTM Success - Craig Colbert

These Craig Colbert cards sat in my to-be-TTMed box for quite some time before I got around to mailing to him.  I finally did, and got three cards back signed.  I have to say, one of the reasons I finally sent to him was that I was tired of seeing this 1993 Topps sitting in the box.

I also got a 1993 Fleer (left) and a 1992 Stadium Club (right) signed.  All of the cards turned out fine.

Colbert (b. 1965) played in the majors in 1992 and 1993 for the Giants.  He had 35 hits, 2 home runs and a .215 batting average. 

I mailed to Colbert on November 3 and got the cards back on November 29, for a 26-day TAT. 

A Couple Older 50-50s From Dylan

My desk is quite a mess. I had hoped to clean it off during the offseason, but I haven't been any less busy than I usually am in-season.  So, little by little, I am clearing things off and getting small stacks of cards scanned.  

I got a few cards back recently from a Spring Training 50/50 I sent out to my friend, Dylan.  Both of us have been busy and haven't talked with each othet like we had in the past.  No hard feelings or anything, just life getting in the way.  Dylan was finally able to get my cards back to me, and I was able to get them scanned and loaded into the autograph album. 

He took a few cards for Cardinals Spring Training this past season, and got the above 2024 Topps Heritage Mini of Jose Fermin and the below 2023 Topps and 2024 Topps Update Michael Siani cards signed.

The cards turned out great, and I appreciate Dylan getting them back to me.

I ended up seeing Siani last season in Durham, but had no cards left.  I probably should have held onto a few, but in the end, it doesn't matter. 

Thanks, Dylan,!

A Couple Old 50-50s From Gerard

Oof. These Christian Vazquez signed cards were sitting in a team bag, in a box that I had put aside a while back and forgot about. The cards were taken as a 50/50 by Gerard some time ago, and I never scanned them.  Above is a 2019 Topps Heritage. Below is a 2008 Bowman.

If I had to guess, I probably sent these to Gerard in 2021.  I'm sure he will tell me.

I feel bad that they sat for so long without being scanned and added to the autograph album.  However, this has been rectified and the cards are safely locked in the album.

Thanks for getting these done, Gerard.  As always, I appreciate it, even though it took me so long to get them posted.

TTM Success - Brandon Rice

A couple mid-2000s Bowman Chrome cards came back signed TTM by Brandon Rice.  The above 2006 Bowman Chrome came from my friend, Ryan.  He sent me a bunch of Bowmans to try TTM, and I got a lot of them done. 

I'm pretty sure this 2007 Bowman Chrome came from my own stuff.  I have a ton of 2007s, so it was good to get them out of the box.

Rice (b. 1988) was an 11th round pick by the Reds in the 2006 June Amateur Draft out of Spalding High School in Georgia. He played in the minors from 2006 to 2008, in the Reds system. He never got out of Rookie Ball.  He had a record of 5-7 with 47 strike outs and a 4.43 ERA.

I mailed to Rice on November 10 and got the cards back on November 25 for a 15-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Tom Hagan

This 2008 Bowman Chrome refractor of Tom Hagan came back signed TTM recently. He signed it in black Sharpie, and it turned out nicely.

Hagan (b. 1983) was a 39th round pick by the Pirates in the 2006 June Amateur Draft out of the University of Virginia. He played in the minors from 2006 to 2008 in the Pirates systems, reaching A ball.  He had 156 hits, 10 home runs and a .286 batting average. 

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

TTM Success - Rick Austin

A couple nice cards from the 7ps came back signed TTM by Rick Austin. This 1971 Topps turned out great.  This either came from Ryan or from Conrad's boxes.  I don't remember anymore, but it's in the album now.

I also sent off this 1976 Topp that turned out well. Hard to believe 1976 Topps is now 59 years old.

Austin (b. 1946) played in the majors in 1970, 1971, 1975 and 1976 for the Indians and Brewers.  He had a record of 4-8 with 106 strike outs and a 4.63 ERA.

I mailed to Austin on November 3 and got the cards back on November 24, for a 21-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Rod Lofton

Another 1993 Bowman has been added to the autograph album. I couldn't even speculate where the box of 93 Bowman I have came from. I say that because I'm pretty sure they did not come from the former LCS. They could have come from one of the Goodwill boxes that Mom has found over time. I'm really not sure.  It doesn't matter, though. I have a ton of them, and have been able to get a few signed here and there. This one came back signed from Rod Lofton.

Lofton (b. 1967) was a 13th round pick by the Orioles in the 1988 June Amateur Draft out of Grambling State University.  He played in the minors from 1988 to 1995 in the Orioles, Brewers and Reds systems, reaching AAA.  He had 704 hits, 6 home runs and a .268 batting average.

I mailed to Lofton on October 27 and got the card back on November 22, for a 26-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Earl Stephenson

As far as my autograph collection goes, I've got a lot of irons in the fire.  I'm still working on the 1987 Topps set. I send off a handful of Bowman Draft every year. I am positioning myself to send a handful to Spring Training (probably less than last year, though). I also try to knock off a few 1991 Crown Orioles when I can.  Again, I have no chance at filling the set, but I can try to get as many of the living former Oriole players as I can.  One that recently came back signed TTM was the above Earl Stephnson. 

Stephenson (b. 1947) played in the majors in 1971, 1972, 1977 and 1978 for the Cubs, Brewers and Orioles.  He had a record of 4-5 with 50 strike outs and a 3.57 ERA.

I mailed to Stephenson on November 10 abd got the card back on November 22 for a 12-day TAT. 

January 15-16, 2026, Trip To RedsFest

The baseball offseason is a long one.  I'm at the point where I really want to go out and do some graphing, so when my buddy, Aidan, mentioned to me that I ought to make a trip up to Cincinnati for RedsFest, I was intrigued.  I planned the trip for over a month, and looped Jesse in on it, since he is a huge Reds fan.  I treated him to the trip as part of his Christmas gift. It was a gift to me, as well, because I enjoy his company, and that would be a long ride to take on by myself. 

Jesse and I started the trip Wednesday night, driving across the state from Greenville to my parents' farm in Yadkinville.  We got up Thurdasy morning, visited with my mom (and sister, Elly), then grandma (and Uncle Joe; Jesse loves Uncle Joe) for a bit, then headed to the card shop.  I wanted to see if I could get some 2025 Bowman Draft (not at $725/box).  They did let me take the leftover base, which helped me add a few cards to the Reds box. 

We got into Cincinnati around 7pm and had dinner.  I was glad that I over-prepared ahead of time and didn't have to prep or add anything to my book, other than the couoke of Draft cards I got earlier in the day. We could relax in the hotel and rest up for a full day of graphing. 

Jesse and I met up with Aidan Friday morning and graphed outside the hotel near the convention center.  There were a ton of other graphers there, and it was really cold. Still, we were able to get a couple guys to stop and sign, which took the edge off of the huge lot of stuff I brought to get signed. 

RedsFest was very similar to Orioles FanFest, except that the autograph sessions are free to the first 225 folks to get in line, and you don't know who's going to be in each session until 30 minutes before the session starts.  You sign up for the text alerts and have a fighting chance to get in a line in time.  I'll say, we didn't miss getting autographs in any time slot. I was able to double up during most slots, as well, which was great.  The only session we tried to get into but skipped was one on Saturday that included Matt McLain, but we saw the mob of people heading in there, so we skipped it.

I also was cut off by the Reds employee for the line to meet Bronson Arroyo.  I went around the area and stood by the barrier until a guy that was working for Arroyo (he was selling copies of his LPs and CDs at the show). The guy took my card and had Arroyo sign it, a 2010 Topps Walmart black parallel.  Arroyo turned around and told me "that's a weird card man".  I agreed, then asked him what his favorite Pearl Jam song is.  He started by saying "all of them" then pivoted and told me "Black is always a transcendent experience", which was cool as hell.

Aside from the Bowman Draft cards I picked up as we were leaving Winston-Salem, I had prepped and brought 706 cards with me to split between me, Jesse, Aidan, Aidan's brother Riley and Aidan's friend Marcus.  I just happened to pull a few Pierce Johnson cards and prepped them, just in case he showed up.  He was a signing the week before the event, and he did show up.

Devin Mesoraco was one of the guys we got outside of the hotel Friday morning. He signed everything we had.  I even found the smeared 2012 Heritage on the ground after everyone else left, so it went into my slider box.

Every player we met was really nice.  A couple folks on Instagram commented that I was lucky to get a couple of the guys, so it seems that RedsFest does facilitate getting autos from some guys a little better.

For most of the players, I put out no more than 4 cards, with the majority of them being 3 on a page.  The only guys who limited were Graham Ashcraft (1), Tony Santillan (1), JJ Bleday (2), JJ Hoover (2) and Tucker Barnhart (1).

I actually didn't keep the Tucker Barnhart that I got done.  He signed a 2023 Topps Heritage that is going to Max for his Cubs collection. I also got Barnhart's 2022 Topps signed by his little boy who was coloring the table with a Sharpie as hus dad was signing. I asked him if he wanted to sign a card, and I think that made his day.

Aidan's buddy Marcus slipped a custom card of "Big Sugar" Zach Maxwell into my book when I wasn't looking.  I was glad to get it signed, and it drew a response from Maxwell. That was really nice of Marcus.

Finally, the last auto of the show was this custom of my buddy, Aidan.  He and I have graphed together quite a bit over the last year, and I am happy that we have hit it off.  He is a pitcher for Wake Tech, and hopes to get picked up by a 4-year university after this season.  I hope he does, as well.

I'm glad I was able to take Jesse with me, and make this part of his Christmas gift.  I know he had an amazing time (he met TJ Friedl, and found a pair of game used cleats from Blake Dunn's first MLB home run game). We are already talking about going back up to Cincinnati soon.

In all, I got the following autographs: Today's graphing recap of RedsFest: Julian Aguiar x 2, Graham Ashcraft x 1, Benson Barnhart x 1, Tucker Barnhart x 1, JJ Bleday x 2, Keith Brown x 2, Danny Graves x 3, JJ Hoover x 2, Zach Maxwell x 3, Luis Mey x 3, Dave Miley x 1, Tony Santillan x 1, Jose Trevino x 1, Aidan Warnock x 1, Bronson Arroyo x 1, Leonardo Balcazar x 1, Skeeter Barnes x 2, Tyler Callihan x 3, Blake Dunn x 5, Alfredo Duno x 1, Luke Hayden x 2, Luke Holman x 1, Pierce Johnson x 3, Carlos Jorge x 3, Tyson Lewis x 3, Devin Mesoraco x 8, Sam Moll x 4, Mason Morris x 4, JP Ortiz x 3, Connor Phillips x 3, Hector Rodriguez x 2, Ben Rortvedt x 2 and Chris Welsh x 1 (76 total autographs).

TTM Success - Scott Shafiroff

When I was looking up 1973 Fleer AHRA drag racing cards to send out, I came across one that was very interesting to me, because it was someone who built engines of several cars that ran against my dad back in the late 1980s.  I'm sure I met Scott Shafiroff personally back then, but I don't remember it.  I do know that he knew my parents personally, which made this TTM success pretty cool.  I also fondly remember one of the drivers he was most closely associated with, the late Gordy Hmiel.  I did know Gordy personally, and relayed a story about him in my autograph request letter to Shafiroff.

Shafiroff signed my card in silver Sharpie.  He began drag racing in the late 60s in the New Jersey area.  He raced Pro Stock in the 70s, before becoming a successful car owner/engine builder in Top Sportsman/Quick Eight era prior to the formation of the Pro Modified class.  His car, piloted by Hmiel, was the first nitrous-injected car to break the 7-second barrier.  I still remember Gordy, and I miss him.  He was a great guy.  I hope Scott liked my letter and story about Gordy that I told him.  Essentially, the story was this:

At Farmington one race, Gordy was talking to my mom and was about to leave.  He was going to go off and fly his plane, and I followed him, telling him I was going to go with him.  He let me believe that for a bit, letting me walk with him along the fence as he left.  He turned to me and said "Boy, you had better go back to your momma", and picked me up and put me over the fence.  I said bye to Gordy and ran back to Dad's trailer.  Gordy died in a plane crash with his father and a friend a few days later.

Shafiroff responded to my note with a note of his own: "William, Thanks for the kind words and great memories..."

I mailed to Shafiroff on November 3 and got the card back on November 21, for an 18-day TAT,

TTM Success - Macay McBride

This 2006 Flair Showcase of Macay McBride kept popping up when I went through one certain box.  I finally "got tired" of seeing it, so I searched for his address and gave TTM a shot.  I was happy to get it back signed. 

McBride (b. 1982) played in the majors from 2005 to 2007 for the Braves and Tigers. He had a record of 6-2 with 98 strike outs and a 4.35 ERA.

I mailed to McBride on November 5 and got the card back on November 21, for a 16-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Robert Englund

Freddy Krueger was a big part of my childhood, no matter whether one finds it appropriate or not.  My brothers and I (and later one of my sisters) grew up watching the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, and we loved them.  So much so, one of my brothers and I talked our grandma into taking us one summer to see Nightmare on Elm Street 4 in theaters.  When I saw recently that the man behind the makeup and Christmas sweater, Robert Englund, was signing TTM, I jumped at sending to him.  I bought a playing card off of Ebay and sent it out.

The card came back unsigned, but Englund sent the above signed post card.  I knew that would happen, but gave the card a shot anyway.

Englund (b. 1947) has been acting since 1973.  He has appeared in over 100 movies and TV episodes in his career.  Aside from playing Freddy multiple times, he had major roles in V and Stranger Things. 

I mailed to Englund on October 24 and got the post card back on November 20 for a 27-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Bobby Hughes

Here are a couple random cards that I got signed TTM recently. I found the above 1999 Upper Deck of Bobby Hughes at a card show.  I don't have many 99 Upper Deck cards in the autograph album, so I was glad to add this one.

I saw that Hughes had a 1993 Bowman, so I searched my box for it, and found it.

Hughes (b. 1971) played in the majors in 1998 and 1999 for the Brewers.  He had 76 hits, 12 home runs and a .238 batting average. 

I mailed to Hughes on November 7 and got the cards back on November 21, for a 14-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Carl Mathias

This 1960 Topps card of Carl Mathias was found at the Goldsboro card show that I visited with Jesse back in October or so.  I sent it out TTM and got it back signed by Mathias with black pen.

Mathias (b. 1936) played in the majors in 1960 and 1961 for the Indians and Senators.  He had a record of 0-2 with 20 strike outs and a 7.20 ERA.

I mailed to Mathias on October 27 and got the card back on November 20, for a 24-day TAT. 

TTM Success - David Adams

Here are a couple older prospect cards that I found in my boxes, then sent out TTM. I had this 2008 Razor card of David Adams that I wanted to send out, then I found his 2010 Topps Pro Debut (below). Both cards turned out nicely.

Adams (b. 1987) played in the majors in 2013 for the Yankees. He had 27 hits, 2 home runs and a .193 batting average. 

I mailed to Adams on November 8 and got the cards back on November 20, for a 12-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Rob Wishnevski

While searching through my 1993 Bowman box, I found a few more guys who signed TTM.  One of them was Rob Wishnevski.  Guys with longer last names like his make it easy to do address searches.  Guys with a name like Bob Smith aren't as easy.

Wishnevski (b. 1967) was a third round pick by the Blue Jays in the 1987 June Amateur Draft out of Kishwaukee College in Illinois. He played in the minors from 1987 to 1995 in the Blue Jays, Brewers, Cardinals and Rangers systems, reaching AAA.  He had a record of 77-55 with 750 strike outs and a 3.65 ERA.

I mailed to Wishnevski on October 29 and got the card back on November 18 (along with a nice note), for a 20-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Tony Butler

Tony Butler has a little bit of historical significance in Baltimore.  He is one of the guys who was the return from Seattle in the Erik Bedard trade.  The Mariners sent: Butler, Kam Mickolio, George Sherrill, Chris Tillman and Adam Jones to Baltimore in exchange for Bedard in what turned out to be one of the most lopsided trades in MLB history.  Jones had a great career and became the face of the Orioles; Sherrill and Tillman became All Stars in their own right.  Mickolio pitched 4 seasons in the majors. Bedard only got into 15 games in each of the 2008 and 2009 seasons in Seattle, before missing 2010 entirely. What happened to Butler, though?

Butler (b. 1987) was a third round pick by the Mariners in the 2006 June Amateur Draft out of Oak Creek High School in Wisconsin.  He played in the minors from 2006 to 2011 in the Mariners, Orioles and Brewers systems, reaching single A.  He had a record of 15-25 with 335 strike outs and a 4.60 ERA.

I had the above 2007 Donruss Elite Extra Edition card in my collection since I pulled it from a pack way back when it came out.  It had made its way through my boxes after all this time, until I finally sent it out TTM. He signed my card in blue Sharpie, and it looks pretty great.

I mailed to Butler on November 5 and got the card back on November 17, for a 12-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Tyler Henley

Here is another 2010 Bowman Chrome from the older prospects boxes. Again, the card scans black, but in person, looks pretty good. Tyler Henley signedthe card in black Sharpie, which can stillbe seen, regardless of the quality of the scan.

Henley (b. 1985) was an 8th round pick by the Cardinals in the 2007 June Amateur Draft out of Rice University. He played in the minors from 2007 to 2011 in the Cardinals system, reaching AAA. He had 295 hits, 26 home runs and a .280 batting average. 

I mailed to Henley on November 3 and got the card back on November 17, for a 14-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Mike Adams

A random 1974 Topps that remained from Conrad's boxes came back signed TTM recently from Mike Adams.  I am down to just a small handful of cards left from when Conrad loaned me a few boxes from his collection for me to go through. I went through them to build sets of 1962 and 1964 Topps, and to build up some bulk of 1971, 1974 and 1975 Topps.  My goal was achieved, and I added some cool stuff to the album. 

Adams (b. 1948) played in the majors in 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977 and 1978 for the  Twins, Cubs and A's. He had 23 hits, 3 home runs and a .195 batting average. 

I mailed to Adams on November 3 and got the card back on November 17 for a 14-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Ross Wolf

A 2007 Topps Rookie 52 card was added to the autograph album when this one came back signed TTM by Ross Wolf.

Wolf (b. 1982) played in the majors in 2007, 2010 and 2013 for the Marlins, A's and Rangers.  He had a record of 1-4 with 36 strike outs and a 5.45 ERA.

I mailed to Wolf on October 31 and got the card back on November 17, for a 17-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Phil Villapiano

A 1974 Topps football card appears to not have been added to the autograph album until now. At least, I haven't tagged one on this blog until now, so this Phil Villapiano is a pretty good one to start with.  Yeah, the card is dark and the black Sharpie can be hard to read, but you can still see it, so it doesn't take anything away from the fact that it is just a cool card. I found it at the Goldsboro card show with Jesse back in October.

Villapiano (b. 1949) played professionally from 1971 to 1983 for the Raoder and Bills.  He was a 4-time Pro Bowler (1973 to 1976) and won Super Bowl XI with the Raiders.  In his career, he had 11 interceptions and 1 touchdown. I admit, I had never heard of him.  I thought the name was cool, but it turns out, he jad a pretty good career.

I mailed to Villapiano on October 28 and got the card back on November 17, for a 20-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Jim Wright

This is not the Jim Wright I got back TTM and posted a couple weeks ago.  This is another Jim Wright who played around that same time, and has a 1982 Topps (above).  I sent to both Wrights on the same day; this was the second to arrive.

Wright (b. 1955) played in the majors in 1981 and 1982 for the Royals.  He had a record of 2-3 with 36 strike outs and a 4.04 ERA.

I mailed to Wright on October 16 and got the card back on November 17, for a 32-day TAT.

TTM Success - Bill Landrum

The 90s sure were full of color. From the crazy outfits on Fresh Prince, Saved by the Bell or Parker Lewis Can't Lose, to the baseball card sets of the early 90s, color was everywhere. Triple Play (above) was a Donruss lower-tier product that debuted in 1992, with a very bold design.  I actually liked the set.  When I saw the above Bill Landrum, I had hoped I would be able to add another Triple Play to the autograph album. He signed (obviously), so yeah, I got my wish.

Everything else I sent out to Landrum was colorful; a 1990 Donruss, 1991 Donruss, 1992 Donruss and a 1990 Topps.  All of them will brighten up the album page they will reside in. 

Landrum (b. 1957) played in the majors from 1986 to 1993 for the Reds, Cubs, Pirates and Expos.  He had a record of 18-15 with 218 strike outs and a 3.39 ERA.  

I mailed to Landrum on November 6 and got the cards back on November 15 for a 9-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Ed 'The Ace' McCulloch

While purchasing some older drag racing cards online a couple months ago, I checked to see if Ed "The Ace" McCulloch signed TTM.  I saw that he did, so I bought two cards (below) off of Ebay (more on them shortly), and also went through a card album that my Mom had found at Goodwill. I came away with several cards to send out.

The above 1973 Fleer AHRA cards (above, top row) were the Ebay purchase.  I never got to see the Revellution funny car race in person, but I remember it from a model car that my brother Kenny built when I was little.  I always loved the design of that car.  Overall, I was happy with the return, except the signature on the McDonald's dragster card smeared.

McCulloch (b. 1942) drag raced professionally from 1964 to 1993.  He won 22 NHRA national events, including 5 US Nationals (1971, 1972, 1980, 1988 and 1990). He was elected to the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2011 and the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2000.

I mailed to McCulloch on November 4 and got the cards back on November 15, for an 11-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Anthony Shumaker

This 1999 Bowman Chrome that I got signed TTM by Anthony Shumaker was found during a roud through the old Bowman box a couple months ago. The card looks great signed; Shumaker has a really nice signature.

Shumaker (b. 1973) played in the majors in 1999 for the Phillies.  He went 0-3 with 17 strike outs and a 5.96 ERA.

I mailed to Shumaker on October 25 and got the card back on November 13 for a 19-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Dave Rajsich

Back in October, I got a TTM success in from Gary Rajsich.  Not too long after, a success came in from his brother, Dave.  So, I got both of the Rajsich brothers taken care of in a short amount of time.  Dave Rajsich signed my 1980 Topps in blue Sharpie. As I have said many times, I do like 1980 Topps because of its simple design, but mainly because it is my birth year.

Rajsich (b. 1951) is the older of the two Rajsich brothers who played baseball.  Dave played in the majors from 1978 to 1980 for the Yankees and Rangers.  He had a record of 3-4 with 76 strike outs and a 4.60 ERA.

I mailed to Rajsich on October 9 and got the card back on November 12, for a 34-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Dakota Watts

Here are a couple of 2011 Bowman Chrome cards that came back signed TTM by Dakota Watts.  The card above is a refractor, and the card below is a base Chrome card.

There hadn't been a success from Watts on SCN since 2017.  I really like finding addresses for tough guys like that and getting those cards signed. It takes a little bit of work, but can be worth it.

Watts (b. 1987) was a 16th round pick by the Twins in the 2009 June Amateur Draft out of Cal State - Stanislaus.  He played in the minors from 2009 to 2013 and 2015 in the Twins and Rangers organizations.  He would reach AA.  He had a record of 17-11 with 252 strike outs and a 4.02 ERA.

I mailed to Watts on October 9 and got the cards back on November 12, for a 34-day TAT.

TTM Success - Butch Alberts

The card may say Butch Edge, but the photo is actually of Butch Albert's.  So, I sent this 1980 Topps out TTM to be signed by Alberts, and it came back looking pretty nice.  As for the other guys on the card; I have gotten Pat Kelly in the past, but it looks like Ted Wilborn doesn't sign.  I may go ahead and get Kelly done, and maybe worry about Wilborn later on, if at all.

Alberts (b. 1950) played in the majors in 1978 for the Blue Jays.  He had 5 hits, no home runs and a .278 batting average.

I mailed to Alberts on October 17 and got the card back on November 12, for a 26-day TAT.