TTM Success - Jack Savage

What a cool name. Jack Savage. It sounds like a wrestler's name. I saw that I could get Savage to sign TTM, so I pulled some junk wax era cards and sent them off. The above 1989 Donruss turned out nicely. 

I also sent out a 1990 Topps Traded (above, left) and a 1991 Topps (above, right).

Savage (b. 1964) played in the majors in 1987 and 1990 for the  Dodgers and Twins. He had a record of 0-2 with 12 strike outs and a 7.67 ERA.

I mailed to Savage on January 6 snd got the cards back on January 17, for an 11-day TAT. 

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.

TTM Success - Brad Arnsberg

Some more Junk Wax Era cards were added to my autograph album with this TTM success from Brad Arnsberg.  I liked the above 1991 Donruss Series 2 card that I got back signed.  I don't have nearly as many of these, as I do of Series 1, but I do have a few packs I got from my grandma a while back.  I sent a couple of the cards off, and this one was one of those.

I also got back a 1988 Topps, 1990 Topps Traded and a 1992 Stadium Club.

Arnsberg (b. 1963) played in the majors from 1986 to 1987 and 1989 to 1992 for the Yankees, Rangers and Indians.  He had a record of 9-6 with 100 strike outs and a 4.26 ERA.

I mailed to Arnsberg on November 23 and got the cards back on December 6, for a 13-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Alejandro Pena

I had sent to him a while back, then got tired of waiting, so I did a private signing for my 1987 Topps.  Finally, a card came back signed from Alejandro Pena; this 1990 Topps Traded.  He sent the other cards back unsigned, and included a typed note saying that he is now signing for a fee.  I may try to send to him later on, but at this point, I am happy with what I have gotten.  At his rate of $3.00/card, I may send some more.  We'll see.

I sent this card on February 5, 2018 and got the card back signed on February 8, 2020, for a 733-day TAT.

TTM Success - Bill Sampen

I added some cards to my autograph album that came out of the Goodwill boxes I picked up a while back.  This TTM success from Bill Sampen helped me get a couple cards out of those boxes.  These are some cool smaller set cards that look nice, when compared to their main set counterparts.

I'm one of the few people that I know who liked the 1990 Donruss design.  I thought it was really cool when I discovered the green and blue versions of that set (green being The Rookies set, and blue being the Donruss Stars set).  There may be other versions of this design, but those two subsets are the ones I am aware of.  I know Panini brought back the design a couple years ago, and it looked great.

Of those Goodwill boxes, I also had Sampen sign a 1990 Topps Traded (far left).  The 1991 and 1992 Topps came out of my Topps boxes, and I am never unhappy to take cards out of those boxes.

Sampen (b. 1963) played in the majors from 1990 to 1994 for the Expos, Royals and Angels.  He had a career record of 25-21 with 176 strike outs and a 3.73 ERA.

I mailed to Sampen on December 3 and got the cards back on December 12, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Stump Merrill

I got this card among several boxes from the Goodwill near my parents' house a while back.  Every now and then, they have baseball cards, and Mom made sure to let me know when I was in town one time that these were there.  The boxes were a bunch of Topps Traded sets (busted, with key cards removed) and some other alternative sets like Donruss Highlights, The Rookies, etc.  So, since the sets had been busted, I broke some of them up even further and sent out a few TTMs.

Stump Merrill (b. 1944) managed the Yankees from about two-thirds of the way through the 1990 season to 1991.  His managerial record was 120-155 (.436 %).  This was a forgettable time in Yankees history, which is fine by me.  Notably, Merrill's successor was the great Buck Showalter.

I mailed to Merrill on October 28 and got the card back signed on November 30, for a 33-day TAT.

TTM Success - Pete O'Brien

I got some cards signed in the TTM success from Pete O'Brien that I had gotten from Goodwill.  My mom had told me that there were a bunch of boxes of cards at a Goodwill near her house, but she didn't have time to pick them up.  Since I was in town, I figured I would go by there and see what they had.  They ended up having several late 80s/early 90s traded and update sets.  I bought most of what they had, and some of the cards have already been used for graphing.  I had found several Pete O'Brien cards while I was looking for something else, so I pulled them and used them for this TTM request.

O'Brien (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1982 to 1993 for the Rangers, Indians and Mariners.  He had 1,421 hits, 169 home runs and a .261 batting average.  He finished 17th in the 1986 AL MVP voting.

I mailed to O'Brien on March 13 and got the cards back on May 29, for a 77-day TAT.

TTM Success - Gary Pettis

Another 1987 Topps came off of the list when I got this TTM success back from Gary Pettis.  I had also sent him a 1986 Topps, a 1990 Topps and a 1990 Topps Traded.

He signed the cards in a thin black pen, but they still look pretty nice.  The 1986 is a bit tough to see, but it scanned pretty decently.

Pettis (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1982 to 1992 for the Angels, Tigers, Rangers and Padres.  He had 855 hits, 21 home runs and a .236 batting average.  He was a Gold Gove Award winner in 1985, 1986 and 1988 to 1990.

I mailed to Pettis on February 6 via Astros Spring Training and got the cards back on March 23, for a 45-day TAT.

TTM SUccess - Orlando Mercado

I put myself behind even further by forgetting to bring my laptop with me on my trip this past weekend, but I'll get back together soon.  I wanted to get some TTMs posted before I got into some recent IP stuff, so here we go.

I crossed another player off of my 1987 checklist with this success from Orlando Mercado.  He signed my card with a dried-up Sharpie, but it still counts.  Maybe I will upgrade it sometime in the future, but the card is signed.

I also had him sign this really cool 1990 Topps traded.  I like all of the colors on the card, and it will look cool in my album.

Mercado (b. 1951) played in the majors from 1982 to 1984 and 1986 to 1990 for the Mariners, Rangers, Tigers, A's, Twins, Mets and Expos.  He had 112 hits, 7 home runs and a .199 batting average.

I mailed to Mercado on February 25 and got the cards back on March 11, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Bryn Smith

I got some nice cards signed by Bryn Smith recently.  This included a nice 1987 Topps that he signed for me.

I liked these two 1990 Topps, one of which is a Topps Traded.  Both of them look really cool.  They're really color coordinated with Smith's uniforms.

I also liked the 1990 Score (top left).  I had a bunch of Smith cards, but picked 7 to send along.  I'm pretty happy with all of them.

Smith (b. 1955) played in the majors from 1981 to 1993 for the Expos, Cardinals and Rockies.  He had a career record of 108-94 with 1,028 strike outs and an ERA of 3.53.  Smith was signed by the Orioles in 1973 as an amateur free agent.  He was traded by the Orioles to the Expos along with Rudy May and Randy Miller for Don Stanhouse, Joe Kerrigan and Gary Roenicke.

I mailed to Smith on May 9 and got the cards back on May 23, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Franklin Stubbs

My incoming TTMs have slowed down tremendously.  I have a ton out there pending return, they just haven't come in as steadily, for whatever reason,  That has helped me knock my stack down some, but there still are a lot more to post.  Taking care of this TTM success from Franklin Stubbs does help, though, since he signed a ton of cards.

I got another 1987 Topps out of the return.  I never get tired of seeing these come in.  There was once a time where I was trying to put my huge 1987 box off on anyone who would take it.  Now, I have really enjoyed getting these signed.  I don't think I will ever pursue anything close to a set, but it is kind of fun to see what all I can get signed from it.

Lost in some of my posts is my admiration for Topps Traded cards.  Starting in the mid 80s, they used a different card stock, and the fronts of the cards seem smoother (but not over-glossed or anything) than a typical Topps Base.  I feel like it helps the colors stand out more on some of them, and the autographs definitely stand out.  Maybe that's just me.

Finally, I got four other Topps cards signed (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993).  I had a lot of Stubbs cards to choose from, but I put the Topps Traded in, ahead of some of his Fleer and/or Donruss.

Stubbs (b. 1960) is a North Carolina native, born in Laurinburg.  He played in the majors from 1984 to 1992 and 1995 for the Dodgers, Astros, Brewers and Tigers.  He had 602 hits, 104 home runs and a .232 batting average.  He won the Wotld Series with the Dodgers in 1988.

I mailed to Stubbs on Februart 27, and got the cards back on March 9, for a 10-day TAT.