A Fourth TTM Success From Jay Bell

Four TTM requests may seem like a lot, but Jay Bell has a ton of cards and signs pretty frequently. I had sent to him in 2016, 2019 and 2023, so  I figured enough time had passed to send a few more. The above 1993 Upper Deck was the card that got my attention to send to him again.

I also cleared out some room in my boxes by pulling the above 1992 Triple Play, 1996 Collectors Choice, 1998 Bowman and 2001 Topps.

I'm pretty sure I'm out of his cards now, so I'm probably done sending to him. Bell or Bobby Richardson may be the two guys I've sent to the most. I'll have to look into that at some point. 

I mailed to Bell on December 22 and got the cards back on January 30, for a 39-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. 

Another TTM Success From Jack McDowell

When I heard that (with a donation) Jack McDowell was sending signed CDs of his music following TTM requests, I dug out a couple cards and sent to him.  I had this freshly pack-pulled 1992 Triple Play that I sent along.  I got the pack out of a bargain box at the Winston-Salem card shop.

McDowell sent the above 1998 Pacific, 1993 O Pee Chee and 1992 Score.

I'd like to say that I enjoyed McDowell's music, but I don't have a working CD player at the moment. My laptop no longer had a CD drive, and the player I had at the office crapped out.  I use Spotify exclusively now and have had no need for a CD player.  I'll get around to listening to them at some point.  I don't want to buy a player and I don't have room to store one anyway.

I mailed to McDowell on June 25 and got the cards, along with two signed CDs on July 5 for a 10-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $10.00.

TTM Success - Carol Burnett

This was an interesting TTM success.  I had the above 1992 Triple Play "Autographs" card put aside for a while.  I finally decided to send it out for someone to sign TTM.  Carol Burnett was my target, and the card turned out nicely.

I had to send out a 1987 Topps checklist, since this was a celebrity autograph request.  I like going back and looking at those album pages of celebrities I've gotten on these checklists.  I needed to do something with them, otherwise they'd just be sitting in a box.

Burnett also signed an index card for me, and it looks great.

Burnett (b. 1933) has won seven Golden Globe Awards, seven Primerime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, two Peabody Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Her accolades are many, and a lot to list.  I'll say that she was in one of my favorite movies you probably have never heard of, "Noises Off."  It's such an underrated movie.

I mailed to Burnett on January 25 and got the cards back on February 18 for a 24-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jeff Johnson

Here are a couple early 90s cards that I got signed TTM from Jeff Johnson.  The above 1992 Triple Play turned out really well.  This set was the bottom of the barrel, as far as quality and price point went back then, but it was a decent-enough set.  The cards stand out, and you could get your hands on boxes of these really cheaply; especially at Sam's Club (thanks Mom!).

I also got Johnson to sign a 1992 Topps, which turned out nice, also.

Johnson (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1991 to 1993 for the Yankees.  He had a record of 8-16 with 76 strike outs and a 6.52 ERA.  I didn't realize it until I started writing this post, but Johnson is a fellow graduate of UNC-Charlotte.  He was a 6th round pick by the Yankees out of UNCC in the 1988 June Amateur Draft.

I mailed to Johnson on December 4 and got the cards back on January 15, for a 42-day TAT.

TTM Success - Luis Gonzalez

It took quite a long time, but I got these cards back signed from Luis Gonzalez.  He was among the earliest rounds of players I sent to, way back in the day.  I thought these cards were all gone,

Thankfully, I got them all back, and forgot that I sent an extra 1992 Triple Play (that he signed).

Gonzalez (b. 1967) played in the majors from 1990 to 2008 for the Astros, Cubs, Tigers, Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Marlins.  He had 2,591 hits, 354 home runs and a .283 batting average.  He was a 5-time All Star (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005) and finished a career-best 3rd in the 2001 NL MVP voting.  He won the World Series with the Diamondbacks in 2001.

I mailed to Gonzalez on March 1, 2016 and got the cards back on June 21, 2018, for an 842-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Brett Butler

I had to send to Brett Butler again because I failed to send him a 1987 Topps the first time I mailed to him.  Luckily, I had a couple other cards that I really wanted to see done, so it worked out.

I always enjoyed the 1992 Triple Play set.  It was one of the first that I could afford a hobby box of, and I'm certain there are a ton of the cards still floating around my parent's attic.  I liked this Little Hotshots card from that set, and can now add it to the album.

In addition to the 1987, I also sent the really colorful 1995 Fleer.  It turned out great.  I think I want to find a box of these and try for some more of them during my TTM requests.

I mailed to Butler again on April 10 and got the cards back on April 21, for an 11-day TAT.

TTM Success - Lance Parrish

I finally got a TTM return from former catcher, Lance Parrish.  It took me over a year and a half, and two attempts, but I got some signed cards back.  I liked this 1992 Triple Play Little Hotshots card, as it was the first of these that I have added to my album.

I also added some nice Topps cards, including another 1987 for the album.  I also was glad to get a 1989 Topps, as it was one of the first ever baseball cards that I had.

Parrish (b. 1956) played in the majors from 1977 to 1995 for the Tigers, Phillies, Angels, Mariners, Indians, Pirates and Blue Jays.  He had 1,782 hits, 324 home runs and a .252 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1984.  He was an 8-time All Star and his best finish for the MVP award was 9th (1983).  He was a Silver Slugger Award winner in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1990.  He won the Gold Glove Award in 1983, 1984 and 1985.  Parrish appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2001 and received only 1.7% of the vote.

I originally mailed to Parrish on February 18, 2016, but never got those cards back.  I mailed to him again on June 10 of this year via the Erie SeaWolves, and got the cards back on August 4, for a 55-day TAT.

TTM Success - Rex Hudler

I added some nice cards with this TTM success from Rex Hudler.  This 1993 Studio was a card I was really happy to see come back signed.  Studio looks great signed.

I added these two Topps cards as well.  I liked the 1990 Topps because of the green hue.  I have another green 1990 Topps coming in, and I had forgotten that I got this one as well.

I love seeing 1992 Triple Play come back signed.  This was the first product that I ever was able to buy a wax box of, mainly because it was really cheap.  It isn't  abad product, and the colorful cards look great when they come back signed.

Hudler (b. 1960) played in the majors from 1984 to 1986, 1988 to 1992 and 1994 to 1998 for the Yankees, Orioles, Expos, Cardinals, Angels and Phillies.  He had 461 hits, 56 home runs and a .261 batting average.

I mailed to Hudler on May 30 and got the cards back on June 16, for a 17-day TAT.

TTM Success - Sid Bream

There are a few players in my "to be TTMed" box that have sat in there for quite a while, now.  Mostly because the player charges a fee for an auto and I rarely have cash.  I finally was able to send off for one player recently, Sid Bream.  Bream signs for $1.00 per card, and I had $7.00 that I could send, so I went ahead and knocked him off of my list.

The above 1995 Score Gold Rush didn't scan all that great, but it was a card that I was most excited to see come back.  It looks great, in person.

I got a box of cards from my brother, John, a while back that had a ton of these Topps Big cards.  I pulled quite a few of the guys that I knew signed TTM, and one of these made the cut when I was selecting Bream cards to send out.  I'm really glad I sent this one because not only does it look good when signed, but it also scanned great as well.

I have a soft spot for 1992 Donruss Triple Play.  I had built the complete set once as a kid, only to leave it lying around and it got displaced.  Oops.  The cards aren't worth much at all, but they look great when scanned, and turn out really well when signed.

I had so many Bream cards, I had a bit of a hard time deciding which to send off.  I decided on a couple Topps cards to add to my yearly tallies, and a couple under-represented Donruss cards.  The 1988 Donruss turned out really nice.  I have cards from that year coming out of my ears, so it was nice to be able to take at least one of them and give it a home in my TTM/IP album.

Bream (b. 1960) played in the majors from 1983 to 1994 for the Dodgers, Pirates, Braves and Astros.  He had 819 hits, 90 home runs and a career average of .264.  He is best known for beating Barry Bonds's throw in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS that put the Braves over the Pirates.  I just watched the Youtube video of the slide, and it was a great play!

I mailed to Bream on November 1 and got the cards back on November 10, for a 9-day TAT.  He charges $1.00 per card and includes a bible verse on each card.  He also has a really nice signature.

TTM Success - Gregg Olson

I received a TTM success today from former Orioles closer, Gregg Olson on two cards that I sent out on February 18.  It took a while, but they came back looking great!  The above 1992 Topps turned out really well, and it was sent off before I considered doing my Topps Autograph Project.

This 1992 Donruss Triple Play came out of a care package that my good friend, Patrick, sent me a while back.  I'm glad to be able to "upgrade" this card and add it to my TTM album.

Olson (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1988 to 2001 for the Orioles, Braves, Indians, Royals, Tigers, Astros, Twins, Diamondbacks and Dodgers.  He had a career record of 40-39 with an ERA of 346 and 217 saves.  He was the 1989 Rookie of the Year in the AL (the last Oriole to receive that award) and also finished 6th in the AL Cy Young voting and 12th in the AL MVP voting that year.  He was an All Star in 1990.

I mailed to Olson on February 18 and got the cards back today for a 153-day TAT.

TTM Success - Mark Gubicza

I got a second TTM success on Saturday (3/5) when I got a bunch of cards in from former pitcher, Mark Gubicza.  My good friend, Max, told me that I should send quite a bit to Gubicza, since he is known to sign anything and everything that is sent to him.  I didn't want to seem too greedy, but I did see a bunch of his cards that I thought would look cool signed.

Obviously, I had to send him one of my 1987 Topps cards.  I have so many of them, I needed to be able to put one or more of them to some kind of use.  It turned out great.  I am not seeking to get the entire set signed, but 1987 has been my default card of choice for many of the TTMs I have sent out recently.

These two 1989 Topps turned out really nice in blue sharpie.  I'll probably gift one of these to someone, but I'm not quite sure who, just yet.  I do enjoy the 1989 set quite a bit, since it was the set my first baseball cards came from.

Finally, here are the other three cards I got.  It is always nice finding some use for a 1992 Donruss Triple Play card.  I feel like I had those coming out of my ears at some point.  I think it was because the boxes were so cheap way back when, we ended up busting a ton of them.  The 1992 Stadium Club turned out great as well.  One card I didn't scan was a signed 1996 Fleer.  It turned out really nice, as well.  Much like the Charles Johnson, the matte finish really makes an auto look good on those cards.

Gubicza (b. 1962) played in the majors from 1984 to 1997 for the Royals and Angels.  He had a career record of 132-136 with an ERA of 3.96 and 1,371 strikeouts.  He was a 2-time All Star (1988 and 1989).  He won 20 games in 1988 when he finished 3rd in the AL Cy Young Award balloting.  He won the World Series in 1985 with the Royals.

I mailed to Gubicza on 2/22 and got him back on 3/5 for a 12-day TAT.  He signed all of the cards I sent.