TTM Success - Joe Randa

Here are some nice cards that I was able to get signed TTM by Joe Randa.  I only have a handful of 1997 Topps, so I was glad to put one in the album.

The Collectors Choice card at the top of this photo is hard to tell, but I think it is a gold signature parallel.  I had it separated and top loaded for a long time, and I feel like that is why.  It is hard to tell, and even harder to tell from the scan.  Randa's 2003 Topps (bottom of photo) turned out really well.

Finally, I got a 1997 Collectors Choice and a 2002 Topps Opening Day, and they'll look cool in my album.

Randa (b. 1969) played in the majors from 1995 to 2006 for the Royals, Pirates, Tigers, Reds and Padres.  He had 1,543 hits, 123 home runs and a .284 batting average. 

I mailed to Randa on January 2 and got the cards back on March 13, for a 71-day TAT.

TTM Success - Phil Nevin

I got a couple TTMs in recently, after a long dry spell.  This one from Phil Nevin turned out really nice.  The 1994 Upper Deck Minors looks better in person, but didn't scan all that well.

These two turned out really nice.  The Sharpie he used was probably on its way out, but I'm still happy with them.

Finally, I added another 2001 Topps to the album.  This came from the box of cards I got while I was at Andrew's house.

Nevin (b. 1971) played in the majors from 1995 to 2006 for the Astros, Tigers, Angels, Padres, Rangers, Cubs and Twins.  He had 1,131 hits, 208 home runs and a .270 batting average.  His best season was in 2001 for the Padres when he hit 41 home runs and made his only appearance as an All Star.

I mailed to Nevin on June 12 and got the cards back on July 15, for a 33-day TAT.

TTM Success - Brian Harper

This TTM success from former catcher, Brian Harper, provided me with some really nice 90s gems for my binder.  Although it might be hard to get the other two guys on the above 1994 Triple Play Medalists, I had to get this into my album.  I remembered when these came out back then, and loved pulling them from packs.  This was the era when a foil card was considered a "hit", so these were a big deal.

This 1994 Upper Deck SP die cut also turned out really nice.  It looks better in person that the scan shows.

I wanted to add a few Topps cards to my sheet, so I picked the 1990 and 1991.  I liked the 1995 Collectors Choice because of the look on Harper's face, and really, I liked that set a lot back then.  It was cheap and you could bust a ton of boxes looking for the gold signature cards.  I also liked adding the 1991 Donruss Diamond Kings.

Finally, any time I can add a 1991 Studio to the collection is a good time.  These were really nice cards back then, and I don't see too many of them these days.

Harper (b. 1959) played in the majors in 1979 anf then from 1981 to 1995 for the Angels, Pirates, Cardinals, Tigers, A's, Twins and Brewers.  He had 931 hits, 63 home runs and a .295 batting average.  He earned a starting spot with the Twins in the early 90s after toiling with other clubs.  During his time with the Twins, he batted .306.  He won the World Series with the Twins in 1991.

I mailed to Harper via the Toldeo Mud Hens on April 3 and got the cards back on June 22, for an 80-day TAT.

TTM Success - Johnny Ruffin

The process in which I send a TTM out to a player takes some time to evolve, unless I buy cards specifically to send to someone.  Meaning, unless I have bought some vintage cards that I have to send out to someone right away, it takes me a bit to finally get the motivation to send to a player.  One of which is tonight's TTM success, Johnny Ruffin.

Usually, I will start on a player when I find an interesting card at the card shop on in one of my boxes.  Ruffin came about when I was sorting my extra 1995 Topps for my set.

I took the extra cards from my box break of 1995s, sorted them in order, then I went through the checklist on sportscollectors.net and pulled everyone with a decently high success rate (60% +) or recent successes within 6 months or so.  Then, I went through my boxes to see if I had anything of those players.

I had a few cards of him, but most came from some box searching at my local card shop.  The Gold Leaf Rookie at the top of the page and the above 1995 Ultra Gold Medallion came from the LCS.  The 1995 Score Gold Rush and 1995 Collectors Choice came out of my boxes.  The 1994 Upper Deck came from the box I busted with Chris a while back.  I got all of these cards together, plus some extras and sent them out.  I'll put Topps cards in the envelope first, then I will pick ones from interesting sets that I think will look nice in my binder.  Finally, I will add in some sets that I feel may be under represented in the album.  The remaining cards, if any, go in a "sent" row in my box, which will then be sent out to kids starting out on TTMs.

Ruffin (b.1971) played in the majors from 1993 to 1996, 2000 and 2001 for the Reds, Diamondbacks and Marlins.  He had a career record of 10-6 with an ERA of 4.13 and 163 strike outs.

I mailed to Ruffin on January 24 and got the cards back on February 2, for a 9-day TAT.