TTM Success - Steve Sparks

My Steve Sparks cards that I had held with the intention to send them TTM sat for quite some time.   I'm not sure why I waited for what appears to have been years to send these off.  The above 1996 Topps is a great shot.  I wanted to add this card to the album for a while.  Im.glad I got off my butt and sent it out.

I also sent a 2002 Topps Finest, 2001 Fleer Platinum RC, 2002 Topps and 2003 Topps.  Sparks has a great signature and it shows on each card. 

Sparks (b. 1965) played in the majors in 1995, 1996 and from 1998 to 2004 for the Brewers, Angels, Tigers, A's and Diamondbacks.  He had a record of 59-76 with 658 strike outs and a 4.88 ERA.

I mailed to Sparks on September 11 and got the cards back on November 2, for a 52-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jose Vizcaino

This TTM success from Jose Vizcaino took a while to come in, but when it finally did, the results were great.  The above 1994 Upper Deck looks awesome.

He got two 94 Upper Deck cards; I guess it was because he switched teams.  That one looks nice, also.  The signature doesn't show up as nicely on the 1996 Topps due to the dark area on the right side of the photo, but it is still a nice card.

Vizcaino (b. 1968) played in the majors from 1989 to 2006 for the Dodgers, Cubs, Mets, Indians, Giants, Yankees, Astros and Cardinals.  He had 1,453 hits, 36 home runs and a .270 batting average.  He won the 2000 World Series with the Yankees. 

I mailed to Vizcaino on October 13, 2020, and got the cards back on October 23, 2023, for a 1,105-day TAT.

TTM Success - Shane Monahan

Here are a bunch more cards that I was able to pull from the boxes I got from the former LCS and get signed TTM. These cards from Shane Monahan are a nice mix of late 90s stuff that was just locked in the boxes and taking up space.  I love being able to move some of the cards and show them off.  The above 1998 Donruss is a nice card that looked pretty good when signed.

I also got a 1996 Topps, 1998 Bowman Chrome (both at top), 1997 Bowman Chrome and 1997 Bowman (both at bottom) signed. The 1997 Bowman Chrome had a little bit of fading, but the card still turned out well. A lot of those cards in that box seem to have gotten hot and the UV coating had gotten fairly cloudy.  The baby powder that I now use has done a great job on cleaning the UV coating off and yields to a great autograph (as opposed to some cards from that same box with the old powder that I used to use).

Monahan (b. 1974) played in the majors from 1998 to 1999 for the Mariners.  He had 53 hits, 4 home runs and a .235 batting average.

I mailed to Monahan on October 9 and got the cards back on October 21, for a 12-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Ken Hill

There are a lot of times where I talk about cards that have been sitting in my "to be TTMed" box for a long time.  For whatever reason, they sit.  One of which is when a player charges for their signature.  I rarely have cash on me, so that is a reason why I wait to send to players who charge fees.  One such player who's cards sat for a long time was former pitcher, Ken Hill.  I would pass his cards many times, and continue to wait to send them.  Finally, one day, I decided to go ahead and get the cards out of the box and into the mail.  It helped that I had found $10 lying on the ground as I was walking laps around the office building one morning.

The above 1990 Toys R Us card was one that I definitely wanted to add to the autograph album.  When I made the decision to send to Hill, this one was the first card I put into the envelope.

Of all of the other Hill cards that I had, I chose these four to round out the shipment.  Clockwise from top left are a 1995 Upper Deck Collectors Choice SE, 1996 Topps, 1995 Score Summit and a 1997 Topps Finest Hurlers.  I believe Hill's may be the first 1995 Score Summit in the album.  That is a very sharp-looking card, and turned out very nicely once signed.

Hill (b. 1965) played in the majors from 1988 to 2001 for the Cardinals, Expos, Indians, Rangers, Angels, White Sox and Devil Rays.  He had a record of 117-109 with 1,181 strike outs and a 4.06 ERA.  He was an All Star in 1994 when he led the NL in wins (16) prior to the strike ending the season.  He finished second that year in the NL Cy Young race to Greg Maddux.  He finished 12th in the NL MVP voting that season.

I mailed to Hill on November 23 and got the cards back on December 17, for a 24-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $3/card.

TTM Success - Andy Benes

This TTM success from Andy Benes came with a bonus.  I had sent this 1996 Upper Deck SP that had Andy and Alan Benes on the same card, and Andy got Alan to sign it for me.  I thought that was really cool, and very unexpected.

I had also sent a 1995 Topps and a 1996 Topps.  It's always nice to get some signed 1996 Topps into my album, as I don't have many of them in bulk.

Benes (b. 1967) played in the majors from 1989 to 2002 for the Padres, Mariners, Cardinals and Diamondbacks.  He had a career record of 155-139 with 2,000 strike outs and a 3.97 ERA.  He was an All Star in 1993.  His best Cy Young finish was 3rd in 1996.

I mailed to Benes on April 26 and got the cards back on May 6, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Rey Sanchez

I was able to get quite a few cards signed by Rey Sanchez when I sent these to him TTM.  All of the cards turned out well, especially this 1993 Bowman.

I liked the variety of cards that I sent him, and they all look really good in my album.

Sanchez (b. 1967) played in the majors from 1991 to 2005 for the Cubs, Yankees, Giants, Royals, Braves, Red Sox, Mets, Mariners and Devil Rays.  He had 1,317 hits, 15 home runs and a .272 batting average.

I mailed to Sanchez on May 22 and got the cards back on November 19, for a 181-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jaime Bluma

I added some late 90s cards to my autograph album when I received this TTM success back from former pitcher, Jaime Bluma.  I found the cards at my LCS a while back, and finally got around to sending them off.  The above 1995 Bowman First Impressions card looks really cool.  I was a little worried that powdering the card might mess it up, but it turned out pretty well.

The opps Finest Blue Chips card really turned out great.  It was back when Topps used to put the protective film on the Finest cards.  I removed the film, prepped the card, and it turned out really well.  The Upper Deck Diamond Debuts card is one I don't have many of in my album, so I was glad to add this one.

Bluma (b. 1972) played in the majors in 1996 for the Royals.  He appeared in 17 games and registered no wins or losses.  He had 14 strike outs and a 3.60 ERA.

I mailed to Bluma on October 25 and got the cards back on November 8, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Bob Tewksbury

Back in January I got a TTM success from Bob Tewksbury that I had sent out this past October.  I sent that request out while this one from April 2017 was still pending.  This finally came back, and the cards turned out really well.

These two were really cool.  The card on the left is a Topps Archives from 2013 and the card on the right is an actual 1992 Topps.  These looked really cool side by side.

I added Tewksbury on an 87 Topps, although the other success had a signed one in there, as well.  I'll use the second one as trade bait, I suppose.

I mailed to Tewksbury on April 7, 2017 and got the cards back on April 12, 2019, for a 735-day TAT.

TTM Success - Roberto Hernandez

I got a bunch of 90s and 2000s cards signed when I received this TTM success from former pitcher, Roberto Hernandez.

Flair always looks good when signed, so I was glad this one got done.

I always enjoy seeing 2003 Topps get signed. I wish I had more of them.

Hernandez (b. 1964) played in the majors from 1991 to 2007 for the White Sox, Giants, Devil Rays, Royals, Braves, Phillies, Mets, Pirates, Indians and Dodgers.  He had a career record of 67-71 with 945 strike outs and an ERA of 3.45.

He was an All Star in 1996 and 1999.

I mailed to Hernandez on March 23 and got the cards back on April 2, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Erik Hanson

Some 90s cards got signed during this TTM success from former pitcher, Erik Hanson.  I had a ton of his cards, and narrowed it down to just three, and ended up with some pretty nice autos.

I had a ton of 1991 Fleer in a box in a closet.  They were unopened packs from back then, and I figured I would go ahead and open them.  They look really nice when signed.  I know a lot of people who don't like the yellow borders, but they really aren't that bad.

I also got a 1996 Topps and a 1994 Upper Deck Electric Diamond signed.

Hanson (b. 1965) played in the majors from 1988 to 1998 for the Mariners, Reds, Red Sox and Blue Jays.  He had a record of 89-84 with 1,175 strike outs and a 4.15 ERA.  He was an All Star in 1995.

I mailed to Hanson on October 3 and got the cards back on November 14, for a 42-day TAT.

July 7, 2018, Richmond Flying Squirrels Game

Since the Wood Ducks were out of town last weekend, I decided to take Chris to see my friend, Ryan, in Richmond and graph the Flying Squirrels.  I found out that it was a specialty jersey day, and I hadn't been able to get one of those since the July 4, 2011 game in Kinston.  So, I was hoping  could come away with a jersey.  I did, and it ended up being the jersey of former Wood Duck, Matt Lipka.

Lipka was very happy to see that Chris and I were the ones who won his jersey.  He remembered us from last season.  He gave Chris and I hugs, shook our hands and asked Chris if he remembered him.  We stood on the field talking with him for a good 10-15 minutes post-game.  It was really awesome catching back up with him.

I was also able to get this Wood Ducks team card signed pre-game.  I don't have many unsigned team cards left, so I feel like I have done pretty well this season.

I was also able to add a 1996 Topps to the album.  I had bought a box of 1996 Topps, just so I could have some bulk to send out for TTMs.  Unfortunately, not too many have come back since I bought the box, but I'm hoping some will.

I also got these cards done.  The 2010 Pro Debut Jerry Sands has been floating around my card boxes for the last 8 years.  Since he is from NC, I have been wanting to add his auto, and I was finally able to get him taken care of.

We had a really good time at the game.  The Diamond was packed for the post-4th of July festivities.

TTM Success - Jaime Navarro

This TTM success from Jaime Navarro was a long time in the making and cost me a few stamps, but I finally got some cards back from him.

Originally, I had Navarro in my box, but was waiting to send to him once I had a confirmed success from the addresses I had seen.  When I mailed to him, I got a RTS, and let those cards sit in my box again.

I finally saw sme folks get returns from a new address, so I tried him again, and finally got the cards!

I had so many of his cards to send, but this 1992 Studio might be the nicest one.  I like the Studio design, and was glad to get this back and add it to my album.

I added two 90s Topps that are grossly underrepresented in my album, 1996 and 1997.  Both turned out great (96 - upper right; 97 lower left).

Navarro (b. 1967) played in the majors from 1989 to 2000 for the Brewers, Cubs, White Sox and Indians.  He had a career record of 116-126 with 1,113 strike outs and a 4.72 ERA.

I mailed to Navarro on March 12 and got the cards back on March 21, for a 9-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Andre Dawson

My quest for signed 1987 Topps has led me back to a few players who I got TTM years ago when I was sending out baseballs.  One of those players is Andre Dawson.  Knowing what I know now, I probably should have done cards all along.  It is so much cheaper to send a few cards than it is to send baseballs.  Add in the fact that back then, I was sending out the cheap Target balls, and a good many of them have failed to hold autographs over the last eight years.  Oh well, you live and learn.

Dawson charges $10/card, so I sent a check for $40 and these 4 cards.  I was almost set at three, but I liked the 1996 Pinnacle Zenith (top of page) so much, I added it in.  I started off with the 1987 Topps, but I wanted to get a 96 in the album, since I have very few of those.  I also loved the Expos uniform and hat on the 1981, so that one had to be sent out as well.  In the end, I think I did well.

Dawson (b. 1954) played in the majors from 1976 to 1996 for the Expos, Cubs, Red Sox and Marlins.  He had 2,774 hits, 438 home runs and a .279 batting average.  He was the 1977 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NL MVP.  He was an 8-time Gold Glove Award winner (1980-1985, 1987 and 1988) and an 8-time All Star (1981-1983 and 1987-1991).  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010 (his 9th ballot) when he received 77.9% of the vote.

I mailed to Dawson on January 2 and got the cards back on February 2, for a 31-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chris Hammond

Here is another player who's cards I sat on for a long time before I finally mailed to him.  The reason why I waited so long to send these cards to Chris Hammond was because he charged for his autograph, and I didn't want to spend the money.  In an effort to clean up my box, I went ahead and mailed to some of those guys who charged.  I was really happy with the cards that I chose.  The 1996 Fleer Metal shown above turned out really nicely.  Hammond charges $1.00/card to a scholarship fund, so I had no problem sending him some money, once I got around to it.

I was able to get another card signed out of the attic box that Mom sent me.  These cards aren't anything glorious, but they do help when you need cards of someone who was in the minors at that time.

Finally, here are the other cards that I got back from Hammond.  The highlight, of course, is the 1996 Topps at top right.  I have very few cards from this set, let alone of any guys who sign, so I definitely needed to make sure that one was in my TTM request to Hammond.

Hammond (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1990 to 1998 and 2002 to 2006 for the Reds, Marlins, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, A's and Padres.  He had a career record of 66-62 with an ERA of 4.14 and 712 strike outs.

I mailed to Hammond on October 4 and got the cards back on October 16, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - David Bell

Here are some more recent cards that I was able to get signed TTM by David Bell.  The above 2000 Chrome looks much better in person, but these cards don't scan all that well.  Still, I like the card, and am glad I was able to get it back signed.

I was happier to see this 1996 Topps come in, though.  I didn't have many of these at all, and it shows when you look at my ledger of Topps cards that I have signed.  I need to find some bulk 1996 Topps and try to add a few to the album.  In the meantime, I will be glad that this one is here.

Finally, here are Topps cards from 1998 and 2002.  Both of these look nice.  I have a bunch of bulk cards from 1998, and some from 2002.  I have very little from 1996, 2003 and 2004.  I plan on adding some in the near future; it's just a matter of coming off of the money to buy them,

Bell (b. 1972) played in the majors from 1995 to 2006 for the Indians, Cardinals, Mariners, Giants, Phillies and Brewers.  He had 1,239 hits, 123 home runs and a .257 batting average.

I mailed to Bell on April 4 and got the cards back on July 29, for a 116-day TAT.

TTM Success - Marc Valdes

I held onto these Marc Valdes cards for a long time before I finally got around to sending off to him via the St. Lucie Mets.  I had a bunch of guys who coached in the minors set aside, and finally got around to clearing out a bunch of them recently.  Funny thing is, a lot of them came back at the same time.

This Classic Best is the card that I really wanted to see signed, but the scan didn't turn out all too well.  This is very similar to Chrome, except that the card is a lot thinner.  I powdered it, and the signature turned out really well.

I thought it was funny that I was able to get three different Topps years of prospects cards with Valdes on them.  This is a 1996, a very rare set in my binder.

I also had his 1994 and 1995 Topps cards.  I didn't even realize until just now that the 1994 is a Topps Gold parallel.  I need to take it off of my ledger for 1994 Topps, since I don't count gold parallels (or any parallels) toward the number I have of each set.  I guess I need to remember that for when I get home.

Valdes (b. 1971) played in the majors from 1995 to 1998, 2000 and 2001 for the Marlins, Expos, Astros and Braves.  He had a career record of 12-15 with 135 strike outs and a 4.95 ERA.  He was a first round pick by the Marlins in 1993 (27th overall).

I mailed to Valdes via the St. Lucie Mets on May 8 and got the cards back on May 22, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - John Wasdin

I added some cards with this TTM success that I don't really recall opening, mainly because they came out when I was out of collecting.  Luckily, there are a few boxes of cards at the shop that have a bunch of various cards and sets from that time period.  I have searched those boxes a bunch of times, and have come away with a bunch of potential TTM subjects that I think will look cool in my album.

The above 1994 UD Minors John Wasdin was the highlight of this TTM success.  The card is just really cool-looking, and pops nicely in the scan.

This 1996 Score Certified really could have been the highlight of the TTM success, but not even baby powdering this card could help the signature stay better.  The card is made of a pretty slick foil, and looks a lot better in person.

These two are pretty basic cards.  I got the 1996 Fleer out of my box break with my son, Chris.  The 1996 Topps was floating around some of my boxes.  I have very few 1996 Topps, so any one of them that I can get back signed, I have been sending out.  I need to find some more, but at the moment, I don't have many options.

Finally, I really liked the look of this 1996 Donruss.  This was the year when I got out of cards for a while, and I have very little 1996 anything.  I don't think I opened any 1996 Donruss, so adding this to the album will be really nice.

Wasdin (b. 1972) played in the majors from 1995 to 2001 and 2003 to 2007 for the A's, Red Sox, Rockies, Orioles, Rangers and Pirates.  He had a career record of 39-39 with an ERA of 5.28 and 527 strike outs.  He signed as the Orioles as Minor League Pitching Coordinator this offseason, taking over for Rick Peterson who left the organization.

I mailed to Wasdin at Orioles Spring Training on February 9 and got the cards back on February 27, for an 18-day TAT.

TTM Success - Orlando Merced

While I'm disappointed in how this card scanned, I am really happy about this TTM success from Orlando Merced.  I sent off some really nice mid-90s cards, and all of them came back looking really great.  The above card looks so much better in person; you'll have to take my word for it.  This is a 1997 Donruss Press Proof.  While not serial numbered, the back does say that the card is 1 of 2000.  The auto shows up really nice on it, I think,

Stadium Club cards always look great when signed.  This borderless, horizontal 1995 Stadium Club is such a sharp card.  It just begged for an auto.  I am so glad I sent this one out.

Here is a card that could have made an appearance on the Topps Autograph Page.  Speaking of, I didn't realize that the page wasn't showing up in the tabs last night.  That has been corrected and hopefully you all can see it now.  Please remember to take a look!

Finally, here are a couple more nice mid-90s cards.  The left one is a 96 Studio, which I believe is the first from that set that I have been able to get signed.  The card on the right is a 1996 Flair.  Flair cards always look awesome when signed, and this one is no different.

Merced (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1990 to 1999 and 2001 to 2003 for the Pirates, Blue Jays, Twins, Red Sox, Cubs, Expos and Astros.  He had 1,108 hits, 103 home runs and a batting average of .277 across his MLB career.  He finished 2nd to Jeff Bagwell in the 1991 NL Rookie of the Year voting.

I mailed to Merced on October 24 and got the cards back on December 6 for a 43-day TAT.

TTM Success - John Flaherty

I have been getting a ton of TTM successes from guys who played in the late 1990s.  I think that is just how it has worked out lately, since I have been working on the 1995 Topps set, and I busted a couple boxes with Chris.  The above card of John Flaherty came out of a box of 1996 Fleer that I have been holding onto for about 10 years.  I bought that box and a box of 1994 Upper Deck from a card shop in Gastonia, NC when it was closing.  I figured that Chris and I would have some fun with the boxes a couple weeks ago, so we opened them.  Fleer toyed with the "matte" finish cards for a couple years, citing that they would be better for autographs.  I really like the cards, and yes, they work great for autos.  My only problem with them is that they are a pain to go through quickly, as the rough finish makes the cards stick together some.

I added four years of Topps with this TTM success, clockwise from top left is 1996, 1998, 2002 and 1999.  I didn't have any 1996 at the time of this success, so knocking this off the list leaves me with only 2008 to add to my Topps Autograph Project.  I have several 2008s out for autos, just none have come back yet.  I'm kind of interested in seeing which is the first to come back.  Speaking of my Topps Autograph Project, I have added the tally to my wishlist spreadsheet, in case anyone wanted to see how many of each Topps year that I have so far.  An interesting note is that 1985 has finally surpassed 1987 as the set I have the most autos on, now.

Flaherty (b. 1967) played in the majors from 1992 to 2005 for the Red Sox, Tigers, Padres, Devil Rays and Yankees.  He had 849 hits, 80 home runs and a .252 batting average.  I mailed to him on November 8 and got the cards back on  November 18, for an 11-day TAT.