TTM Success - Jay Buhner

Here's a guy that I was very exc9ted.to see was signing TTM lately.  When I was growing up, Jay Buhner was kind of a bad ass.  He was a pretty potent hitter on some good Mariners teams.  I was glad to send along the above 1996 Topps Gallery, it looks really great signed.

I had Buhner's 1988 Topps Glossy Rookies card, which turned out well.  I haven't gotten many of those signed, so it was easy to pick that one to send out.  I also got his 1994 Studio and his 1995 Collectors Choice SE done.

Buhner (b. 1964) played in the majors from 1987 to 2001 for the Yankees and Mariners.  He had 1,273 hits, 310 home runs and a .254 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1996.  His best MVP finish was 5th in 1995 (AL).  He appeared on the 2007 Hall of Fame ballot and received 0.2% of the vote.

I mailed to Buhner on July 16 and got the cards back on July 28 for a 12-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $5.00/card.

2025 National Free Signer - Hal Morris

Hal Morris was one of the Wednesday fewe VIP signers at the National.  I had gotten him TTM in the past, but I still had a bunch of his cards that I could get signed.  The above 1994 Topps turned out great.

They called Wild Cards on Morris, so I was able to get s few more cards signed.  The 1997 Bowman Chrome (left) turned out great.  The 1996 Topps Gallery (middle) was from the box of cards I busted a long time ago while visiting Andrew.

Finally, the card on the right is a 1996 Topps Finest.  These are also nice cards but they kind of blur or fade.  This one turned out fine and shouldn't fade since it'll be stored in my album.  By fading, I mean the actual card, not the signature.

Morris was really nice.  I was glad to meet him, and his line.moved pretty quickly. 

TTM Success - Lyle Mouton

Three attempts were made, but I finally got a TTM success back from Lyle Mouton.  The cards I sent turned out great, so I was really glad when they finally came in.  The above 1996 Finest looks a lot better in person.

I also had Mouton sign a 1996 Topps Gallery, 1998 Topps, 1997 Score and a 1997 Fleer Metal.

Mouton (b. 1969) played in the majors from 1995 to 2001 for the White Sox, Orioles, Brewers and Marlins.  He had 225 hits, 22 home runs and a .280 batting average.

I mailed to Mouton on January 21 and got the cards back on January 31, for a 10-day TAT.

More Signed Franks From Max

I went ahead and picked up a few more signed Franks out of Max's stash that he has built up.  The cards that I got this time around were the above 1994 Upper Deck Home Field Advantage, the 1996 Topps Gallery below and the 2007 Topps Trading Places.

I also picked up a few extras, so I could spread around some love.  I hope the folks I sent them off to enjoy them as much as I do!  Thanks, as always, Max.

2019 National VIP Free Signer - Ryan Klesko

The first free signer of the National was at the VIP party, Ryan Klesko.  He was listed as a "free signer", so anyone could get him once the show opened to the public after the VIP party.  I got him at the party, and probably could have gotten him on the rest of the cards that I brought, but I was too excited to look at everything at the show.  So, I just settled on the three cards that I had at the party.

I feel like the cards that I chose were all really good choices, and will look cool in my album.  I especially like the 2004 Heritage, as it is the same design as 1955 Topps.  The card on the left is a 1996 Topps Gallery and the one on the right is a 1996 Pinnacle.

Klesko (b. 1971) played in the majors from 1992 to 2007 for the Braves, Padres and Giants.  He had 1,564 hits, 278 home runs and a .279 batting average.  He was an All Star in 2001 and won the World Series with the Braves in 1995.

He appeared on the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot, but received no votes.  He was really nice when we met him, and seemed genuinely happy to be there.

TTM Success - Shane Reynolds

If someone were to go back and look at all of my posts about TTM successes, one common statement comes out in most of the posts.  I usually talk about how great the cards came out and how happy I am with the TTM success,  Well, due to a near-dead Sharpie, these cards that came back from Shane Reynolds look like crap.

I had some really cool late 90s cards that I haven't gotten many of in my album, and I was really excited to try to get them back signed.  Add in the long wait time for these, and this was just a dud.

The cards are still going into my album, but I really wish he had used a better Sharpie.  Not much I can do about it now.

Reynolds (b. 1968) played in the majors from 1992 to 2004 for the Astros, Braves and Diamondbacks.  He had a career record of 114-96 with 1,403 strike outs and a 4.09 ERA.  He was an All Star in 2000 and finished a career-best 9th in the NL Cy Young race in 1996.  He appeared on the 2010 Hall of Fame ballot, but received no votes.

I mailed to Reynolds on September 14, 2017, and got the cards back on May 28, 2019, for a 621-day TAT.  He also kept two of my cards.

A Second TTM Success From Ron Gant

I sent off a bunch of TTM requests to start the new year, and a few of them were of guys I had gotten in the past.  Sid Bream, for example, was someone I needed on some 1987 Topps cards.  I sent a few 87s out to a few other guys to see if I could get them back.  Ron Gant doesn't have a card in the 1987 set, so I thought I was done sending to him.  That is, until I found the above 2014 Stadium Club Firebrand insert at my LCS.

The card floated around my card room for about a year, until I finally put it in my "to be TTMed" box.  I ended up sending it out earlier this month, and am glad I did so.  It is made of wood, and turned out pretty well.  I was afraid it would break in transit, but it turned out ok.

I added a few other cards to the request, including this 1996 Gallery that I picked up while I was visiting Andrew back in May.

I also wanted to add a couple Topps cards to the pile, so I sent a 1989 and a 1999.  What a huge difference 10 years makes.

I mailed the cards out to Gant on January 2 and got the cards back on January 11, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Mark Loretta

I added some more recent cards to my autograph album with this TTM success from Mark Loretta.  I had found quite a few cards of his and sent them all off.  I wasn't expecting him to sign them all, but I was really happy to see that he did.

This Goudey turned out pretty nice.  I have a few of these, and wanted to get one of them out of my boxes and into my album.  The card is really colorful and scanned really well.

You can never go wrong with getting an Allen & Ginter signed.  They always look great, and this one is no exception.  I have so many Ginters from 2006 to 2010 taking up space in boxes.  I really need to get some out into the world for signature and see what comes back.

Here are the other Loretta cards that I sent out.  The bottom right Topps Gallery came out of a box I busted while up at Andrew's for his graduation.  I also added three Topps cards to the album, 1998, 1999 and 2005.

Loretta (b. 1971) played in the majors from 1995 to 2009 for the Brewers, Astros, Padres, Red Sox and Dodgers.  He had 1,713 hits, 76 home runs and a .295 batting average.  He was an All Star in 2004 and 2006.  He finished 9th in the NL MVP voting in 2006 and won the Silver Slugger Award that season.

I mailed to Loretta on October 20 and got the cards back on November 30, for a 41-day TAT.

2017 National Card Show - More Day 1 Free Signers

Jose Canseco wasn't the only person signing for free on the first day of the National.  Nate Archibald and Ron Duguay were also signing as part of the VIP Party.  I was in line for Archibald, but that line was moving slowly, so the folks in front of me allowed me to jump over to Duguay's line and get my card signed there.  I was, then, able to jump back in my spot for Archibald and resume waiting for him.

I picked up both of these cards from COMC before I left for the show.  I wanted to have something for each free VIP signer at the VIP Party, in order to maximize my time there.

Someone in line also handed me a free voucher for Todd Hundley, so I used it on this 1996 Topps Gallery card that I picked up back when I was hanging with Andrew for his graduation.  The card turned out really nicely, as I had treated it with powder before I left home for the show.

TTM Success - Carlos Baerga

I added a really nice success to my list with this one from Carlos Baerga.  He was one of the better offensive second basemen that I remember from my formative years following the game.  The above 1996 Topps Gallery turned out really nice, and it was out of the box I busted while I was at Andrew's house.

I really liked the action shot on this 1998 Topps.  The white Mets hat also looks pretty cool, I think.

Finally, these two round out the success.  The 1996 Bowman looks pretty good, and the 1995 Stadium Club Super Teams card looks really freaky, but in a good way.

Baerga (b. 1968) played in the majors from 1990 to 1999 and 2002 to 2005 for the Indians, Mets, Padres, Red Sox, Diamondbacks and Nationals.  He had 1,583 hits, 134 home runs and a .291 batting average.  He was an All Star three times (1992, 1993 and 1995) and was a Silver Slugger Award winner in 1993 and 1994.  His best finish for MVP (AL) was in 1993 when he finished 10th.  He appeared on the 2011 Hall of Fame ballot, but didn't receive any votes.

I mailed to Baerga on May 30 and got the cards back on July 20, for a 51-day TAT.

TTM Success - Tom Goodwin

This was a TTM success that took two tries, but I finally received from Tom Goodwin.  I had received a failure (a RTS) last year and held onto the cards for a while to see if I could try again.  I saw that he was signing with the Mets, so I sent there.  In the meantime, I swapped out one of the cards I was sending for this 1996 Topps Gallery that I picked up while I was at Andrew's.  It turned out pretty nice, even though the sicnature smeared a bit.  I baby powdered the card, but with how glossy these are, I think I need to use an eraser on them.  I may try that the next time I send one out.

I got these four cards back as well.  They all turned out pretty nicely, I think.  I especially like the 1999 Topps, since I didn't have very many of them in the album.

This 1997 Pacific Collection Prism turned out great.  I love these cards and have been able to get a couple of them signed now.  They look great in the album, and I hope I can add a few more from that set.

Goodwin (b. 1968) played in the majors from 1991 to 2004 for the Dodgers, Royals, Rangers, Rockies, Giants and Cubs.  He had 1,029 hits, 24 home runs and a .268 batting average.

I mailed to Goodwin on May 30 and got the cards back on June 8, for a 9-day TAT.