TTM Success - Justin Morneau

A great TTM success came back recently from Justin Morneau.  I sent to him via the Twins at the start of the season last year, and the card finally came back signed.

The card is a 2006 Bowman Heritage.  I had a small handful of these cards and it was nice to be able to get one signed.

Morneau (b. 1981) played in the majors from 2003 to 2016 for the Twins, Pirates, Rockies and White Sox.  He had 1,603 hits, 247 home runs and a .281 batting average.  He was a 4-time All Star (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) and th 2006 AL MVP.  He also won thr Silver Slugger Award twice (2006 and 2008).  He appeared on the 2022 Hall of Fame ballot, but received only 1.3% of the vote).

I mailed to Morneau via the Twins on March 26, 2024, and got the card back on April.18, 2025, for a 388-day TAT.

TTM Success - Kevin Thompson

A couple mid-2000s Bowman cards came back signed TTM from Kevin Thompson.  The above 2006 Bowman Heritage foil parallel is pretty nice.  I don't have many of these signed, so it was good to add one to the album. 

I also got this 2006 Bowman gold parallel signed with the return from Thompson.  Again, I didn't have many of these in the autograph album, so here's another different card added to the bunch.

Thompson (b. 1979) played in the majors in 2006 and 2007 for the Yankees and A's.  He had 14 hits, 1 home run and a .215 batting average.

I mailed to Thompson on September 20 and got the cards back on October 12 for a 22-day TAT. 

Another TTM Success From Tyler Norrick

Here's a TTM success that I got back recently where I had forgotten that i had sent to the guy in the first place.  I had the above Tyler Norrick 2006 Bowman Heritage in a box and thought it would be nice to try and get it signed. Little did I know, I had gotten him back in April of 2021 on a 2006 Bowman.  Oh well.  This is actually a 2006 Bowman Heritage mini, and looks great signed.

I mailed to Norrick on December 4 and got the card back on December 16, for a 12-day TAT. 

Rookie Cards From the National

I got a ton of single cards from the National and I really don't think I will be able to scan them all to show them off, but there are several that I would like to show, so I decided to start with a few of the rookie cards I was able to pick up.

First up is a 1978 Topps Jack Morris RC that I got out of a 4/$1.00 box at the show.  I already had the card in my 1978 set, but for a quarter, I figured it would be a good addition to my RC collection.  Morris was a great pitcher who probably won't get into the Hall of Fame.  We'll have to see over the next few years if he gets in.

I really liked this 2001 SPX Brian Roberts RC, but the guy selling it was a dealer from Baltimore who had a pretty big upcharge on his cards.  Initially, he wanted $25 for this card, and as much as I like Roberts, that was really ridonkulous.  His excuse was "Well, it's serial numbered."  Uhh, this isn't 2003, you know.  Serial numbering, in my opinion, isn't as hot a commodity as it once was.  Anyway, I bought the card without a lot of arguing because I added a ton of Orioles inserts and RCs (Including some Matt Wieters and Dylan Bundy MiLB cards( and got the whole deal for $40.  Probably a little too much, but oh well.  Where else would I be able to find all those Oriole cards in one place?

I got this Adam Jones RC from the same dealer, and I'm not sure what he was asking for it, since I just added it to my pile.  The guy didn't have prices on 95% of the cards; I imagine he was just pricing in his head as he went.  Oh well, I guess I'm a sucker.  Anyway, this 2006 Bowman Heritage is a really cool card, patterned after the 1949 Bowman, down to the blurry photo.  Still a cool card for an Oriole who is having a pretty good year.

Finally, I found this 2012 Allen & Ginter Wei Yin Chen RC.  Chen is doing really well in his rookie season with a 12-7 record so far.  He was the lesser touted of the two Japanese signings for the O's this offseason (the other being Tsuyoshi Wada) and has done a tremendous job.  Hailing from Taiwan, Chen has emerged as the ace of the Orioles' pitching staff since Jason Hammel went on the DL, Jake Arrieta forgot how to pitch and Brian Matusz from 2010 has disappeared.  I like what Chen has done so far and I hope he can keep it up as the season winds down.