2024 National Paid Signer - Manny Ramirez

Another former player that I paid to meet this year at the National was Manny Ramirez.  I wish I could say that meeting Manny was cool, but it was pretty unremarkable. He did look up at me when I thanked him for signing.  He didn't say anything, and had his air pods in, so I doubt he heard anything I was saying.  Also, his signature wasn't much; I got this little loopy thing on my 2008 Topps Stadium Club. 

I chose this card because when it came out back in 2008, I (and a former friend of mine) really enjoyed this panoramic shot of Manny in a Dodger uniform. 

Ramirez (b. 1972) played in the majors from 1993 to 2011 for the Indians, Red Sox, Dodgers, White Sox and Rays.  He had 2,574, 555 home runs and a .312 batting average.  He was a 12-time All Star (1995 and 1998 to 2008).  He was the runner-up to Bob Hamelin (seriously) in the 1994 AL Rookie of the Year voting.  He won the World Series with the Red Sox in 2094 and 2007.

Ramirez played in Kinston in 1992, hitting .278 with 13 home runs. It would have been really cool to see him play at Grainger Stadium. 

Another TTM Success From Josh Banks

Finally, a 2008 Topps Moments and Milestones has been added to my autograph album.  It might be one of the worst sets ever, but I did want to get one of the cards in my autograph album.  This TTM success from Josh Banks facilitated that.

I had compiled a bunch of Banks's cards and he signed them with a fading blue Sharpie.  Still, I'm glad I got the cards back signed.

I think this 2008 Topps Finest came out of my card shop boxes.it suffered the worst from the dead Sharpie, but it is still signed.

I mailed to Banks on March 29 and got the cards back on April 19, for a 21-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Rich Harden

I was really excited when I saw that Rich Harden signed TTM.  I had a ton of his cards, and he didn't seem to really have much of a limit of what he would sign, so I sent 5 cards along.  The above 2008 Masterpieces really turned out well.  I always enjoy Topps, but Upper Deck did have some great offerings, and Masterpieces was one of them.

Harden also signed a 2002 Topps Prospects card (above left), 2006 Topps (above right), 2008 Upper Deck Heroes (bottom left) and a 2008 Stadium Club (bottom right).

Harden (b. 1981) played in the majors from 2003 to 2011 for the A's, Cubs and Rangers.  He had a career record of 59-38 with 949 strike outs and a 3.76 ERA.

I mailed to Harden on March 16 and got the cards back on September 26, for a 194-day TAT.

TTM Success - Ryan Church

I still struggle finding recent guys who sign, a lot more than maybe players from the 70s and 80s, but lately, I have done a lot better in finding the players, and more importantly, finding their cards.  Recently, I pulled a ton of Ryan Church cards so I could sent TTM.  I had a whole bunch of his stuff, and really enjoyed narrowing it down to what I finally sent out.  I settled on 5 cards that all turned out well.

The above 2008 Goudey doesn't come from one of my favorite set, but it really turned out well.  The colors on the card are sharp, and will look really nice in my album.

I really like this 2009 Heritage.  It turned out really well, and looks great when scanned.  1960 Topps was such a nice set and I like this Heritage set.

I also got a 2010 Heritage, 2008 Stadium Club and a 2010 Topps signed by Church.

Church (b. 1978) played in the majors from 2004 to 2010 for the Expos, Nationals, Mets, Braves, Pirates and Diamondbacks.  He had 500 hits, 56 home runs and a .264 batting average. 

I mailed to Church on September 30, and got the cards back on November 8, for a 39-day TAT.

TTM Success - Josh Banks

 I added some late 2000s cards to my album with this TTM success from Josh Banks.  The above 2008 Stadium Club turned out great.  I always liked this set, and it has been tough to get some of them signed.

I also added a 2009 Topps and a 2008 Upper Deck.  Both of them look really nice, as well.

Banks (b. 1982) played in the majors from 2007 to 2010 for the Blue Jays, Padres and Astros.  He had a career record of 4-8 with 55 strike outs and a 5.66 ERA.

I mailed to Banks on October 15 and got the cards back on October 25, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Michael Aubrey

I was able to move some late 2000s cards out of my boxes with this TTM success from Michael Aubrey.  These are cards that I have had floating around in my boxes for over 10 years, and I was kind of getting tired of seeing them.  When I saw that Aubrey was signing, I was glad to get a few of these moving, and they all turned out great.  I don't have very many signed 2008 Bowman (above), but Aubrey did a great job matching the facsimile auto that is on the card.

I also got a 2008 Topps Update and a 2008 Stadium Club First Day Issue signed.

Aubrey (b. 1982) played in the majors from 2008 to 2009 for the Indians and Orioles.  He had 35 hits, 6 home runs and a .259 batting average.  He was the 11th overall pick by the Indians in the 2003 June Amateur Draft.

I mailed to Aubrey on September 30 and got the cards back on October 12, for a 12-day TAT.

A Few More Autos From Gerard

My friend, Gerard, took on a bunch more 50/50s for me this season, and I finally have gotten around to posting two of the batches that were sitting here on my desk.

I had found this 2018 Bowman Chrome blue refractor of Josh Ockimey at the National this year (I think), and it turned out really well when it was signed.

I also was surprised that I had missed this Chaf De La Guerra card from the 2015 NY-Penn League All Star game.  I have had those cards for a couple seasons, now, and have hit a wall on getting any of the remaining ones signed.  I was glad to take this one out of the box, though, and now it will be put away.

Here are some other cards that Gerard was able to take care of for me.  All of them are ones that I had for quite a while, so it is always nice to see them come back signed.

I know I have had these Jeff Niemann cards for a long time, and I was beginning to think this was a player who I wouldn't be adding any time soon.  I had looked him up fairly recently to see if he signed TTM, and he did not.  It doesn't matter, now, because these are done.

Finally, Gerard helped knock off a card from my 1987 set.  I was hoping to get Jose Guzman sooner, but it never worked out.  I have him now, and am crossing him off of the list.

Thanks for the cards, Gerard!

2008 Topps Stadium Club

When I first saw the 2008 Topps Stadium Club at the shop, I wasn't too impressed. I was a fan of Stadium Club way back when, but nowadays, there is so much on the market (and I really think Allen and Ginter is the best thing out there) that I didn't really give TSC a thought. After I was told about Target's little pricing error, I picked up a few blasters, compared cards with P.A. from 'Player to be Named Later' and realized- TSC has some awesome photography! I opened a pack of the $25.00 stuff at the shop, and pulled a 3 piece/ auto Pujols (which will be scanned later on). I also love the Brian Roberts which has him bowling over someone! As Christopher would say- GO ROBERTS. I scanned a few cards- I really like the manny Ramirez and the almost panoramic quality of the photo and the Joba where he looks like a linebacker. I also pulled this Masterson auto yesterday.