2023 National Free Signer - Geoff Blum

The next free signer was someone I hadn't gotten in person or TTM previously, Geoff Blum.  A good many of this year's signers were guys I had gotten before, so it was nice pulling cards that I hadn't gotten signed.  The above 2009 Topps Update turned out nicely.

Both of these (2003 Topps and 2010 Topps Update) also look nice.

Blum (b. 1973) played in the majors from 1999 to 2012 for the Expos, Astros, Devil Rays, Padres, White Sox and Diamondbacks.  He had 990 hits, 99 home runs and a .250 batting average.  He won the World Series in 2005 with the White Sox.

TTM Success - Shane Robinson

This TTM success looks like one of those "spot the difference" photo things you'll see in a magazine in a dentist's office or online.  Still, there are subtle differences between these two cards.  The above 2009 Topps Update Shane Robinson that I got back signed is the "vintage stock" parallel, and below is the normal base card.  You can tell the difference in the Topps logo on the card.  In hand, the above card is brown card stock, while below is white.

Both cards turned out nicely, and I was glad to be able to get the parallel included in the TTM request.  It was just a random parallel card I had in one of my boxes.

Robinson (b. 1984) played in the majors in 2009 and from 2011 to 2018 for the Cardinals, Twins, Angels and Yankees.  He had 168 hits, 7 home runs and a .221 batting average.

I mailed to Robinson on April 4, 2022, and got the cards back on January 17, 2023, for a 288-day TAT.

TTM Success - Paul Phillips

This 2009 Topps Update gold Paul Phillips card was just floating around in my boxes, so I took a look to see if he signed TTM.  Phillips does, so I sent the card off, and got it back signed TTM not too long after.

Phillips (b. 1977) played in the majors from 2004 to 2010 for the Royals, White Sox and Rockies.  He had 58 hits, 3 home runs and a .262 batting average.

I mailed to Phillips on April 29 and got the card back on May 7, for an 8-day TAT.

TTM Success - Marc Rzepczynski

His nickname is "Scrabble" due to the excessive use of consonants in his last name.  I believe his score would be really darn high if someone were able to play it.  We always said you can's use proper names in the game, so tough luck.  Anyway, Marc Rzepczynski signed three cards for me TTM, beginning with the above 2009 Bowman.  He pretty much covered up the photo, but the card is signed.

He also signed a 2010 Upper Deck, 2009 Topps Update and a 2010 Topps.

Rzepczynski (b. 1985) played in the majors from 2009 to 2018 for the Blue Jays, Cardinals, Indians, Padres, A's, Nationals and Mariners.  He had a career record of 14-27 with 409 strike outs and a 3.89 ERA.  He won the World Series in 2011 with the Cardinals.

I mailed to Rzepczynski on December 17 and got the cards back on January 14, for a 28-day TAT.

TTM Success - Lance Broadway

I got some nice cards back signed TTM from former pitcher, Lance Broadway.  I really liked the above 2009 Topps Update.  I wish I had kept all of my 09 bulk, but I had let it all go at a card show years ago in order to make room in my boxes.  Making room is great, but I do like to have options to choose from when looking for cards to get signed.

I also sent off a 2008 Upper Deck Rookie Debut (left) and a 2008 Bowman.  Both of these really look great when signed.

Broadway (b. 1983) played in the majors from 2007 to 2009 for the White Sox and Mets.  He had a record of 1-1 with 39 strike outs and a 5.24 ERA.

I mailed to Broadway on November 16 and got the cards back on December 4, for an 18-day TAT.

TTM Success - Craig Stammen

Here are some nice cards that I came across in my boxes.  I saw that Craig Stammen signed TTM, so my 2009 Topps Update, 2010 Topps Heritage and 2019 Topps Heritage were sent off for autographs.  All of them turned out great, I think.

It is kind of cool to see the two Heritage cards lined up beside each other.  I find it interesting sometimes to do that with a player's early-career and late-career cards.  It just seems cool.

Stammen (b. 1984) has played in the majors since 2009 (with the exception of 2016) for the Nationals and Padres.  He has a record of 48-39 with 625 strike outs and a 3.69 ERA.

I mailed to Stammen on November 3 and got the cards back on November 16, for a 13-day TAT.

TTM Success - PJ Walters

These are some cards that I held in my "to be TTMed box" that I really wanted to get signed.  They were held because PJ Walters had signed TTM with a club, but there wasn't yet a good address I could use from my Harvey book, and finally sent the cards on their way.

Of course, the reason I really wanted to send to him TTM was the above 2009 Topps Update black parallel.  I really wanted it signed, and just bided my time.  Now, the card is signed, and all is well.

Of course, I wasn't satisfied with just one card, so I sent the 2009 Topps Update base and a 2007 Bowman Chrome.  Both of these cards look nice, too.

Walters (b. 1985) played in the majors from 2009 to 2013 for the Cardinals and Twins.  He had a career record of 6-10 with 104 strike outs and a 6.28 ERA.

I mailed to Walters on April 22 and got the cards back on July 6, for a 75-day TAT.

TTM Success - Daniel Schlereth

While checking out recent TTM successes on SCN, I saw that Daniel Schlereth was signing TTM.  I was about to go through some boxes from the late 2000s, and ended up finding a few of his cards.  It was nice to get a few of them out of those boxes, as cards from the late 00s to early 10s are tough to get signed for me, for some reason.

The cards turned out well, and I was really happy to put them to some use.

Schlereth (b. 1986) played in the majors from 2009 to 2012 for the Diamondbacks and Tigers.  He had a career record of 5-6 with 91 strike outs and a 4.35 ERA.

I mailed to Schlereth on January 2 and got the cards back on January 12, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Andrew Bailey

I was excited to get this TTM success back from Andrew Bailey because I really wanted to add one of these 2009 Topps Update propaganda poster cards to my autograph album.  The card turned out really nice, and yes, it does look great in my album.

I also got three different 2010 Topps cards that feature Bailey signed.  I thought it was pretty cool to get each of these done.

Bailey (b. 1984) played in the majors from 2009 to 2013 and 2015 to 2017 for the A's, Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies and Angels.  He had a career record of 13-13 with 95 saves, 276 strike outs and a 3.12 ERA.  He was a two-time All Star (2009 and 2010) and the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year.

I mailed to Bailey on February 27 and got the cards back on April 7, for a 39-day TAT.

TTM Success - Joe Nathan

I was really excited to add this success to my autograph binder from Joe Nathan.  Especially so, since I was able to get signed one of the limited edition 2015 Topps minis that my good friend, Ryan, gave me.  You can't tell from the scan, but it is a mini.  It turned out really nice, I think.

I also was able to get the 2007 Topps and 2012 Topps signed to help add a couple more recent Topps cards to the ledger.  I have noticed that it is a lot harder for me to get more recent guys to sign TTM, thus leaving me with a lot fewer autographs on cards from 1999 to 2017.  I'm working on adding more, though.

Finally, his 2009 Topps Update turned out really well.  I like the All Star logo on the card.  The only drawback is that the foil doesn't show up really well in the scan.

Nathan (b. 1974) played in the majors from 1999 to 2000, 2002 to 2009 and 2011 to 2016 for the Giants, Twins, Rangers, Tigers and Cubs.  He has a career record of 64-34 with an ERA of 2.87 and 976 strike outs.  His 377 saves rank 8th all-time.  He was an All Star 6 times (2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013) and finished 4th in the 2004 AL Cy Young voting (his best finish).  He also has finished 12th on the AL MVP voting (also 2004).  He is currently in the Nationals' system with the Syracuse Chiefs.

I mailed to Nathan on May 3 via the Syracuse Chiefs and got the cards back on May 13, for a 10-day TAT.

I also want to take a moment and change the subject away from baseball.  I am a huge Pearl Jam fan, so today's news of the passing of Chris Cornell cuts me really deeply.  I have listened to Call me a Dog from his acoustic album called Songbook (originally recorded with Temple of the Dog as a tribute to the passing of his close friend, Andrew Wood) at least 5 times already this morning.  You never know what someone is going through, so please, take the time to tell those close to you what they mean to you.  They may be gone tomorrow. #RIPChrisCornell

Black Friday COMC Pickups - Nolan Reimold

So, here are the Nolan Reimolds I was able to get on Black Friday from COMC.  I only purchased two Reimolds and had another one shipped that I had picked up a few months ago.

The first card I got was this 2008 Donruss Threads Diamond Kings.  Reimold is seen here in his Bowie Baysox uniform.  This is pretty cool because it almost matches my Reimold bobblehead.  I got this card for $0.71.

This is the card I had already paid for.  I got it for my 2009 Topps Reimold Rainbow, and as far as I know, I have all of his parallels (except for the printing plate).  I got this one for $1.24  It is numbered 537/2009.

Finally, here is another Reimold RC, this one being from 2009 UD Ultimate Collection.  These were really premium cards back when UD still had their MLB license.  I got it for $1.15 and it is numbered 495/599.  I liked how Ultimate Collection looked, but it still pales in comparison to the Topps Sterling Brooks Robinson that I got the other day.  So far, that one is the sharpest of what I picked up.

Another Reimold - 2009 Topps Update Black

I wasn't kidding when I said I really attacked my want list recently.  I grabbed a 2009 Topps Black Nolan Reimold the other day for $9.99.  Again, this is his rookie card, so I'm trying to complete the 'rainbow' of that year.

Who am I kidding?  I'm trying to complete the 'rainbow' of every year.  I think I've done pretty well.  Unless I find a printing plate of 2009 Topps, I'm pretty much done with this year.  I bought the gold parallel off of COMC, so when I buy a couple more cards to justify shipping, I'll take delivery of it.  I also found someone who has the 2010 Black Parallel, which has been the hardest one for me to find, so I'll probably grab that next week.  Once I take care of that, I think I will concentrate some more on HOF autos, but who knows, something may jump out at me and I'll have to get it.

Off of the Want List - 2009 Topps Silk Nolan Reimold

I felt like I had been neglecting my want list a few months ago when the only things I was knocking off were HOF signed baseballs.  So, I updated the list for the 2012 National Card Show and have been trying to keep up with it ever since.  Since I did that, I have added several Nolan Reimold parallels to my collection.  I have gotten lucky recently in being able to find the ones I need.

One of the cards I got in the mail yesterday was the above 2009 Topps Update Silk Nolan Reimold #36/50.  I had been looking for this card for a while and could never come across any at shows or Ebay.  Luckily, someone finally posted one on Ebay and I grabbed it.  This is considered a rookie card, so it carries a bit of a premium, especially among Reimold fans.  I have only seen this one since I have been looking, so it doesn't look like too many people are willing to part with them.  I'm glad I added it, though because I need to make room on my want list for all of the 2013 stuff that will be coming out before you know it.

Lots of new stuff and lots going on

Hi Guys. I know it's been a while. I have been pretty busy, didn't work at the shop last week beacuse we had company in town. I did go this week though and busted half a box of 2009 Topps Update & Highlights with Pete. I also bought a few packs of SP authentic as well. The scans that follow are some of the highlights...

This first card is a reprint, but was a very nice gesture from one of the kids that comes in regularly named Braxton. He's a Yankee fan (but I don't hold that against him). He messaged me online saying he picked up this card. I thought it was really cool of him to think of me, it didn't matter that the card was a reprint or not... I don't think i would have let him give it to me if it were the actual card....

Next up is the SWEET Walter Johnson commemorative patch card. I love these things. Its also cool that my dad went to Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda Maryland...Check out the 1/1 Platinum Matt Holliday. Pretty sweet, it's my first platinum card (that I can remember...).

I also pulled this really nice Andrew McCutchen RC Auto. If he pans out, I'll be one happy camper.... This was a much better auto than some tht were in Series I or Series II.

Pete and I did a pretty good job of assembling the Orioles rotation as well, nabbing David Hernandez, Chris Tillman and Brad Bergesen RCs. We also got the Nolan Reimold RC. If there is a Wieters in this set, we didn't pull it. If anyone has it, please let me know... I WANT it!!!

Pete brought this 2004 Bazooka Nick Markakis in with him when he arrived at the shop. Pretty sweet card, also...

I got this Nick Markakis Victory card from another guy who shops regularly at the shop... Definitely took advantage of the fact that he isn't an O's fan... I really really like the design to the Victory cards... Very sharp!!!

Finally, I ended up with some new Roberts for my collection. This icons card, the 2009 Topps Turkey Red (Can't go wrong with those EVER) and the 2009 SP Authentic...

So, yes it has been a very productive past few weeks. The big event, however, comes tomorrow. I can't wait... I'm not going to spill it yet, but I will say that my younger brother Andy and I will be making a 5 and a half hour drive from Greenville, NC to Baltimore... After that, well, you just have to keep checking back for updates, now, don't you???