TTM Success - Tommy Joseph

A private signing came around with Orioles (likely soon-to-be-former) assistant hitting coach, Tommy Joseph.  My friend Michael hosted the signing and hooked me up with some cards i didn't have.

This signing was cool in that I got a few Topps Heritage cards added to the autograph album. I can't remember which cards were mine and which were ones Michael chipped in.

Joseph (b. 1991) played in the majors in 2016 and 2017 for the Phillies.  He had 200 hits, 43 home runs and a .247 batting average. 

I mailed to Joseph on April 21 and got the cards back on May 15 for a 24-day TAT. I paid a fee of $6/card.

TTM Success - Phil Gosselin

Here are a few Topps Heritage cards that I got signed TTM by Phil Gosselin.  The above 2016 Heritage turned out nicely. 

I also sent off a 2017 and 2022 Heritage.  I don't get into my Heritage stuff as much as I would like, so getting these signed was nice.

Gosselin (b. 1988) played in the majors from 2013 to 2022 for the Braves, Diamondbacks, Pirates, Rangers, Reds, Phillies and Angels.  He had 281 hits, 17 home runs and a .254 batting average. 

I mailed to Gosselin on March 3 and got the cards back on April 12 for a 40-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jon Niese

As the season approaches, I've had to go through a bunch of boxes to prepare for graphing and 50/50s.  Every time I do this, I check and see if players I come across are signing.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that Jon Niese is now signing, so I pulled a few of his cards and dropped them in the mail. The above 2009 Goudey turned out great.  I haven't sent one of these off in a while, so it was nice to get one out of that box and into the album.

I also found two Topps Heritage cards (2011 and 2016) and sent them along.

Niese (b. 1986) played in the majors from 2008 to 2016 for the Mets and Pirares.  He had a record of 69-68 with 914 strike outs and a 4.07 ERA.

I mailed to Niese on February 13 and got the cards back on February 29, for a 16-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Jake Barrett

A few more cards came out of my boxes with this TTM success from Jake Barrett.  Topps Heritage is always a nice choice when getting a card signed, and this 2016 Heritage of Barrett turned out nicely.

I also got a 2014 Bowman out of my box, as well as a 2017 Topps.  These two cards also turned out nicely when Barrett signed them.

Barrett (b. 1991) played in the majors from 2016 to 2019 for the Diamondbacks and Yankees.  He had a record of 2-4 with 92 strike outs and a 4.45 ERA.

I mailed to Barrett on January 11 and got the cards back on May 14, for a 123-day TAT.

TTM Success - Tony Barnette

These two Tony Barnette cards kept popping up in my box, so I had to finally get them in the mail for a TTM. They turned out alright; the above 2016 Topps Heritage could be better. The marker was probably old.

This 2016 Topps Update turned out better.

Barnette (b. 1983) played in the majors from 2016 to 2019 for the Rangers and Cubs. He had a record of 11-4 with 132 strike outs and a 3.53 era.

I mailed to Barnette on March 28 and got the cards back on April 4, for a 7-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Ryan O'Rourke

Here are a couple cards that came out of my Box of Shame from way back when I missed Ryan O'Rourke while he was with the Orioles.  I like being able to move a few of these cards out, because for sure, I will miss folks this year.  Moving these older cards makes room for new stuff and keeps me on my toes to try to find some new guys to mail to.

O'Rourke (b. 1988) played in the majors in 2015, 2016 and 2019 for the Twins and Mets.  He had a record of 0-1 with 49 strike outs and a 4.84 ERA.

I mailed to O'Rourke on February 9 and got the cards back on March 19, for a 38-day TAT.

TTM Success - Tim Adleman

I got a couple cards signed by Tim Alleman that had been in my box for quite a while. I've been doing a good job getting stuff sent out that has just been hanging around. I guess that's one benefit of not being able to go to games. Alleman signed a 2016 Topps Heritage and a 2016 Topps Update.

Alleman (b. 1987) played in the majors from 2016 to 2017 for the Reds. He had a record of 9-15 with 155 strike outs and a 4.97 ERA.

I mailed to Alleman on November 19 and got the cards back on December 3, for a 14-day TAT. 

July 25, 2017 Cubs Game

I am back home from my 4th National Card Show, and before I start blogging about everything I picked up there, I wanted to talk about what I was able to do beforehand.  I was able to get up with my dad's best friend from elementary school.  Kevin was kind enough to get some Cubs tickets and let me invite two friends to go to the game with us.  I was able to get my friends, Max and Anthony to come along and catch the game with us.

The game was the Cubs vs the White Sox.  Max is an avid Cubs fan, and Anthony is an avid White Sox fan, what could go wrong?  I was there for the atmosphere of a good baseball game, and Kevin was there because the seats were amazing.

We were able to see White Sox rookie phenom, Yoan Moncada play.  Moncada ended up going 0-2 with a walk.

It was great finally meeting Anthony in person; he and I have traded in Instagram for years, and have become really close.  He's a great guy, and I was so happy that I could help him have this experience at Wrigley.  Max, well, he and I have been friends for a long time, and this was my second opportunity to hang with him in person.  In all, these two guys are great, and I am happy that I can call them my friends.

Back to the game, we got to see Kris Bryant get ejected for arguing balls and strikes.  John Lackey hit 4 White Sox batters, and when Chris Beck hit a Cubs batter, we thought for sure the benches would empty.  We didn't get any fireworks, but it was interesting.

Our seats were 10 rows behind home plate, and we did see one celebrity sitting in our section - Frank Thomas.  Anthony tried to get his autograph late in the game as Thomas was leaving, but was denied.  Max and I had gone to the top of the stadium to see if we could get Rick Sutcliffe, but we missed out on him as well.

As you can see, our seats were awesome, thanks to Kevin.  I'm glad he came along with us, as he seemed to have a great time.  He really took a liking to Anthony, since they sat beside each other and talked quite a bit.

The Cubs won the game 7-2, so I got to see the W fly.  The weather was beautiful, and we had an amazing time.

I had to get a photo with Kevin after the game.  I really appreciated that he went out of his way, not only for the tickets, but to make sure I was set for the National, and comfortable in Chicago.  He's a great guy, and I hope he had as good of a time as Max, Anthony and I did.

Poor Anthony had to leave early to catch the bus, so we weren't able to get a picture together after the game.  I was able to get one with Max, though.  I wish we could have gotten one with the four of us, but we didn't get the chance.

Max and I did a little graphing after the game.  He had a page of 4 Ben Zobrist cards (that I gave him), and I was able to get them done for him.  He let me pick the ones I wanted to keep, so I chose this 2016 Heritage purple chrome, and the below 2017 Topps.

Again. I had an amazing time and made some great memories with my friends.  Kevin came through in the clutch, and I am glad he also enjoyed himself.  The four of us really enjoyed ourselves, I think.

Thank you so much for your hospitality, Kevin!  Also thanks to Max and Anthony for being able to catch the game with us!

Recent Nolan Reimold Pickups

I picked up a couple Nolan Reimold parallels recently that I had my eye on for a while.  I finally got the negative parallel from 2016 Topps, and got it for a really good price.

I also got this "gum stain" parallel from 2016 Heritage.  This is kind of funny to me, back in the day, you would get upset if your card had the gum stain on it, but nowadays, it is a short print that is sought after.  What is wrong with us?  Still, it is pretty cool.

Nolan is currently playing independent ball with the Long Island Ducks.  I really hope he can make his way back to the majors.  He's a great guy with an amazing family, and I only want to see him succeed.