TTM Success - Quinn Brodey

Here are some cards that I got back signed TTM from Quinn Brodey.  I was going through my old Bowman box and pulled these Brodeys to try TTM. 

He signed both a Bowman Draft and a Bowman Draft Chrome.  I don't mind that he signed them in black. I was just glad to get a couple out of the box and into the autograph album. 

Brodey (b. 1995) was a 3rd round pick by the Mets in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of Stanford.  He played in the Mets system from 2017 to 2019 and 2021 to 2023, reaching AAA.  He had 350 hits, 36 home runs and a .229 batting average. 

I mailed to Brodey on March 28 and got the cards back on April 25 for a 28-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Will Gaddis

Here are a couple 2017 Bowman Draft cards that I got out of my box with this TTM success from Will Gaddis.  

Gaddis (b. 1996) was a 3rd round pick by the Rockies in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of Furman. He played in the minors from 2017 to 2019 and 2021 to 2023 in the Rockies system.  He has reached AAA.  He has a record in the minors of 26-22 with 284 strike outs and a 5.94 ERA.

I mailed to Gaddis on February 28 and got the cards back on March 12, for a 13-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Quentin Holmes

Sometimes I'll take a shot on a TTM that I'm not sure will be successful.  That could be for many reasons like maybe I missed the guy when they came through, or maybe they hadn't signed in a long time and I want to take a shot.  In the case of Quentin Holmes, I didn't see him come through against the Wood Ducks, so I wanted to try to get a few of the cards that I stockpiled signed. It worked out this time.

The above 2018 Bowman Chrome purple refractor was picked up at some point with the hope that I'd see him come through Kinston.  He never did, so the card sat in my box for a couple of years.  I was so glad when it came back signed, as it looks great.

I sent off some of Holmes's other cards: 2017 Bowman Draft, 2017 Bowman Draft Chrome, 2018 Pro Debut and 2018 Topps Heritage Minors.  I like how all of the cards turned out.  I also liked how I was able to get them all out of the box and into the autograph album.

Holmes (b. 1999) was a second round pick by the Indians in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of a New York high school. He played in the minors from 2017 to 2022 (missing 2020 due to the COVID shutdown) in the Indians system.  He reached AA.  He had 161 hits, 10 home runs and a .190 batting average. He played in Independent ball during the 2023 season.

I mailed to Holmes on February 2 and got the cards back on July 19, for a 167-day TAT.

Autograph Care Package From Nick

With my TTM stack shrinking to a more manageable size, I can now try to get some signed cards that were from trades, care packages and 50/50s scanned and into my album.  The first one of these that I wanted to move was a small package of cards from fellow 1987 Topps set builder, Nick.  He needed some of the cards that I had (it may have even been a signed 86 Topps), and sent me these that he had gotten.  I love the above 2017 Bowman Trevor Rogers.  I had gotten him TTM, but that card was personalized.

Nick sent five 2017 Bowmans and three 2018s.  I am glad to add these to the autograph album.

With all of the cards that I am set to scan and post, I am going to fill up an album pretty fast.  I need to change my closet around to house all of these albums.  That may be another project that I do while I am off, if I am unable to travel where I want to this weekend.

Thank you so much for the cards, Nick.  I hope you like the one I sent you.

September 2022 Graphing Recap of Braves at Crawdads

The game was called probably some 30 minutes after the Rome Braves team buses left the ballpark, but that didn't stop me from a full night of graphing in Hickory.  I made my way out of the stadium while the Braves players waited for the buses to come, and got everyone I needed with the exception of Grant Holmes.

After the game was called, the Crawdads went forward with their team signing, and luckily, the rain had stopped.  I was able to almost complete this year's early season Crawdads team set.  I think I am missing one or two guys from the set.  I didn't pick up the late season version, since my friend, Dugan had bought one for me, but forgot to bring it down the last time he was in town.  I also forgot to tell him I was going to Hickory this weekend, so oh well.

The main reason I was going was to try to complete this year's Wood Ducks team set, which I was able to do, save for the alternate mascot.  I'll get him next season.  I was glad to see the guys again, one more time before the season ended.

I was able to get several Jacob Pearson 2017 Bowmans and a couple 2018 Pro Debuts out of my card box.  He signed one of each of the cards, so the rest of the unsigned cards will go into the box of shame.  Still, I was happy to get these taken care of.

I only had one 2021 Bowman Draft of Cal Conley, so it is out of the box and into the album.  He was really nice; we had gotten the Braves guys outside as they were boarding the buses, then we went back inside and waited for the Crawdads signing.

Finally, Beau Philip was one per.  He signed a 2020 Topps Pro Debut for both Chris and I.  I had hoped he would hit one of the 2019 Bowman Draft cards as well, but I'm just happy I got one.

In all, I got the following autographs: Dane Acker x 8, Robby Ahlstrom x 6, Angel Aponte x 2, Michael Brewer x 4, Evan Carter x 3, Derrick Decker x 2, Andy Earp x 2, Cristian Inoa x 1, Jesus Linarez x 2, Larson Kendreich x 4, Theo McDowell x 4, Alejandro Osuna x 4, TK Roby x 4, Chris Siese x 8, Josh Stephan x 4, Jay Sullenger x 2, Leury Tejadax4, Ryan Tuntland x 2, Bradford Webb x 4, Cal Conley x 1, Jacob Pearson x 6 and Beau Philip x 2 (79 total autographs).

TTM Success - Ryley Widell

When I can pull a 2017 Bowman Draft out of my boxes, it is always a good thing.  I thought I was winding down on my stack of 17 Draft, but one of the boxes I got recently when the shop closed was full of them, so I now have a whole lot more.  I finally organized them, and pulled a bunch out for graphing, so that helps.  I sent off this 2017 Draft Ryley Widell a while back, and got it back signed.  It turned out nicely.

Widell (b. 1997) was a 7th round pick by the Twins in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of Central Arizona College.  He played in the minors (reaching High A) in the Twins and Dodgers organizations in 2017, 2019 and 2021.  He had a record of 2-9 with 111 strike outs and a 5.46 ERA in three minor league seasons.

I mailed to Widell on January 12 and got the card back on March 21, for a 68-day TAT.

TTM Success - Seth Elledge

Here is a nice TTM success that was started by going through my 2017 Bowman Draft cards and ended up including a 2021 Update that I almost missed.

Elledge (b. 1996) made his debut in 2020 and also pitched a little in 2021, all for the  Cardinals.  He has a 1-0 record with 25 strike outs and a 4.63 ERA.  Funny thing is, he had identical 4.63 ERAs in 2020 and 2021.

I mailed to Elledge on January 10 and got the cards back on February 12, for a 33-day TAT.

TTM Success - Blake Hunt

Here's another 2017 Bowman Draft that I was able to get signed TTM.  This one was signed by Blake Hunt, and turned out alright, except that the card got bent a good bit in transit.  Still, the card will be fine in my album.

Hunt (b. 1998) was a second round pick in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California by the Padres.  He has since transitioned to the Rays system.  Since 2017, he has made his way to AA.  In the minors he has 227 hits, 19 home runs and a .242 batting average.

I mailed to Hunt on February 1 and got the card back on February 10, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Wyatt Mills

Some nice cards came back signed TTM recently when I got this TTM success back from Wyatt Mills.  I was all set to send off a 2017 Bowman and a 2017 Bowman Chrome when I realized that Mills was in 2021 Topps Update.  This card turned out nicely.  I didn't see that Jose Goody was signing, so I probably won't complete the card, but that's ok.

Getting these two 2017 Bowmans out of my Bowman box was nice.  I went through that box to try to make some room for new stuff, and found a few guys I wanted to send to.  Some of those cards are still out, but there have been a couple that have come back in.

Mills (b. 1995) made his debut last season with the Mariners.  He was 0-0 with 11 strike outs and a 9.95 ERA.

I mailed to Mills on January 10 and got the cards back on February 9 for a 30-day TAT.

TTM Success - Trevor Rogers

There weren't a whole lot of TTMs that I sent this year to active players during the season.  The slow return of Spring Training TTMs is one of the reasons, paired with the continued tension regarding COVID restrictions.  Still, I sent out to a few active players during the season, and one of the best returns I got was from Marlins pitcher, Trevor Rogers.  He signed my 2017 Bowman Draft and 2018 Bowman and inscribed them to me.

Rogers (b. 1997) was a first round (13th overall) pick in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of Carlsbad High School in Carlsbad, New Mexico.  He made his debut in the 2020 season, and now has a record of 8-10 with 196 strike outs and a 3.24 ERA.  He was an All Star this year and is a possibility to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

I mailed to Rogers via the Marlins stadium on April 14 and got the cards back on July 12, for an 89-day TAT.

TTM Success - Stuart Fairchild

Some really nice prospect cards came back signed TTM from Stuart Fairchild.  This 2017 Bowman Chrome sky blue refractor turned out great.  It is numbered 62/399.

I also got a 2017 Bowman, 2018 Heritage Minors and a 2018 Pro Debut signed.  All of them look great.

Fairchild (b. 1996) was a 2nd round pick in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of Wake Forest University.  He has played in the minors in the Reds and Diamondbacks systems since 2017.  He has reached AAA.  He has 298 hits, 25 home runs and a .271 batting average.

I mailed to Fairchild on October 15 and got the cards back on February 24, for a 132-day TAT.

TTM Success - Cash Case

These 2017 Bowman Draft Cash Case cards were passed a bunch of times while I would look through that box.  I wanted to send to him TTM, but didn't take the chance.  I finally sent to him when someone I had been trading with on Instagram provided me with an address.  The cards took a while to get back, but when they did, they looked great.

2017 Bowman might be one of my favorite Bowman designs (along with 2014).  This is partly because of the full-card photos, but mainly because that this was the first Bowman set that came out during my first real season of graphing.  I have gotten a lot of 2017 Bowmans signed over the last few years, but the guys who I see that are in the set are tapering off a bit as they mve up the chain, or fall out of the minors.  When I can get some of these signed and reduce my lot of 2017s, I enjoy it.

Case (b. 1999) was a 4th round pick by the Reds in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of a Florida high school.  Currently, he hasn't appeared in any games.  He pitched from 2017 to 2019 in the Reds organization for two of their Rookie Level teams.  His had 89 hits, 5 home runs and a .217 batting average.

I mailed to Case on July 29 and got the cards back on February 4, for a 217-day TAT.

TTM Success - Morgan Cooper

Here are a couple 2017 Bowmans that I was able to get signed TTM by Morgan Cooper.  Both cards (2017 Bowman and 2017 Bowman Chrome) turned out really nicely.

Cooper (b. 1994) was a 2nd round pick by the Dodgers in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of the University of Texas - Austin.  He has played in the Dodgers system, only one season (this year) at the High A level.  He has a record of 0-1 with 6 strike outs and a 10.13 ERA.

I mailed to Cooper on January 7 and got the cards back on February 4, for a 28-day TAT.

A Little Graphing Done By Andrew L

I got a message on Instagram earlier in the year from a guy named Andrew, who does some 50/50s with me during the minor league season.  I can't remember where he was going (I think he went to Spring Training) and got me a few cards signed.  This was really nice, it turns out, because I wasn't able to do hardly any 50/50s due to the pandemic.  So, Andrew got me a few cards signed by Alex McKenna.  I had pulled McKenna's cards, since I thought he might have ended up at Fayetteville this year, so his stuff was easy to find.

I had pulled Zach Kirtley because I was going to try him at Spring Training, so his stuff was all in one spot, as well.  I was glad to get a 2017 Bowman out of my box, as getting those signed has slowed down big time, since the cards are getting older now.

Finally, Andrew got me a few Korry Howell cards done.  Again, these were all in one place, because I had them pulled for the upcoming Mudcats season.

I'll have to do some major reorganizing of my boxes before next season (if there is one), because a lot of things will be changing on the minor league landscape.  Hopefully, graphing won't change all that much, but that remains to be seen.

TTM Success - Daulton Varsho

I saw that a good number of folks were getting cards signed from 2018 Heritage Minors and 2018 Bowman, so I wrote down a couple names of guys that I had seen successes of, and put together a couple TTM requests.  One of the ones that came back was this really cool success from Daulton Varsho.  I was especially happy about this 2018 Heritage Minors Deckle Edge card.  He inscribed it to me, and signed in black Sharpie.  No, that's not a real autograph below it in blue.

I also got his 2018 Heritage Minors base and 2017 Bowman Draft signed.

Varsho (b. 1996) was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the second round of the 2017 Amateur Draft out of the University of Wisconsin.

So far, he has 153 hits, 19 home runs and a .301 batting average along two minor league seasons.

I mailed to Varsho on January 5 and got the cards back on January 18, for a 13-day TAT.

TTM Success - Royce Lewis

I added a few signed cards from 2017 Bowman Draft with this TTM success from Royce Lewis.  I was really excited to get the above Bowman Defining Moments card back from him, as it turned out really great.

He personalized each of the cards, but that was fine with me.  I was able to add a Bowman Chrome and Bowman paper to the album.

Lewis (b. 1999) was drafted #1 overall last year in the Amateur Draft by the Twins out of a California high school.  He played at two levels in the Twins' system (rookie level and single A) last season.  He had 57 hits, 4 home runs and a .279 batting average.

I mailed to Lewis on January 12 and got the cards back on January 29, for a 17-day TAT.

TTM Success - Adam Haseley

I don't normally send off to prospects, but I figured with all of the Bowman Draft that I have, I might as well try to send to a few.  Now, a few of them have come back!  The first to come back was this success from Adam Haseley.

The above Recommended Viewing insert from Bowman Draft was a really cool card, and turned out really well.  I powdered the card before I sent it, and it helped the auto stay put.  I looked to see if Spencer Howard signed TTM, but as of this moment, he does not,

I went ahead and sent both of the 17 Draft base that I had, and Haseley signed them both.  One of which, as you can see, he personalized.

Haseley (b. 1996) was drafted in the first round by Philadelphia (8th overall) out of the University of Virginia.  He is an outfielder and played last season in three levels of the Phillies system (GCL, low A and A).  He had 61 hits, 3 home runs and a .284 batting average across those three levels in 2017.

I mailed to Haseley on January 19 and got the cards back on January 27, for an 8-day TAT.