A Quick 50-50 With Patrick

My friend, Patrick recently took a couple Grant Gambrell cards that I found in my boxes.  I was glad to get them signed and into the autograph album. Patrick took two of them at his share of the 50/50.

Patrick sees Worcester, and Gambrell is there this year.  He signed a 2020 Heritage Minors and a 2020 Pro Debut. 

Gambrell (b. 1997) was a third round pick by the Royals in the 2019 June Amateur Draft out of Oregon State.  He has played in the minors since 2019 in the Royals and Red Sox systems, reaching AAA.  He has a record.of 14-23 with 255 strike outs and a 4.65 ERA.

50-50 Returns From Jack

Recently, I began chatting with a guy in Texas named Jack who offered to take some Frisco guys for me.  That was awesome, because I had a bunch of leftover stuff that I wanted to get signed.  Jack took the cards and got a lot done for me.

He helped me get a Hickory team set card of Hever Bueno signed.  Also, a Wood Ducks cards of Nick Starr got finished.  The biggest help was when Jack got a number of Alex Speas out of my box.  I missed Speas, who never ended up playing for the Wood Ducks. He was injured a lot of his time with Hickory.  I was gladntonget some of the cards I had stockpiled signed and into the album.

Finally, Jack hooked me up with this 2020 Pro Debut of JP Martinez in a Woodies uniform.  My feelings on Martinez are well known, but I still wanted one of these signed since he was in the Wood Ducks jersey on the card.

Jack should have some more stuff for me soon; I can't wait to see what else he got taken care of for me. 

Autographed Card Dump Post

The term "card dump" might sound like it has a negative connotation, but I assure you it is only used as a description of what I felt I had to do with these cards, since my stack got mixed up a while back.  I had no idea who sent me these, and I imagine some of them will come forward at some point and let me know that they sent these to me.  Anyway, the cards that went unaccounted for, so to speak, were some decent ones.  I mean, I really should have known who sent me this Anthony Volpe.  I thought it was my friend, Patrick, but I was mistaken.  Still, it is a great autograph, and Volpe stuff is hot right now.

I do know that these four cards came from an early 50/50, because of the labels on the back.  I originally used to use those tape tabs, but I have since switched to small post it tabs.  I remember tryig to get Ian Krol when he was with some team I was set to see, but missed him.  I wish I could remember who I sent these to.  They all turned out great.

These were in random penny sleeves and/or top loaders, so I think these came in various trades.  I feel like the Groshans and possibly the Gabriel Moreno were from a trade I did with someone for a signed 1986 Topps that they needed.  I probably should log this stuff better.  Anyway, these all are pretty cool, as well, and are now finally in my album.

Thank you so much for all of the trades and 50/50s the past couple of years.  That stack has now been taken care of and I can start fresh with some of the 2022 stuff that is still set to arrive now that the milb season is over.  I also misspoke earlier when I said I was almost caught up.  I have a few birthday items that I want to get posted, so those will be falling in line, as well.

TTM Success - Max Lazar

TTMs have been trickling in recently; mostly ones that have been out for a while.  I finally have had time the last two weeks to go through a few boxes and start prepping to send some waves of TTMs out.  Hopefully some will be coming in over the next few weeks.  As it stands, after this TTM success post, I have two others in the wings to post and one 50/50 card dump of stuff I forgot who sent from where.  After that, I will be all caught up.

This TTM success from Max Lazar was out for a while, and finally came back with a couple nice 2020 cards.  I was glad to see them come back.  He signed a 2020 Heritage Minors and a 2020 Pro Debut.

Lazar (b. 1999) was an 11th round pick by the Brewers in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of Coral Gables High School in Florida.  He has played in the minors from 2017 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022 (missing the COVID season in 2020, of course).  I missed him when he was at the Mudcats; he only pitched in 3 games for them.  So far, he has a record of 11-10 with 214 strike outs and a 3.53 ERA.

I mailed to Lazar on January 14 and got the cards back on September 19, for a 248-day TAT.

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).

Some 50/50s Back From Gerard

My good friend, Gerard, went on a trip this past week to Asheville, and took a few 50/50s to help move some cards out of my boxes.  These were mostly guys that I missed who either didn't come through Fayetteville, or didn't have these cards when they did.  

The above 2020 Panini Prizm Zach Daniels turned out nicely.  I'm pretty sure he just didn't play in Fayetteville; I don't remember him there, at least.  I also don't remember how I got this card, but I like it and am glad it is being added to my album.

Gerard got me several Daniels cards signed, which was great.  I have added so many 2021 Topps Heritage Minors cards to the album recently.  It is a nice set, and the cards look great signed.

J. C. Correa didn't have cards when he came through Fayetteville, so it was nice to get a couple of his cards signed and into the album.

Jordan Brewer did come through, and I had gotten his 2020 Heritage Minors signed before.  I don't remember seeing Colin Barber, however.

Gerard also got a few cards signed by Greenville Drive's Matthew Lugo.  These cards turned out nicely, as well.

Thanks for taking the 50/50, Gerard.  I hope you had a great trip!

A Signed Wander From Dylan

A guy named Dylan from Instagram asked me if I could send him a couple Wander Francos to see if he could get a few signed at Durham.  I was surprised that he was successful and that he sent me one back.  This 2020 Topps Pro Debut came back with one of Wander's many signature variations.  I'm happy with it, and appreciate Dylan knocking one out for me.

Franco (b. 2001) got his call up to the majors a few weeks ago and currently is batting .194 with 1 homer and 6 hits.  The consensus #1 prospect in baseball is struggling at the moment, but I believe he will be just fine.

Thanks for the auto, Dylan!

TTM Success - Dylan File

Here are some cool cards that I got back signed by former Mudcat, Dylan File.  I was glad to get the cards signed, since I had some team set cards to get done.  I also haven't gotten many 2020 Topps Pro Debut cards done.  The Pro Debut above is a sharp card and turned out well.

The 2019 Mudcats team card turned out great.  It may be my favorite team set design; those cards just look great.  I was also able to get my 2019 Carolina League All Star card signed by File.

File (b. 1996) was a 21st round pick by the Brewers in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of Dixie State University.  He has played in the Brewers system since 2017.  He has yet to play this season.  He has a record of 24-18 with 287 strike outs and a 3.65 ERA.

I mailed to File on December 21 and got the cards back on February 12, for a 52-day TAT.

TTM Success - Seth Martinez

I got this really cool COPA insert from 2020 Pro Debut signed TTM by Seth Martinez.  The card turned out great.

Martinez (b. 1994) was a 17th round pick by the A's in the 2016 June Amateur Draft out of Arizona State University.  He played in the A's system from 2016 to 2019, missing 2020 due to COVID.  He has a record of 15-20 with 210 strike outs and a 3.11 ERA.

I mailed to Martinez on January 6 and got the card back on January 15, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Quinn Priester

Here are a couple cards that I was able to get signed by Pirates prospect, Quin n Priester.  My friend, Max, played against him and told me that he is the real deal, so that was pretty cool.  After he told me, I sent Max a couple extra Priester cards that I had, so he could send TTM to him as well.

I was able to get a 2020 Topps Pro Debut and a 2019 Panini Prizm signed by Priester, and both cards look great.

Priester (b. 2000) was a First Round (18th overall) pick by the Pirates in the 2019 June Amateur Draft out of an Illinois High School.  He pitched in Low A and Rookie Ball in the Pirates system in 2019.  He went 1-1 with 41 strike outs and a 3.19 ERA.

I mailed to Priester on September 2 and got the cards back on January 5, for a 125-day TAT.

TTM Success - Noah Song

Here are a couple really nice cards that I was able to get signed by Red Sox prospect, Noah Song.  I had his cards sitting in my box for a while, but I refrained from sending because I knew he was set to go off to Basic Training as part of his commitment to the US Navy.  So, I instead waited until December and sent the cards out.  I wanted to make sure they didn't sit around at his house for a long time, especially since I didn't want to lose the above purple refractor.

I also got this 2020 Pro Debut signed by Song.  It turned out great, as did my purple Chrome, of course.

Song (b. 1997) was a 4th round pick by the Red Sox in the 2019 June Amateur Draft out of the Naval Academy.  He played in 7 games for Low A Lowell and went 0-0 with 19 strike outs and a 1.06 ERA.

I mailed to Song on December 4 and got the cards back on January 5, for a 32-day TAT.

TTM Success - Seth Johnson

I got a couple nice cards back from Seth Johnson.  Johnson signed two recent cards; a 2020 Topps Pro Debut and a 2019 Bowman Draft.

Johnson (b. 1998) is from Concord, NC, and went to school at Campbell University in Buies Creek; where the Buies Creek Astros used to play before moving to Fayetteville and becoming the Woodpeckers.  He was a first round pick (40th over all) by the Rays in the 2019 June Amateur Draft out of Campbell.

In 2019, Johnson played at Rookie Level GCL Rays and Princeton Rays.  He went 0-1 with a 2.12 ERA and 16 strike outs.

I mailed to Johnson on August 5 and got the cards back on November 9, for a 96-day TAT.  He also included a signed note.

Another TTM Success From Anothony Volpe

I wasn't planning on mailing to Anthony Volpe again, but when I pulled the above box topper out of 2020 Pro Debut, I wanted to get it signed.  It won't fit in my card album, so it will go into my signed post card album (yes, I have one of those, too).  The card looks awesome.

Volpe has a great signature, and it shows on all of the cards.  His 2020 Stars and Stripes looks much better than the scan shows.  I wanted to get some of the 2020 stuff signed in person, but I'll have to wait.

I mailed to Volpe on October 20 and got the cards back on November 3, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - TJ Sikkema

I got some cards signed by TJ Sikkema that I would have liked to get signed in person this season, but there was no graphing to be had, at all.  So, I have been stuck sending out TTMs to damn near everyone that I can.  I have sent out more TTMs this year than in any year in the past, and there are still 2 and a half months to go.

I got a 2020 Pro Debut and a 2019 Bowman Draft signed, and they both look awesome.

Sikkema (b. 1998) was a first round (38th overall) draft pick by the Yankees in the 2019 June Amateur Draft out of the University of Missouri.

He pitched in 4 games at Low A Staten Island last season and went 0-0 with 13 strike outs and a 0.84 ERA.

I mailed to Sikkema on June 29 and got the cards back on August 3, for a 35-day TAT.

TTM Success - Greg Jones

I added another prospect's autograph to my collection with this TTM success from Rays prospect, Greg Jones.  I was able to get him on a 2019 Bowman Draft and a 2020 Pro Debut.  Both cards look great.

Jones (b. 1998) was born in Cary, NC and was a first round draft pick (22nd overall) by the Rays in the 2019 June Amateur Draft out of UNC-Wilmington.  He had previously been drafted by the Orioles in the 2017 draft (17th round).  So far, he has 64 hits, 1 home runs and a .335 batting average at Low A Hudson Valley.

I mailed to Jones on July 20 and got the cards back on August 1, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - Matt Gorski

I was able to get some recent prospect cards signed with this TTM success from Pirates prospect, Matt Gorski.

He signed the above 2019 Bowman Draft and the below 2020 Pro Debut for me in blue, and they look nice.

Gorski (b. 1997) was a second round pick in the 2019 June Amateur Draft by the Pirates out of Indiana University - Bloomington.  He has only played in Low A ball (West Virginia Black Bears) so far and has 32 hits, 3 home runs and a .223 batting average.

I mailed to Gorski on July 21 and got the cards back on July 28, for a 7-day TAT.

TTM Success - Damon Jones

Here ae some more 2020 cards that I got signed via TTM.  This time, they were cards signed by Phillies prospect, Damon Jones.  The above 2020 Pro Debut came from the boxes that I picked up from my supplier, Taylor.

I hung out with my buddy, Dugan, at a card show in July, and he pointed out to me that Jones signed TTM.  So, as he and I were going through boxes, I pulled a couple of Jones's 2020 Bowmans.  I was able to get the green parallel, and got that signed along with a 2020 Bowman base.

Jones (b. 1994) was an 18th round pick by the Phillies in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of Washington State University.  He has reached as high as AAA.  Overall, Jones has a 17-14 record with 313 strike outs and a 3.34 ERA.

I mailed to Jones on July 7 and got the cards back on July 23, for a 16-day TAT.

TTM Success - Ruben Cardenas

I was able to get a couple more 2020 cards signed when I got this TTM success back from Ruben Cardenas.

He signed a 2020 Pro Debut, a 2020 Bowman Chrome and a 2020 Bowman.

Cardenas (b. 1997) was a 16th round pick in the 2018 June Amateur Draft by the Indians.  So far, he has reached A ball (Bowling Green) and has 161 hits, 13 home runs and a .280 batting average.

I mailed to Cardenas on June 29 and got the cards back on July 21, for a 22-day TAT.

TTM Success - Kody Hoese

Getting 2020 cards signed has been tough this year with no IP graphing happening.  I've been limited to getting guys TTM.  There have been only a handful of guys in any of the 2020 sets that I have been able to get, and Kody Hoese was one of them.  The above 2020 Bowman Chrome mojo that I got at a card show was the nicest of the bunch.

Above are the other cards that Hoese signed.  He signed a 2020 Bowman Chrome, 2020 Pro Debut blue parallel and a 2019 Bowman Draft.

Hoese (b. 1997) was a first round pick (25th overall) by the Dodgers in the 2019 June Amateur Draft out of Tulane.

He got into 41 games in the minors last season where he had 44 hits, 5 home runs and a .299 batting average.

I mailed to Hoese on June 29 and got the cards back on July 13, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Xavier Edwards

I added some nice 2020 cards to my album with this TTM success from Xavier Edwards.  Adding any 2020 cards is tough with the ongoing pandemic and not being able to graph IP.  I was able to get these to Edwards and get them signed fairly quickly.

Edwards signed a 2020 Pro Debut (top), 2020 Bowman base and 2020 Bowman Chrome (above, left and right).  His Sharpie needs some help, but overall, I'm happy I got the cards back signed.

Edwards (b. 1999) was a first round pick (38th overall) by the Padres in the 2018 June Amateur Draft out of a Florida high school.

So far, he has reached High A ball in the Padres system.  He has 217 hits, 1 home run and a .328 batting average.

I mailed to Edwards on June 29 and got the cards back signed on July 10, for an 11-day TAT.