TTM Success - Travis Blankenhorn

A fairly recent card came back signed TTM when I got this 2021 Topps of Travis Blankenhorn done. 2021 Topps is always tough to go through; that font really hurts my eyes. 

Blankenhorn (b. 1996) played in the majors from 2020 to 2024 for the Twins, Mets and Nationals. He had 14 hits, 2 home runs and a .154 batting average. 

I mailed to Blankenhorn on March 13 and got the card back on March 30, for a 17-day TAT. 

TTM Success - John Gant

While these cards sat in my to-be-blogged stack, I actually met and got John Gant to sign in person on our road trip to Iowa this summer.  These cards shown on this post came in before that because I sent to Gant TTM.  I didn't know that I'd meet him later in the summer.  I was happy to get my 2014 Bowman purple parallel signed, however.  This card had been floating around my boxes for some time.

I also got a 2016 Topps Update and 2021 Topps Update signed.  Both of these turned out nicely.

Finally, here is a 2022 Topps Update that Gant signed.  I'm glad he signed all four in blue Sharpie. 

Gant (b. 1992) played in the majors from 2016 to 2021 for the Braves, Cardinals and Twins.  He has a record of 24-26 with 325 strike outs and a 3.89 ERA.  Since 2021, Gant has bounced around a bit.  He didn't play in 2022 or 2024; but spent 2023 in Japan while playing in independent ball briefly this season and then having his contract purchased by the Royals, who assigned him to Omaha.

I mailed to Gant on April 28 and got the cards back on May 13 for a 15-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Curt Casali

This TTM success from Curt Casali was another return from Spring Training this season.  I was able to get signed cards back from a few Topps Update series (2021, above; and 2020 and 2022, below).

Casali (b. 1988) has played in the majors since 2014 for the Rays, Reds, Giants and Mariners.  He has 277 hits, 47 home runs and a .220 batting average.

I mailed to Casali on February 13 via Reds camp and got the cards back on March 14, for a 29-day TAT. 

Graphing Returns From Max

My good friend, Max, hooked me up with a ton of autographs recently, after I sent him a bunch of cards for this past season.  Max helps me move a bunch of stuff out of my boxes every year, and I get rewarded with adding a lot of them to my autograph album.  He and I have had this arrangement for a long time, and he is the person who really got me into switching from getting baseballs signed to cards.

The above 2022 Topps Diamondbacks team card is an orange shimmer parallel numbered 287/299 and Max got it signed by their manager, Torey Lovullo.

Max really came through by getting Bob Brenly on my 1987 Topps Giants leaders card and his base card.  Brenly has been a tough get for me, so crossing these two off of the list was very welcome.  Max told me that Brenly hadn't seen one of the Giants Leaders cards signed by Jim Barr in a long time, so that made me feel good about my project.

Most recently, Max hit me up for Diamondbacks cards, so I was able to fire off a package to him fairly quickly with guys he needed to refill in his autograph books.  He got some nice stuff back signed for me, like the above Geraldo Perdomo cards.  I don't see any Diamondbacks affiliates, so getting these kinds of cards signed can be tough.  This helped me move some stuff that has just been sitting for a while.

I had gotten Daulton Varsho TTM in the past, but I still had a ton of his cards.  I cleaned out most of them in the package to Max, but still got a lot back signed.  I love the 1989 Topps insert; I think those look awesome when signed.  I also love the gold foil 2022 Topps.

There was a good variety of stuff that Max sent back from his Diamondbacks graphing.  I was very happy to get the Jake McCarthy 1987 Topps Chrome mojo card back, as well as the Christian Walkers.  I liked Walker a lot when he was an Orioles prospect.  I am really glad he has stuck with a team in the majors, and has found some success.

Max also was able to get some Guardians cards signed for me, starting with a few Triston McKenzie cards that I had left in my box from when I saw him with Lynchburg.  I know I had a 2017 Bowman Ernie Clement in my autograph album already, so I am also keeping this one, since it was from Max.  I was also really happy that some of my Panini Mosaic cards that I picked up ended up being signed.  I lucked into some boxes of them from my distributor, and now I have some signed versions in my album.

As he always does, Max included some random cards that he either got for me or he has extras of.  I really enjoy these types of additions to any package.  I always try to include some signed cards for Max when I send him packages, and it seems like he enjoys the random stuff as much as I do.

I forgot how many of the shimmer cards I had sent out, but Max got a few of them taken care of for me.  The green Zach Plesac above is numbered 51/499.

I checked and it looks like Steve Lawson will keep me from finishing the above 1973 Topps, but I likely will go after Bob Reynolds.  Maybe I'll get lucky and Lawson will do a private signing sometime soon.  Max got the 2019 Topps Diamondbacks card signed by Luis Frias.  These team cards really come in handy when you see someone you don't have a card of.  Only problem is remembering who signed them.  Thankfully, Max remembered, and I was able to put a post it note on the back with the player's name.

I had gotten Johnny Barbato earlier this year when I went to High Point for a game.  Max came in and got Ben Gamel for me to finish the base and gold of these 201 Topps Update cards.  I was very happy that I had these at the ready to send out when he asked for Gamel.  I'm not usually that well prepared.

Max also got these three for me, by Chase DeJong (on a 2016 Bowman), Mitch Keller (on a 2017 Bowman Chrome mojo) and Ben Gamel (on a 2021 Topps Updare).  I am glad I don't have to run into the DeJong or Keller in my Bowman box anymore.  That is one of the fun parts of all of this.  It seems that Max has a knack of helping out with cards I see oftenin my boxes and think to myself "I need to get these signed and out of here..."

Finally, Max also whittled down the box of Frank Thomas cards I sent him when the former LCS around here closed.  I know I sent him a ton of Frank cards, and signings with him have tapered off a bit, from what Max has said.  I know Max has what would be a fortune's worth of Thomas cards, if he had to cough up the fees to get them all signed.  Still, he had a great assortment to choose from, now, and if Frank can be consistent in signing, Max will not need another Frank card for a while.

Max is and always will be one of my most trusted graphing partners.  He actually taught me about getting cards signed in the beginning, and I have always valued his friendship.  It amazes me that we have been able to keep this going for as long as we have.  It's a great arrangement, and it benefits the both of us.  As long as I have the ability, I am going to keep him loaded with the cards he needs.  He is going to keep helping me move stuff out of the boxes and the house.

Thank you, Max, for all that you do.  I cherish the stuff you help me with, and I look forward to next season, and many more seasons to come.  Happy graphing, buddy!

TTM Success - Bruce Zimmermann

Another Spring Training TTM success came in, and this one was from Orioles pitcher, Bruce Zimmermann.  I was able to add a 2022 Topps to the autograph album, as well as a 2021 Topps Update.  Both cards turned out nicely, even though they were signed in ballpoint pen.

Zimmermann (b. 1995) was part of the return in the Orioles trade of Kevin Gausman and Darren O'Day to the Braves in July 2018.  He made his major league debut in 2020, and has pitched for the Orioles since then.  He started this season off looking like a potential top of the rotation candidate, but has been rocked as of late.  It looks like the league has adjusted to him, and he needs to counter.  So far in his career, he is 6-10 with 109 strike outs and a 5.61 ERA.

I mailed to Zimmermann via Orioles Spring Training on March 11 and got the cards back on April 11, for a 31-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Taylor Walls

Last year, I got a TTM success back from Taylor Walls.  I pulled this nice 2021 Panini Chronicles of Walls and really wanted to send to him again.  So, I sent the card, along with a 2021 Topps Update and sent them to Spring Training.  The cards came back signed with a dead Sharpie, but they're still signed.  I'll take what I can get.

The 2021 Update came out worse than the Chronicles, but I can't complain.  Especially with how tough it has been to get Spring Training TTMs back these days.

I mailed to Walls on March 15 and got the cards back on April 9, for a 25-day TAT.

Another TTM Success FromChase Anderson

Another TTM success came in from Spring Training; this time from pitcher, Chase Anderson.  I had gotten him in the past, but had a few more cards I wanted to put into my album, so I sent to him when I had heard that Spring Training was a go this season.  The above purple parallel from 2014 Bowman is the card that I really wanted to get back.  It turned out nicely.

I also had Anderson sign a 2017 Topps, 2019 Topps, 2021 Topps Update and a 2020 Topps Heritage.

I mailed to Anderson via Tigers camp on March 15 and got the cards back on March 24, for a 9-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 - 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.