Andrew Helps With a Mattingly

My buddy Andrew lives in Evansville, Indiana and has access to cheap signings with Don Mattingly.  He reached out to me and offered to take a Mattingly card of mine and get it signed for me if I wanted to pay the fee.  I was all for that, so I sent him this awesome insert from 1990 Bowman.  The card turned out great.

Thanks for getting the card done for me, Andrew.  If they keep these signings up in Evansville, I'll definitely send another along.

Andrew Comes Through

My longtime close friend, Andrew, really helped me out recently when he made one of his weekend trips to Evansville, Indiana.  He attended a show there to get my 1987 Topps All Star Don Mattingly signed.  This was the last of three Mattinglys that I needed for the set, and this show came in at a price about half of what Mattingly normally charges.

I had also seen that White Sox prospect, Colson Montgomery, would be at the show, so I sent off the above 2022 Bowman Invicta that I had bought early last season, but missed him.  This card turned out awesome, and will look great in my album.

Finally, Andrew sent along a Christmas gift that he had found for me, a 2019 Leaf Trinity numbered 3/15 of Cody Freeman.  I love this card!

Thank you so much for helping me out, Andrew!

Past 50-50s From Andrew

Graphing season is about to start up next week, and I have been thrashing to get some stuff together for an early-season series out of town.  In doing so, I had to search for a snap case of cards I didn't get signed last season, which led me to go through a ton of stuff on my desk.  I realized that I had a ton of stuff that still needed to be scanned and blogged.  That means I'm going to have to start back doing blogs at least twice a day to knock down some of the non-TTM stuff I have sitting here.  The first of which was a stack of cards I got back from Andrew while we were at the National.

Andrew actually had these cards since at least the 2019 season, when Chris and I visited him in Evansville.  He was going to get Wander Franco on a ball for me that year (he did, thanks, Buddy!) and also took some 50/50s.  COVID messed up us meeting in 2020, so I had to wait til the 2021 National to collect some of the cards he had waiting for me.  The above completed dual of Mike Siani and Jonathan India is one I actually forgot about, but was happy to see in the stack.

I'm pretty sure all of these came from Andrew.  The problem was, stacked fall over from time to time, and stuff gets mixed up.  I remember him giving me the Amir Garrett 2016 Heritage Minors and the Harrison Bader 2017 Bowman.  He maybe had the 2015 Naquin as well, or I may have picked it up, myself.  Andrew can tell me, but I think he did give it to me.

So, I'm hoping to reduce this stack of non-TTM autos in the coming days, but the fun part is that there is some nice stuff that I completely forgot about.  I guess that's a sad thing to say about the condition of my desk.  Thanks for the cards, Andrew!

2021 National Trade Night Signer - PJ Washington

This year, Trade Night was a bit different.  It was slam packed, but it turned out to be a lot of fun regardless.  It was arranged by the host, Kentuckybasketballcards (on Instagram), that Charlotte Hornets player, PJ Washington would be signing at Trade Night.  The line to get Washington stretched around the room, but Andrew and I were able to get him.  Andrew found 4 awesome cards, and gave me two of them.  Washington signed both in bronze Sharpie.  It looks better than the scan shows, really.

Washington (b. 1998) was drafted with the 12th overall pick by the Hornets out of the University of Kentucky.  He has played for the Hornets for two seasons from 2019 to 2021.  He has 38% 3-point percentage and 49% 2-point percentage and a total of 1,534 total points aver those two seasons.

2021 National Recap

Another National Sports Collectors Convention is in the books, and while it got off to a rocky start (sort of), it was a really great National.  The card collecting hobby is booming, for better or worse, and that caused the crowds and prices to soar to ridiculous levels, in my opinion.  Still, by the end of the show, I had come away with some really great stuff, and actually brought a little bit of money home with me.

The trip started great; I was flagged down as I was getting onto the plane in Greenville by none other than Down East Wood Ducks catcher, Cody Freeman.  He recognized me, and chose to change his seat so he could sit with me on the flight from Greenville to Charlotte.  Antonio Cabello was also on the flight, which was really cool.  I enjoyed sitting with Cody and chatting with him for a bit.

I also ran into this guy who was signing some baseballs for someone at the end of one of the days at the show (I think it was Thursday).  I spoke with Pete Rose for a bit about when we met him at the Hall of Fame, and thanked him for being so nice to my son, Chris.

I also met Ari Lehman, the actor who played Jason (the first actor to play Jason) in Friday the 13th.  He was really nice, and I talked with him for about 15 to 20 minutes while he signed autographs.  He was one of two non-sports signers at the show (the other was Scott Schwartz from A Christmas Story).  There was also a HorrorCon happening the same weekend as the show, and I was able to attend that Friday evening and get a few autographs there, as well.  More on that in a later post.

I had several paid vouchers for signers, and met all of the free baseball players.  I walked through the Felix Hernandez line with my friend, Michael, and met King Felix.  The biggest paid signer I had was David Ortiz, but he had a death in the family, and couldn't attend.  Tristar refunded me my money, which will be put toward the hotel costs that I have left over.

I paid to meet Ric Flair, since I had the dual card of him and Arn Anderson that I could finish up.  Flair was super cool, as always and maybe was the best dressed of all the signers there.

While I was in line to meet Flair, I got this nice shot of the legend, Hulk Hogan, who always draws a crowd at the National.  I didn't pay to meet him this time, but it was nice getting close to him, still.

In all, I added 7 Hall of Famers to my collection.  I'll break those down in separate posts.  I also added, I think, 10 signed cards to my 1987 Topps set, including finishing a team leaders card.  I also got two antique baseballs (and got two more, which were part of the Hall of Fame autographs I referenced earlier).  Several cards were knocked off of my 1972 set, and one card was crossed off of my 1955 Bowman set.

I'll break a lot of this down in subsequent posts, but as can be seen in the photo above, I left there with a decent haul.

My biggest complaints regarding the National were that it was way too crowded, and there was a lot of redundancy.  You could tell who the "noobs" were; and most of them spent their allowance/budget within the first two days, leaving Saturday and Sunday a lot less crowded than in the past.

The redundancy was evident in that maybe 40% of the tables were the exact same stuff: a ton of graded [stuff] that I wouldn't buy, nor could afford; Yankees stuff and/or the usual suspects of "big names".  Of course, the big names are Ohtani, Ronald Acuna, Juan Soto and Wander Franco.  After the first two rows of tables, Andrew and I looked at each other and said that we had seen enough Acuna cards to last us a lifetime.  I can also complain that it was really hard to find dime boxes (actual dime boxes, not just boxes of 80s-90s junk disguised as dime boxes) and I couldn't find many folks who had Bowman parallels for graphing that I could look through.  Oh, and I really wanted to find some Perfect Game lots, Leaf Valiant or Elite Extra Edition cards of Cody Freeman, but found none, just big name guys like... Acuna, Soto and Wander.

In all, though, I had a great time in Chicago this year.  I spent a lot of time with my good friend, Andrew, and also my buddy Nate.  I spent time with Nate's friend, Kyle, as well, and also Michael.  I got to see my awesome friend, Max, for a short bit, too, but not nearly as much as I would have liked to.  I would say that this was a very successful National, even though the first few days were over-crowded.  I look forward to next year, in Atlantic City, which, if I'm able, I'll be there.

Christmas Gift From Andrew - Sam Huff Autos

My stack of TTMs to be blogged has gotten so big, I took the stack down and put it in a box.  The stack was in danger of either falling over on its own, or being knocked over by a goofball cat who hasn't quite learned that my desk is not for him.  The huge stack also was kind of daunting.  Trying to pull from it and get blogs written has pushed back trades and gifts that I've gotten, just so I don't fall farther and farther behind on the TTM posts.  That's one of the drawbacks to sending out 1,001 ttms in 2020.  Thanks, pandemic!

Anyway, I do have a ton of trades and Christmas gifts to post, still, so I wanted to make sure one got posted, so I could put the cards away.  My awesome friend, Andrew, sent me these Sam Huff autos for Christmas.  They are really awesome cards, and I didn't have any of them in my collection.  The above 2020 Topps Heritage Minors auto/patch it a really amazing card.  It is numbered 3/25.

I hadn't seen any of Huff's Bowman Platinum autos, so this was a nice surprise.  This card isn't numbered.  I don't think I opened any Bowman Platinum in 2020.

The gift was delayed, according to Andrew.  He had the top two cards purchased and ready to mail, then he saw this 2019 Leaf Trinity numbered 1/10 Huff auto.  This card is awesome.  I'm really glad Andrew waited!

Thanks so much for the Christmas gifts, Andrew!  I hope you like what I sent you.  I may have forgotten to send you one thing I bought, so you'll be getting a Valentine's Day or Presidents Day gift soon.

Birthday Gift From Andrew

My birthday was back in September, but with all of the TTMs I have backlogged, I have drawn out posting my stuff that I got for my birthday.  My good friend, Andrew, sent me some really great cards that I wanted to show off.  The above 2011 Topps Black Diamond Wrapper Redemption Virgil Trucks auto is just a beauty.  I had one of these, already, but Andrew knew how much I loved these, and picked this one up.  I still am looking for the canary numbered to 10, but have yet to find one.  I'll take as many of these as I can get, though.

Andrew found a few Orioles cards that I needed, which can be tough.  I haven't been able to find much in the way of recent cards, so these come in handy.

He also got me some cards of a couple former Wood Ducks in the Sam Huff and Sherten Apostel seen on the bottom row of this scan.

Thank you so much for the birthday gift, Andrew!

TTM Success - Keith Lockhart

I added an assortment of cards to my album with this TTM success from Keith Lockhart.

The above 1996 Pinnacle came out of a box that I got when I visited Andrew for his graduation several years ago.  I have been able to get some of the cards that I got on that trip signed, which is really nice.

The 1997 Score and 1990 CMC AAA card (left and right) both came out of boxes that my mom gave me, and the 2001 Topps in the middle was from another box I got while with Andrew.

Lockhart (b. 1964) played in the majors from 1994 to 2003 for the Padres, Royals and Braves.  He had 591 hits, 44 home runs and a .262 batting average.

I mailed to Lockhart on January 14, 2019 and got the cards back on March 21, 2020, for a 432-day TAT.

TTM Success - Ben Petrick

The TTM I sent ended up being a bunch of cards, but Ben Petrick signed them all, and I added some different stuff to my autograph album.

This 2000 Skybox turned out to be a pretty sharp card, and I liked how it looked.  I'm pretty sure it was something I found at my LCS a while back, and it finally came in signed.

Here are three different Bowmans from a long time ago, and a 2000 Topps Stadium Club.  The Bowmans are 1996, 2000 and 2001.  The 1996 (bottom left) was one of the cards I got out of a box while visiting Andrew a couple years ago.

Finally, some Fleer offerings, a 2001 Fleer Futures and a 2000 Fleer Tradition.  These are some pretty cool cards, as Fleer had some cool designs in the early 2000s.  Their problem was that they flooded the market with products and ran themselves out of business.

Petrick (b. 1977) played in the majors from 1999 to 2003 for the Rockies and Tigers.  He had 172 hits, 27 home runs and a .257 batting average.

I mailed to Petrick on March 25 and got the cards back on August 24, for a 152-day TAT.

Some Stuff From Andrew

When I stayed with Andrew back in April, he handed me a few cards that he had been meaning to send me a while back.  One of them was this awesome Chris Davis patch numbered 4/5.  He said he had gotten it for me for either my birthday or Christmas, but it got put with some other stuff, and forgotten.  It was definitely a nice surprise when I walked in the door.

Andrew also gave me some cards that he had gotten signed for me last season.  There may not be a bunch, but the big names really stand out.  I really appreciated Andrew hooking me up!

Thanks so much for the cards, and letting Chris and I crash with you!

TTM Success - David Doster

This TTM success got a couple cards out of my box that will look pretty nice in my autograph album.  The above 1996 Upper Deck Diamond Debuts turned out really well, in spite of how the scan looks.

This 1996 Bowman came out of a box that I got while I was at Andrew's house a couple years ago.

Doster (b. 1970) played in the majors in 1996 and 1999 for the Phillies.  He had 47 hits, 4 home runs and a .233 batting average.

I mailed to Doster on January 4 and got the cards back on January 15, for an 11-day TAT.

TTM Success - Mike Williams

Here is a signed 2001 Topps that originally came out of the box that I got while I was at Andrew's last year.  Mike Williams is a strict one per, but I sent two cards anyway.  He kept my 2003 Topps that I sent.  Oh well, I was just glad to get an early 2000s card in.

Williams (b. 1968) played in the majors from 1992 to 2003 for the Phillies, Royals, Pirates and Astros.  He had a career record of 32-54 with 584 strike outs and a 4.45 ERA.

I mailed to Williams on February 5 and got the card back on March 7, for a 30-day TAT.

TTM Success - Ryan Nye

I received a TTM success from Ryan Nye that was spurred from my box busting while at Andrew's this past May.  I busted a box of 1996 Bowman, and wanted to try to get a few of them into my album.  The design reminds me of 1968 Topps, somewhat.

I also added a 1995 Topps, which was nice.

Nye (b. 1973) played in the majors in 1997 and 1998 for the Phillies.  He had a career record of 0-2 with a 9.69 ERA and 10 strike outs.

I mailed to Nye on February 5 and got the cards back on March 1, for a 24-day TAT.

A Second TTM Success From Ron Gant

I sent off a bunch of TTM requests to start the new year, and a few of them were of guys I had gotten in the past.  Sid Bream, for example, was someone I needed on some 1987 Topps cards.  I sent a few 87s out to a few other guys to see if I could get them back.  Ron Gant doesn't have a card in the 1987 set, so I thought I was done sending to him.  That is, until I found the above 2014 Stadium Club Firebrand insert at my LCS.

The card floated around my card room for about a year, until I finally put it in my "to be TTMed" box.  I ended up sending it out earlier this month, and am glad I did so.  It is made of wood, and turned out pretty well.  I was afraid it would break in transit, but it turned out ok.

I added a few other cards to the request, including this 1996 Gallery that I picked up while I was visiting Andrew back in May.

I also wanted to add a couple Topps cards to the pile, so I sent a 1989 and a 1999.  What a huge difference 10 years makes.

I mailed the cards out to Gant on January 2 and got the cards back on January 11, for a 9-day TAT.

Late on a Matt Hobgood PC Pickup

I've said several times how I am way behind on posts.  This card was picked up while I was visiting card shops with Andrew back in May.  The shop where I found this one had two older guys sitting behind a counter talking baseball; just the way I want to spend my retirement.  We enjoyed our chat with the guys, so I felt compelled to buy something from them, even though there wasn't a lot to their shop.  When I saw this red 2010 Bowman Matt Hobgood auto, I had to pick it up.  The card is numbered 1/50.

I hadn't added anything to the Hobgood PC in a long time.  He was a bust as far as 4th overall picks go, but every time I talked with him, he was super nice.  Just a really good kid who was plagued by shoulder issues.  I really wish he could have taken off as a prospect, but it just wasn't meant to be.  This is probably why I'm not a scout.  I would have too much of an emotional investment in a player based on their personality; I would have a hard time telling them that their time is done as a prospect.  Oh well.  From everything that I have seen, Matt is enjoying life and is doing well.  That's all that really matter in the end, anyway, right?

Lots of Incoming Autographs For The Album

With the National, some Wood Ducks games, a concert and just being really busy, I have fallen behind on some 50/50s that I have gotten recently.

I'll start it off with these two Matt Manning 2016 Bowmans that I got back from my friend in Connecticut, Dylan.  He has offered to do 50/50s for me, but I have only been able to send him Manning cards.  Thankfully, he has been able to get those done.  I just need to sit down and try to find some of the other guys he has said he can see.

Max hooked me up with a nice stack of signed 1987 Topps cards while we were at the National.  He wanted to see me push my total of signed cards for that set up.

As of a TTM that came in yesterday, I have 70 signed cards from the 1987 set.  This is by far the most signed cards I have in any set.  I don't know if I will ever get all of them (likely not), but it is fun to push that total up.

Andrew hooked me up with some 50/50s that he did for me after I left his place.  I really wanted to get the blue 2015 Bowman Chrome back (bottom right).  He still has a couple cards left that he might be able to finish up before the season is out, but even if he doesn't, he did really well this season.

I was really happy to see that Andrew was able to get this one signed.  I had ordered it for my trip, but it came too late.  I'm glad to see that it is done and can take its place in my album.

My friend, Jackson, got a ball (to be shown later) and this 1990 Topps card signed by Bill Ripken.  My friend, Michael, got this card and a ball (to be shown later) signed by Ryan Ripken (Cal's son).  I had completely forgotten that I asked Michael to get the card and ball signed, as I had also sent a ball out for TTM.  It hasn't come back yet, but I still expect it to.

My good friend, Nate, hooked me up with a TTM return that he got back from drag racing legend, Kenny Bernstein.  I have met Bernstein in person a few times, but that was way back before I was getting any kinds of cards signed.  I do have a signed t-shirt somewhere.

My friend, Gerard, always hooks me up with awesome 50/50s.  I had sent him a bunch of Pawtucket Red Sox and Portland Sea Dogs cards, and he got a bunch taken care of.

I ended up with some extra of the coaches, so I will probably do a giveaway or something.

I'm just glad to be able to get a lot of these cards out of my boxes and out to people to get signed.

Gerard always does a great job in getting my stuff signed.  I feel bad that I missed two of the Wilmington Blue Rocks games this past weekend, or I would have been able to finish everything he sent me for that series.  It is also looking like I won't be able to catch the Buies Creek series this next weekend as well.

A lot of stuff is going on lately, and the minor league season is winding down.  I have really enjoyed getting all of the autos and doing 50/50s this seaon, though.

Finally, here is a card that I missed a few months ago when I posted about some autos that Max gave me.  This is a 2013 Topps Orioles team card that Max had gotten signed by Dan Duquette, the Orioles general manager.  I thought it was really cool, but didn't realize it was signed at first glance, so it ended up in my to be blogged pile and was kind of forgotten.

Thanks for all of the cards, guys!  I really appreciate all of the hard work this season!