TTM Success - Zac Reininger

One of the card sets that I like the least is 2015 Bowman.  I really do not like the vertical type, and Bowman base has foil lettering that makes it really hard on the eyes when I want to leaf through the cards quickly.  Still, I like to get the cards signed, and this 2015 Bowman Chrome of Zac Reininger turned out really well.

Reininger (b. 1993) played in the majors from 2017 to 2019 for the Tigers.  He had a record of 1-3 with 40 strike outs and a 8.08 ERA.

I mailed to Reininger on February 7 and got the card back on February 25, for an 18-day TAT.

2021 National Free Signer - Cecil FIelder

One of the free VIP party signers was a pretty big name, Cecil Fielder.  I needed Fielder for my 1987 set, so I was really excited to try to finally get that off of the list.  I had joined a private signing maybe 3 years ago, or so, and never got the card back.  So, here the card is, and it is off of my list.

Fielder would only sign one per, so my friend, Nate, got the above 1991 Upper Deck Fielder's Feat card signed for me.  Andrew got the 1992 Upper Deck done.

I went back through the line and got this playing card done.  My mom had given mea bag of cards she found at Goodwill, and there were two incomplete sets of these cards in the bag.  I haven't gotten any of them signed, so adding this Fielder to my album was something nice to get done.

Fielder (b. 1963) played in the majors from 1985 to 1988 and 1990 to 1998 for the Blue Jays, Tigers, Yankees, Angels and Indians.  He had 1,313 hits, 319 home runs and a .255 batting average.  He finished 2nd in the AL MVP race twice (1990 and 1991) and was a 3-time All Star (1990, 1991 and 1993).  He was also a 2-time Silver Slugger Award winner.

Fielder led the AL in home runs twice (51 in 1990 and 44 in 1991) and RBIs 3 times (1990, 1991 and 1992).  He won the World Series with the Yankees in 1996, batting .391 in that series.  He appeared on the 2004 Hall of Fame ballot, but received only 0.2% of the vote.

TTM Success - Jon Kibler

I got a couple older Bowmans out of my boxes with this TTM success from Jon Kibler.  He signed a 2009 Bowman and 2009 Bowman Chrome.  Both cards look really nice, and Kibler has a nice signature.

Kibler (b. 1986) was a 30th round pick by the Tigers in the 2007 June Amateur Draft out of Michigan State University.  He played in the Tigers system from 2007 to 2010 and then in Independent ball from 2011 to 2012.  His minor league was 31-27 with 339 strike outs and a 3.53 ERA.  He had one really great year for the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2008 when he went 14-5 with a 1.75 ERA.  It earned him a promotion AA Erie in 2009, but he faltered, going 6-9 with a 4.08 ERA.  I wonder if he would have benefited from being moved along more gradually, maybe to High A, before being promoted all the way to AA.

I mailed to Kibler on November 16 and got the cards back on December 12, for a 26-day TAT.

TTM Success - Herschel Cobb

Some folks that I've talked to don't really care for getting autographs of descendants of former MLB greats.  I actually like reaching out to some and getting some cards signed.  This was the case of my TTM success from Herschel Cobb, grandson of Hall of Famer, Ty Cobb.  I was happy to get these three cards signed, but I was equally as happy to get the above card from the 2017 National signed by someone.

This Heritage Auctions card was part of the VIP pack from that National.  It is an oversized card, much like the size of the pre-1957 Topps offerings.  Cobb signed the card using Ty's fountain pen and green ink.  The ink bubbled a bit, but I don't care.  The card still looks cool.

I also got these two cards signed by Cobb.  The card on the right, a 2017 Topps Memorable Moments insert didn't really accept the ink at al.  You can see the faint remnants of the signature on the card.  It probably wasn't allowed to dry fully before it was put back in the return envelope.

The card on the left is a 1982 Donruss Diamond Kings and turned out to be the best of the bunch.  It is a nice card anyway, but looks really cool now that it has a signature on it.

Herschel Cobb is now 77 years old and wrote a book - Heart of a Tiger - Growing Up With Ty Cobb, which I need to pick up.

Ty Cobb (b. 1886 - d. 1961) could perhaps be the greatest baseball player that ever lived.  This, obviously, has been up for debate for quite a long time, but his career stats are among the top in each category.  He was one of the first five players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame (1936).  He had 4,189 hits, 117 home runs and a .366 batting average.  He was the MVP in 1911 and a 12-time batting champion.  Surprisingly, Cobb never won a World Series.  

Cobb was always known as a fierce competitor, and had his troubles on and off the field.  The book, Ty Cobb - A Terrible Beauty does a really good job debunking a lot of the urban legends regarding what we thought we knew about Cobb as a person.  The author of this book goes a long way in discrediting the well-known biography of Cobb by Al Stumpf.  Apparently, Stumpf fictionalized a lot of the accounts in his book to make a name for himself.

I mailed to Herschel Cobb on October 16 and got the cards back on October 28, for a 12-day TAT.  Cobb included a signed note and also an index card with Ty's signature stamp that Ty used in his lifetime.

TTM Success - Andy Van Hekken

I added a couple cool Fleer cards with this TTM success from Andy Van Hekken.  The above card is the gold 2003 Fleer Showcase.  This cars is numbered 2/150, which is pretty cool.  These early 2000s Fleers are nice cards, and always were printed on good stock.  Autographs really pop on them, and I wish I had more to get signed.

This card is the base version of the card shown at the top of this post.  This one also turned our great, and I was really glad I sent the cards off to begin with.

Van Hekken (b. 1979) played in the majors in 2002 for the Tigers.  He went 1-3 with 5 strike outs and a 3.00 ERA.  He was a third round pick in the 1998 June Amateur Draft by the Tigers out of Holland High School, in Holland Michigan.

I mailed to Van Hekken on September 9 and got the cards back on October 27, for a 48-day TAT.

TTM Success - Dave Rozema

I got some 80s cards signed recently when I got this return from Dave Rozema.  I had his cards in my box for a while, and finally got around to getting them in the mail.  This 1983 Fleer turned out really well.  The box of old Fleer and Donruss is at the bottom of my stack of boxes, so it is tough to get into it at times.  I try to keep a rotation of boxes, but since I prefer Topps cards, I often forget about the older Fleer and Donruss that I have.  I need to make a habit of getting into that box a bit more often, I think.

I also got a 1981 Topps and a 1985 Topps signed by Rozema.  He even inscribed the 85 with "1984 World Series Champs", which was pretty cool.

Rozema (b. 1956) played in the majors from 1977 to 1986 for the Tigers and Rangers.  He had a career record of 60-53 with 448 strike outs and a 3.47 ERA.  He finished 8th in the 1977 AL Cy Young race, and 4th in the 1977 AL Rookie of the Year race.  He (obviously) won the World Series with the Tigers in 1984.

I mailed to Rozema on September 1 and got the cards back on September 11, for a 10-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $5/card.

TTM Success - Adam Wolf

I got a couple 2018 Bowman cards out of my box when I got this TTM success back from Adam Wolf.  I had his chrome refractor and base cards and he signed both.

Wolf (b. 1996) was a fifth round pick by the Tigers in the 2018 June Amateur Draft out of the University of Louisville.  He has reached the Tigers Single A affiliate in West Michigan, so far.  His overall record in the minors (2 seasons) is 5-11 with 102 strike outs and a 4.93 ERA.

I mailed to Wolf on April 22 and got the cards back on May 19, for a 27-day TAT.

TTM Success - Tom Walker

Here are a couple 70s cards that I was able to get signed by Tom Walker via TTM.  The above 1976 Topps turned out really well, and is a sharp looking card.

The above 1973 Topps also looks really nice.

Walker (b. 1948) played in the majors from 1972 to 1977 for the Expos, Tigers, Cardinals and the Angels.  He had a career record of 18-23 with 262 strike outs and a 3.87 ERA.

I mailed to Walker on January 27 and got the cards back on February 7, for an 11-day TAT.

TTM Success - Brock Deatherage

I was really glad when I saw that Tigers prospect, Brock Deatherage, signs TTM.  With a name like that, I really wanted some of his signed cards in my album.  All that I had when I mailed to him at the time were a couple cards from 2019 Heritage Minors.  He has since had a Bowman Draft card released.

Deatherage (b. 1995) was a 10th round pick in the 2018 June Amateur Draft by the Tigers out of NCSU.  He is actually from North Carolina, which is pretty cool.

So far, he has reached the Tigers High A team (Lakeland) and has 178 hits, 14 home runs and a .261 batting average across two minor league seasons.

I mailed to Deatherage on December 16 and got the cards back on December 30, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Mark Wagner

I added some more 80s (and a 70s) cards to my autograph album with this TTM success from Mark Wagner.  I really like the 1981 Topps, and it turned out great.

I also added 1979, 1980 and 1985 Topps to the album.

Wagner (b. 1954) played in the majors from 1976 to 1984 for the Tigers, Rangers and A's.  He had 205 hits, 3 home runs and a .243 batting average.

I mailed to Wagner on September 24 and got the cards back on October 18, for a 24-day TAT.

Ebay Pickup - Sparky Anderson Signed 1987 Topps Tigers Leaders

I got this card in after I had done the private signing with Willie Hernandez, so I'll have to get him again sometime.  Still, though, here is a really nice card signed by the late Sparky Anderson.  The card is BSA authenticated, and looks really nice.  I didn't pay much for it, either, which is a bonus.

I'll have to keep an eye out for another Hernandez signing, as well as the catcher depicted on the card, Marty Castillo.

TTM Success - Willie Hernandez

This was a nice private signing that landed me a pitcher I needed for my 1987 set.  Unfortunately, he is on two cards in the set, and the second card was one I wasn't ready to send (the Tigers leaders card).  Still, I crossed this one off of my list, and it turned out well.

Hernandez (b. 1954) played in the majors from 1977 to 1989 for the Cubs, Phillies and Tigers.  He had a record of 70-63 with 788 strike outs and a 3.38 ERA.  He was the 1984 AL Cy Young Award winner and MVP.  He had gone 9-3 with 32 saves in 80 games that season.  He was an All Star in 1984, 1985 and 1986.  He won the 1984 World Series with the Tigers.

Hernandez appeared on the 1995 Hall of Fame ballot, but received only 0.5% of the vote.

I mailed to the private signing on January 19 and got the card back on March 2, for a 42-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $35.00.

TTM Success - Dan Petry

I'm trying to knock out a few posts this weekend to move some cards along, so here is my third post today.  I had Dan Petry's cards sitting in my box for forever, and I finally got around to sending to him.  I especially wanted to get this 1985 Topps Glossy All Stars card signed.  It turned out really well.

I also needed him for my 1987 Topps set, so here is the one I got back.

Petry (b. 1958) is not related to my good friend, Josh, as far as I know.  He played in the majors from 1979 to 1991 for the Tigers, Angels, Braves and Red Sox.  He had a career record of 125-104 with 1,063 strike outs and a 3.95 ERA.  He was an All Star in 1985 and finished a career-best 5th in the AL Cy Young voting in 1984.  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1984, as well.

I mailed to Petry on January 7 and got the cards back on February 4, for a 28-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $14.00.

Mom With The Huge Christmas Gift - 1946 Tigers Team Ball

Well now.  My mom really enjoys being able to click on the little "Mom" hashtags at the bottom of my posts (or just search "Mom") and seeing all of the posts that end up being about her.  I'm perfectly ok with this, because it affords me some really cool stuff that she wants to see me write about.

This year's Christmas gift from her was a hige hit for me, as it was this team ball signed by many of the 1946 Tigers.  In the top photo, on the sweet spot, you see that I now own two baseballs signed by the legendary Hall of Famer, Hank Greenberg.  Wow.  Also on the sweet spot are Steve O'Neill (manager) and Frank Shellenback (coach).

I have already profiled Greenberg, which you can read here.

O'Neill (b. 1891 - d. 1962) played in the majors from 1911 to 1925 and 1927 to 1928 for the Indians, Red Sox, Yankees and Browns.  He had 1,259 hits, 15 home runs and a .263 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Indians in 1920.  He appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot from 1948 to 1953 and 1958 (7 ballots) but only received at most 4.9% of the vote.  He managed the Indians from 1935 to 1937, the Tigers from 1943 to 1948, the Red Sox in 1950 and 1951 and the Phillies from 1952 to 1954.  His overall managerial record was 1,040-821 (.559) and won the World Series with the Tigers in 1945.

Shellenback (b. 1898 - d. 1969) played in the majors in 1918 and 1919 for the White Sox.  He had a record of 10-15 with 57 strike outs and a 3.06 ERA.  He was banned to the minors due to the outlawing of the spitball in 1919 and went on to win a record 295 games in the PCL.

Hall of Famer, George Kell has a very nice signature on this baseball.  He joined the Tigers in May of 1946 for Barney McCoskey.  That means the ball was signed after May 18, 1946.  I profiled Kell on a former blog that no longer exists.  Oops.  I'm going to have to fix that.

Mom wasn't even aware that Virgil Trucks makes an appearance on this baseball, as the second signature on this side panel.  Also on this panel are Al Benton, Paul Richards, a signature that looks like George Rehfuss (but I can't find that name anywhere) and Anse Moore.

Benton (b. 1911 - d. 1968) played in the majors from 1934 to 1935, 1938 to 1942, 1945 to 1950 and 1952 for the A's, Tigers, Indians and Red Sox.  He had a career record of 98-88 with 697 strike outs and a 3.66 ERA.  He was an All Star in 1941 ad 1942 and won the World Series with the Tigers in 1945.

Trucks has been profiled on here more times than anyone else, so just search his name in the sidebar.

Richards  (b. 1908 - d. 1986) played in the majors from 1932 to 1935 and 1943 to 1946 for the Dodgers, Giants, A's and Tigers.  He had 321 hits, 15 home runs and a .227 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1945.  He managed the White Sox from 1951 to 1954, the Orioles from 1955 to 1961 and the White Sox again in 1976.  He had a career managerial record of 923-901 (.506%).  His 517 wins as Orioles manager rank third all-time behind Earl Weaver and Buck Showalter.

Moore (b. 1917 - d. 1993) played in the majors in 1946 (for the Tigers).  He had 28 hits, 1 home run and a .209 batting average.

Here is a better shot of the signature that I think is George Rehfuss.  If anyone can identify him, please let me know.

This panel features George Caster, Jimmy Bloodworth, Dick Wakefield, Dizzy Trout and Art Mills. 

Caster, (b. 1907 - d. 1955) played in the majors from 1934 to 1935 and 1937 to 1946 for the A's, Browns and Tigers.  He had a career record of 76-100 with 595 strike outs and a 4.54 ERA.  He won the 1945 World Series with the Tigers.

Bloodworth (b. 1917 - d. 2002) played in the majors in 1937, 1939 to 1943, 1946-1947 and 1949 to 1951 for the Senators, Tigers, Pirates, Reds and Phillies.  He had 874 hits, 62 home runs and a .248 batting average. 

Wakefield (b. 1921 - d. 1985) played in the majors in 1941, 1943 to 1944, 1946 to 1950 and 1952 for the Tigers, Yankees and Giants.  He had 625 hits, 56 home runs and a .293 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1943 and finished a career-best 5th in the AL MVP voting in 1944.  He had 200 hits in 1943, then left for the Navy.  When the cadet program he was in was canceled, he rejoined the Tigers in June of 1944 and batted .355 over 78 games.  He was recalled to the Navy in November of 1944 and served until January of 1946.  While in the service, Wakefield bet Ted Williams that he would beat him in home runs, RBI and batting average when the war ended, $1,000 for each stat.  He lost all three bets and never regained his form that he had prior to the War.  Wakefield was the first "bonus baby" ballplayer.  He tried out for several teams in 1941 and signed for $52,000, which led to a lot of resentment from other players, fans and the press.

Trout (b. 1915 - d. 1972) played in the majors from 1939 to 1952 and 1957 for the Tigers, Red Sox and Orioles.  He had a record of 170-161 with 1,256 strike outs and a 3.23 ERA.  He won 20 or more games twice in his career (1943 and 1944) and had the AL ERA title in 1944 (2.12).  His best MVP finish was 2nd in 1944 to Hal Newhouser, to whom he lost by 4 vote points.  Trout was an All Star in 1944 and 1947 and is the father of former pitcher, Steve Trout.  He appeared on the 1964 Hall of Fame ballot, but received only 0.5% of the vote.  I know he isn't likely a Hall of Famer, but he needs a better showing than that, come on.

Mills (b. 1903 - d. 1975) played in the majors from 1927 to 1928 for the Boston Braves.  He had a career record of 0-1 with 7 strike outs and a 5.36 ERA.  

The signature at the top of this panel is one I haven't been able to identify at all.  I thought it said Jack something, but I can't figure it out.  The rest of the signatures are Bob Swift, Johnny Groth, Roy Cullenbine and Johnny Lipon.

Swift (b. 1915 - d. 1966) played in the majors from 1940 to 1953 for the Browns, A's and Tigers.  He had 635 hits, 14 home runs and a .231 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1945.  He managed the Tigers in 1965 and 1966 to a record of 56-43 (.566 %).  He had taken over for Chuck Dressen as Dressen had a mild heart attack during Spring Training in 1965.  He stepped aside when Dressen was able to return later that season.  In 1966, Dressen had another heart attack, and Swift took over, but he, too, had to step aside when he fell ill at the All Star break with what was originally thought to be food poisoning.  It was revealed that Swift had inoperable lung cancer.  Swift died on October 17 of that year (Dressen had died also that season, on August 10).

Groth is the only living player who is on this baseball, and was profiled here.  He signs TTM.  I may get a few pictures of the unidentified signatures and see if he can help at all.

Cullenbine (b. 1913 - d. 1991) played in the majors from 1938 to 1947 for the Tigers, Dodgers, Browns, Senators, Yankees and Indians.  He had 1,072 hits, 110 home runs and a .276 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1941 and 1944 and won the World Series with the Tigers in 1945.  His best MVP finish was 10th in 1941 while with the Browns,

Lipon (b. 1922 - d. 1998) played in the majors in 1942, 1946 and 1948 to 1954 for the Tigers, Red Sox, Browns and Reds.  He had 690 hits, 10 home runs and a .259 batting average.

So, I got 17 of the 19 names for sure.  My guess is the other two guys may be clubbies or someone else.  We'll see what I can figure out.

Thanks so much for the ball, Mom.  You always know how to surprise me. This ball was pretty amazing.  I'm glad I was able to identify and profile so many of the names on the ball.

TTM Success - Charlie Maxwell

Another of my 1958 Topps that I sent out came back signed TTM, and it turned out to be a really nice one.  Charley Maxwell signed this in thin blue marker, and his signature looks really nice.

Maxwell (b. 1927) played in the majors from 1950 to 1952 and 1954 to 1964 for the Red Sox, Orioles, Tigers and White Sox.  He had 856 hits, 148 home runs and a .264 batting average.  He was a two-time All Star (1956 and 1957) and finished a career-best 18th in the 1957 AL MVP voting.

I mailed to Maxwell on June 4 and got the card back on June 14, for a 10-day TAT.

2018 National Paid Signer - Denny McLain

This Denny McLain card was lying around in my collection for a long time.  I believe I bought it by mistake way back when I was working on my 1970 set, but already had it.  Anyway, it was in my card show boxes, and finally, I found it while I was prepping for this year's National.  I knew he would be there signing for a fee, so I decided that this card should make its way into my album, after surviving all of those past card shows.  So, here is it, about to be placed into one of the pages.  He signed for a fee of $35, I believe.  I had set money aside for that purpose, and I always enjoy talking with him.  He is a bit unfiltered, and when discussing pitching with my 12-year old son he says "just throw the f*cking ball".  I thought that was pretty cool.

McLain (b. 1944) played in the majors from 1963 to 1972 for the Tigers, Senators, A's and Braves.  He had a career record of 131-91 with 1,282 strike outs and a 3.39 ERA.  He was the Cy Young and MVP Award winner in 1968 when he went 31-6 with a 1.96 ERA.  He was the last 30-game winner in the majors.  He was also the AL Cy Young Award winner in 1969 when he had 24 wins.  He was also a three-time All Star (1966, 1968 and 1969) and won the World Series with the Tigers in 1968.

He appeared on three Hall of Fame ballots (1978, 1979 and 1985), but only received at most, 0.7% of the vote.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Alan Trammell

I added one other Hall of Famer on a baseball at the 2018 National Sports Collectors Convention.  Alan Trammell was a Sunday pickup, as I was about to wrap up my spending.  He is my 141st Hall of Famer on a baseball, and one of the last cheap ones that I will be able to get for a while.

Trammell (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1977 to 1996 for the Tigers.  He had 2,365 hits, 185 home runs and a .285 batting average.  He was a six-time All Star (1980, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990) and a four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1979, 1980, 1983 and 1984).  He won the Silver Slugger Award three times (1987, 1988 and 1990).  His best MVP finish was second in 1987 (to George Bell).  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1984 and won the World Series MVP that year.

He managed the Tigers from 2003 to 2005 to a record of 186-300 (.383) and managed the Diamondbacks for three games in 2014 to a record of 1-2 (.333).

Trammell spent 15 years on the Hall of Fame ballot between 2002 and 2016, but only received a high of 40.9% of the writers' votes.  He had to wait until 2018 to make the Hall via the Veterans Committee.

Set Complete - 1969 Topps

It has been a while since I have completed a set, let alone a vintage one, but I finally can cross 1969 Topps off of the list.  I know I have been saying for the last several years that I needed to go ahead and complete the 1969 Topps set.  I went to the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland this year with that goal in mind.  The best part was, I met that goal during the first day of the show.

I walked around the show with my good friend, Nate, and he helped me find the last eight cards for the set.  The above World Series highlights card was the last card I needed to finish off the set.

While I was slowly working on this set, I started three new vintage sets: 1955 Bowman, 1967 Topps and 1972 Topps.  I feel like 1967 Topps will take me a while.  Nate actually helped me knock a huge chunk out of 1972, which I am grateful.  I also have a bunch of 1955 Bowman already, and I feel like that one will be fairly easy, since I knocked out most of the tough cards already.

TTM Success - Mickey Stanley

This TTM success from Mickey Stanley was cool because I was able to get this 1979 O Pee Chee signed.  I don't know where it came from, but it looks cool.

I also got these two Topps cards signed in the TTM.

Stanley (b. 1942) played in the majors from 1964 to 1978 for the Tigers.  He had 1,243 hits, 117 home runs and a .248 batting average.  He was a four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1968, 1969, 1970 and 1973).  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1968.  Also, during that 1968 season, he finished 25th in the AL MVP voting.

I mailed to Stanley on March 3 and got the cards back on April 24, for a 52-day TAT.

TTM Success - Steve Searcy

Here is a cool TTM success that got me a 1989 Topps Future Star card signed.  If I wasn't working on the 1987 set, I probably would consider 1989.  Mainly because 1989 Topps were the first cards I ever got.  I am working on 1987, though, because I had so many of them to start with, and I believe my friend, Max, had pushed me toward it early on.  Still, adding other years of Topps to my binder is a lot of fun, and I intend to keep it up.

1990 Topps is always a fun set, too, with the crazy colorful borders.  I feel like 2015 Topps was a nod back to 1990, and even 1975.

Searcy (b. 1964) played in the majors from 1988 to 1992 for the Tigers and Phillies.  He had a career record of 6-13 with 140 strike outs and a 5.68 ERA.

I mailed to Searcy on January 16 and got the cards back on February 23, for a 38-day TAT.