Mom Goes Graphing

Our trip to Winston-Salem this past week got a little interesting after Chris and I sat with Mom Friday morning during her chemo treatment.  We had planned to sit with her since she would be missing Chris's graduation.  After the treatment, we dropped Mom off so she could nap, and Chris and I went and sat with Grandma again for a little aver an hour and a half.  We went back to Mom's after, and my dad suggested that I tale Mom with us so she could go to Chris's graduation anyway, as she was feeling pretty decent after the chemo.  

There was one catch, Chris and I already had tickets to High Point to see them take on the Staten Island FerryHawks and try to get Pablo Sandoval on a couple cards.  Mom said she'd go with us to the game, so I jumped online and found a ticket right behind the two we had already purchased. 

Mom ended up taking a Sandoval card and got it signed.  Sandoval was doing one per, so it was nice to get an additional card done.  She hung with Chris and I for a bit until she got Sandoval, then she found our seats and rested.  Boy, did she rest...

Chris snapped this picture to me of Mom dozing off as he and I racked the FerryHawks.  Still, it was fun for her to see us in action.

I had spent a good bit of time searching cards for this game; I also picked up (most) of the Drew Maggi cards shown above, as well as the above William Kirwan card showing him on the Frederick ?s.

I was able to rescue a bunch of cards from my boxes for this game.  The Joe Dunand cards above were last-minute finds right before we left town.

The Jimmie Sherfy cards I found were previously pulled last season in hopes of seeing him, but I didn't get to a game he was at.  The Mike Shawaryn cards came from an old team bag of cards sent back by Gerard.  I think I pulled them for him, then Shawaryn was let go by the Red Sox (I tbink).

Mom did wake up and enjoy the game.  She thought it was cool that she knew who Frank Viola was, so I sent her and Chris over to the High Point side post-game to try and get him while I figured out who Kirwan was.  They both cleaned up on my Violas.

I'm so glad Mom got to come and experience graphing with Chris and I.  She was able to get to Chris's graduation and got to see him walk, which was great.  She also made it to the party and met our friends, even a couple from our graphing group at the Wood Ducks.

In all, we got the following autographs: Frank Viola x 13, Joe Dunand x 2, Nate Griep x 8, Korry Howell x 2, William Kirwan x 1, Drew Maggi x 8, Pablo Sandoval x 3, Mike Shawaryn x 6 and Jimmie Sherfy x 3 (46 total autographs).

February 2024 Mad Monster Party Graphing Recap

On Saturday, my wife, son, mom and I all went to the 2024 Mad Monster Party in Charlotte to do a little graphing.  The main attractions this year were actors from Lost Boys, Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland, as well as Kevin Spacey, who was making his first ever Con appearance.

I had set my expectations pretty low; I didn't want to go to the event and expect to get Sutherland, only to see his line wrapped around the building like the time Chris and I went when Robert Englund was there.  I had seen that Tim Capello, the shirtless saxophone guy from the beginning of Lost Boys was going to be there.  That scene in the movie is so random, my brother Andy and I laugh about it a lot.  I thought it would be cool to meet Capello and get an autograph, so that was the goal I set.

Capello was the first person we got.  I paid $40 and got a photo signed and a photo op.  He was such a great guy.  You could tell that he has embraced that small role in a great film.  I didn't realize at the time, but his auto had smeared. So, I went back later and Capello was nice enough to sign another photo for me and apologized.

The next table we went to, after Capello's, and after Mal and Chris split up from Mom and I, was Lou Diamobd Phillips.  He was super nice and polite, asking Mom and I how we were doing.  Mom told him, then asked him how he was doing.  He said he was doing 'fantastic, thanks".  Mom talked to him for a bit while he signed for me.

I told Phillips that I grew up with LA Bamba and Young Guns.  He thanked me for being a fan.

After Phillips, we parked Mom in line for Kiefer Sutherland.  It looked like we might be able to get him quickly, but then they stopped the autograph lines in order to handle all of the paid photo ops.  They had it laid out as such: Jason Patric, Patric and Sutherland dual photo ops, Sutherland only, Sutherland and Phillips and then Phillips only. There were a ton of people in line for all of these photo ops. Mom was fine people watching while Mal, Chris and I took turns hanging with her.  Once Mal finished with Kevin Spacey, I broke away and went for CJ Graham.  Kane Hodder was also there, but I had met him before.

Graham's line was short when I got there, but he was talking with a family of four people (two were teenagers) and he was having a lot of fun with them.  He even got the teem boy to FaceTime his ex girlfriend and filmed himself with the buy telling the ex that she blew her chance to meet him. It was hilarious. I didn't mind waiting to see how all that would play out.  By the time I got to Graham, he thanked me for my patience and signed two photos for me.  He was so nice.

Because Graham took Paypal, I had conserved some cash and went ahead and got John Glover.  I loved this 8 x 10 from Gremlins 2, so that's what I chose to get signed.  Glover was really nice and spoke to me for a few minutes. 

I went back and checked on Mom, who I had left with Chris.  She was doing well; still sitting there people watching. Mal met up with us after Kevin Spacey, and dropped some of out signed photos at the car so we wouldn't have to hang onto them.  She noticed that the Capello photo had smeared, so Chris and I set off to replace that one.  After we got that done, we spotted WWE referee Charles Robinson talking with someone near Arn Anderson's booth.  Chris wanted to meet him, so we waited for him to finish his conversation.

Chris asked Robinson if he could get a photo with him, and got one.  Robinson wasn't a scheduled signer, he was there visiting, but was impressed Chris recognized him and said hello, so he posed for the photo.  He told Chris that since he was nice enough to come say hello, he would give him something in return.  He reached in his bag and brought out an 8 x 10, that he signed in white paint pen.  He asked me if I wanted one as well, which I gladly accepted.  He was really awesome and genuinely glad to be recognized.

We got back to Mal and Mom to see that the Kiefer Sutherland line was actually moving.  I had decided that if it wasn't moving, I was happy with what I had gotten and would be ok leaving.  However, since the line was moving, we hung out some more and finally got into the room to meet Sutherland.  We got up to the photo table while I was pushing Mom along the line.  I stopped and noted a photo for Mal and got a bit distracted.  It was our turn so Mom yelled to me "move me!" to which Sutherland laughed.  So we got up there, and he couldn't have been nicer.  Mom asked him "what did they have to do to get you to come here to podunk North Carolina?" Sutherland stopped what he was doing and looked her in the eye and told her: "You know, I've only done a few of these but these things are maybe the only chances I get to interact with the people who have made it possible to do what I do for the past 40 years. This has been my life and I really appreciate the fans..." It was so cool that he stopped what he was doing to answer her truthfully.  I asked hik how his dad was doing, and he thanked me for asking about him.  He shook my and Mom's hands, asked our names and was just reappky pleasant and persobable.  Then he said "ok, now move her!" Which was pretty funny.  I really enjoyed it.

We had an amazing time.  Mom has been sick lately, which is why we had to push her around the event in a wheelchair.  She's doing pretty well, at the moment.  She's big on "making memories", and this was a big memory made.  I'm glad Mom felt well enough to go with us and that everyone we met was amazing.  We all had an amazing time and I'd definitely do it again. 

In all, I got the following autographs: Kiefer Sutherland x 1, Tim Capello x 1, CJ Graham x 2, Lou Diamond Phillips x 1, John Glover x 1 and Charles Robinson x 1 (7)

Graphing the 2023 North Carolina Drag Racing Hall of Fame Induction

This weekend, I had the pleasure of going back to the North Carolina Drag Racing Hall of Fame induction during the Shriner's Expo in Greensboro.  This year, my childhood hero, Shirley Muldowney, was being inducted into the Hall, and I wanted to make sure I would be there.  My dad is Hall of Fame Class of 2018 for this group, and it is really cool to me to be able to say he is enshrined along Shirley, a drag racing legend.  There was some discussion as to why Shirley (who generally raced with the NHRA out in California, etc) would be inducted into the North Carolina Hall.  While she is famous for being the first woman to be licensed to drive a Top Fuel dragster; first woman to win a Top Fuel national event; first woman to win a Top Fuel World Championship, and the first driver of an gender to win multiple Top Fuel Championships, she is also the first woman to win a funny car national event.  She did this in 1974 at Rockingham Dragway in Rockingham, North Carolina.  So, there's the connection to North Carolina.

I was able to get several cards signed by Shirley, along with several posters (a couple were for my mom) and a couple of the brochures for the ceremony.  Shirley was gracious as always, and I was very happy to be able to talk with here briefly.  I was also able to give her a good recommendation for some Chinese food close to where she is now living.

One of the folks in the autograph line (along with Shirley, my dad, and others) was Buddy Martin.  Martin was the other half of the famous Sox and Martin team that dominated the early days of Pro Stock.  Ronnie Sox is no longer with us, so I got Buddy to sign my two Sox cards from my 1990 IHRA set.  Buddy Martin wasn't really associated with this car, but I thought it was a good idea to go ahead and get him to sign the cards in recognition of how powerful that duo was in the history of drag racing.

Finally, I had undertaken a little project that began with an idea my coworker, Lisa, set me toward.  Last year, the son of a friend of mine that I have known for years followed me around the event.  He's a cool little dude, who is a talented racer in his own right.  Cameron Moore recently won a track championship locally, and is a big fan of cards (mostly Pokemon cards).  Lisa gave me the idea to make some custom cards on Topps's website and give them to Cam while I was at the event.  I did, but the condition with Cam was that he would have to sign one of the cards for me.  I got a big hug from Cam and a hand shake from his dad.  I think he is super happy about the cards (well, I know he is, because he thanked me about 6 or 7 times, and gave me 3 or 4 hugs).  I just thought it was really cool to give him something that he could hand out to his friends and family as he starts along his racing journey.  From everything that I've seen, he is very talented.

I had a great time at the Hall of Fame induction, and got to spend time with my Mom while Dad was signing.  I also went through the line a couple times and stopped to talk to Dad as he sat there.  It was kind of funny, but he seemed to enjoy the attention.  As long as I am able, I plan to attend the ceremonies as they happen annually.  I wonder who they will induct next year.

Christmas Gift From Mom - Lefty Grove Signed Baseball

Mom did it again.  She went and found a Hall of Famer that I needed, and proceeded to add a tough name to my Hall of Fame signed baseball collection.  Not only that, she allowed me to double up on a player who used to be my most coveted signature in the collection.  All of this from the above 1938 Boston Red Sox signed baseball.  The ball has a JSA full letter of authenticity and authenticates five of the ten signatures on the ball (Grove, Bobby Doerr, Jimmie Foxx (!!!!), Fritz Ostermuller and Doc Cramer.  I am going to try to identify the five other guys, but some of the signatures are terribly faded.  The ball has been shellacked, which hopefully will help the signatures stay in their current state.  She got the ball from Fanatics, so it has a really nice case it can stay in.

Grove (b. 1900 - d. 1975) played in the majors from 1925 to 1941 for the A's (Philadelphia) and Red Sox.  He had a career record of 300-141 with 2,266 strike outs and a 3.06 ERA.  He was the AL MVP in 1931 and won the World Series with the A's in 1929 and 1930.  That 1929 team was a 104-win team managed by Hall of Famer Connie Mack and featured Hall of Famers Grove, Foxx, Al Simmons, Eddie Collins and Mickey Cochrane.  The 1930 squad would win 102 games and featured those same future Hall of Famers.

When evaluating Hall of Fame statistics, most pundits like to look at the "Black Ink" meaning instances where a player led their respective league in a stat.  In his career of 17 seasons, Grove would lead the league in: Wins (4 times), Won-Loss % (5 times), ERA (9 times), Games Pitched (1 time), Games Started (1 time), complete games (3 times), shutouts (3 times), Saves (1 time!), walks (1 time), strike outs (7 times, all in a row), wild pitches (1 time), ERA+ (9 times) and so on.  His career WAR was 113.3 (6th all-time for pitchers).  According to baseball-reference.com, his "Black Ink" score is 111, or 3rd all-time for pitchers.  Walter Johnson is first all-time, followed by Grover Cleveland Alexander, then Lefty Grove.

Grove won 20 or more games eight times in his career.  He was a six-time All Star.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1947 with 76.4% of the vote.  All of the above stats being considered, Grove was not elected on his first ballot, nor was he elected with a higher percentage that later pitchers would enjoy.  To be fair, his first appearance on the ballot was in 1936 when he was still playing, and also the election process was much different than it is today.

Grove broke into professional baseball in 1920 while playing for the Class D Martinsburg Mountaineers where he got the attention of Jack Dunn.  Dunn would give Martinsburg enough money for Grove's contract to replace their centerfield wall, buying his contract and making him a Baltimore Oriole.  This was when the Orioles were an independent minor league team.  Dunn would hold onto Grove's contract until selling it to Mack's Philadelphia A's for $100,600 in 1925 (just over a million dollars today), the highest amount ever at the time.

Thank you so much for this awesome baseball, Mom.  This is Hall of Famer number 167 in my collection.

Another TTM Success From Jim Palmer

My mom sent me 20 bucks on my birthday and asked me to let her know what I bought with the money.  I decided I would pull two more Jim Palmer cards out of my box and send them TTM to get signed, and here they are.  The above card is a 2001 Topps American Pie Decade Leaders.  This is a really nice card; I enjoy the colors on the card, and it will look great in my album.

This card is a 1981 Perma-Graphic Superstars Credit Card that I found at the National.  I had never seen these before, so I picked up a few from a bargain box (not sure if it was a dime box or not).  I had also grabbed a Johnny Bench for his signing in August, but that was canceled.

I mailed to Palmer on September 19 and got the cards back on October 13, for a 24-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $10.00/card.  Thanks for the birthday money, Mom!

Christmas Gift From Mom - Mariano Rivera Signed Baseball

Mom always enjoys finding me stuff for Christmas that will find its way to the blog, and this year was no different.  She did get me a trash bag full of about 100 pounds of antique baseball gloves, which were really cool.  She also knocked another huge name off of my Hall of Fame list with this signed baseball of Mariano Rivera.  I wanted to get in on a Rivera signing, but baseballs were super expensive, and the cards I would do would also cost me an arm and a leg, so I held off.  This ball is amazing, and has the HOF inscription and the 1st 100% vote inscription.  Pretty amazing!

Rivera (b. 1969) played in the majors from 1995 to 2013, for the Yankees.  The greatest closer of all time retired with a record 652 saves.  His 952 games finished and 205 ERA+ are also all-time records.  He had a won-loss record of 82-60 with a 2.21 ERA and 1,173 strike outs.

Rivera was a 13-time All Star (1997, 1999-2002, 2004-2006, 2008-2011 and 2013) and his best Cy Young and MVP finishes were 2nd (2005) and 9th (2004, 2005), respectively.

He won the World Series with the Yankees in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009.  He took home the 1999 World Series MVP and 2003 ALCS MVP honors.  His playoff record was 8-1, with 42 saves, 110 strike outs and a 0.70 ERA.  

Rivera was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2019 with 100% of the vote.  He is the only person ever elected to the Hall with 100%, and probably will be the only one, since there are idiots out there who like to make statements with their ballots; the handful of people who didn't vote for Hank Aaron, WIllie Mays, Ken Griffey, Jr., or Cal Ripken should never be allowed near another ballot.

Rivera is the 159th Hall of Famer in my collection.  Thanks Mom!  Merry Christmas, everyone!

TTM Success - Rocky Childress

I added these three cards with this TTM success from Rocky Childress.  The above 1988 Fleer turned out really well.  I have a whole box of these somewhere, but I think it is buried under the guest bed.

I also got a 1988 Topps and a 1990 CMC AAA signed.  The 1990 CMC AAA came out of the attic box that Mom found a while back.  I've gotten several of these cards signed; they have really come in handy.

Childress (b. 1962) played in the majors from 1985 to 1988 for the Phillies and Astros.  He had a record of 2-3 with 65 strike outs and a 4.76 ERA.

I mailed to Childress on September 29 and got the cards back on October 13, for a 14-day TAT.

Another Hall of Famer on Mom's Ball - Lefty Gomez

Mom thinks I forgot about this amazing baseball that covers my birthday and Christmas presents from now until something like 2034, but I did need something to kick off the birthday posts.  Yeah, my birthday was almost a month ago, but I do like to stretch things out, and since this year was a nice round number, I figured I wasn't in any kind of a hurry to get things going on that.

Anyway, here is the last Hall of Famer on Mom's ball that I didn't yet have in my collection.  I kept getting Lefty Gomez and Lefty Grove mixed up, but Grove is the tougher of the two, having died in 1975.  On this ball is Lefty Gomez.  This Lefty is a Yankees legend and still a "tough get" as far as single signed baseballs go.  Mom was worried that I would only want single signed baseballs of these guys, but I'm happy taking what I can get.  My entire collection was built on a budget, and if I can knock out 3-4 guys on one ball, let's do it!

Gomez (b. 1908 - d. 1989) played in the majors from 1930 to 1943 for the Yankees and Senators.  He had a career record of 189-102 with 1,468 strike outs and a 3.34 ERA.  He was a 20-game winner 4 times (1931, 1932, 1934 and 1937) and an All Star in seven seasons (1933 to 1939).  He won the pitching Triple Crown in 1934 and 1937.  His best MVP finish was 3rd in 1934.

Gomez won the World Series 5 times with the Yankees, in 1932 and 1936 to 1939.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972 via the Veterans Committee.

Gomez's numbers don't quite stack up to some other starting pitchers in the Hall.  He may be benefitting from being on the Yankees.  There is a pitcher not in the Hall of Fame who appeared in 17 seasons (albeit one game in one of those seasons) who has a similar won/loss record (177-135), more strike outs (1,534) and an almost comparable ERA (3.39).  The other pitcher won 20 games only once, however, and also had only one World Series win.  Anyway, Gomez is in, and you can't take that away from him.

Gomez is my 151st Hall of Famer on a baseball.  There's another nice round number.

When I can get caught up with some other posts, I will come back to this baseball and feature the other guys on the ball.  That will be a lot of fun, and should happen sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Again, thanks for the awesome ball, Mom!

Max Hits it Big

To say that 2020 has been a terrible year for graphing would be an understatement.  I have had almost zero opportunities to graph and get cards signed via 50/50s.  When my friend, Max, messaged me asking me for every Frank Thomas card that I could find, that awoke the 50/50 fire in me that had been dormant for the year.

I went through all of my boxes of cards and pulled every Thomas that I could get my hands on.  I came away with 75 cards, and Max was really happy with the results.  The cards were expedited to him, and he took them to a signing that he was attending.  Max ended up hooking me up with some of the cards I searched for, so I could add them to my album.

The best part is that a few of them actually came from my mom's collection that she had given me in an old tin cigar box.  The cigar box had a bunch of 90s cards, and Thomas was in there quite a bit.  The above 1995 Collectors Choice What's The Call card was my favorite one out of the whole bunch.  If I only had one card to choose from to take back, it would have been this one.  I was really glad to get it signed.

Max was very gracious in the cards he let me pick from.  There were a bunch of great ones, but I was allowed to get some of the best ones in the bunch.  The 1997 Topps (above, top) was the lone Topps base card that I chose.  I definitely loved the 1997 Upper Deck Define The Game (above, middle) and the 1997 Upper Deck Home Run Heroes (above, bottom).

I don't remember where the 97 Ultra Big Shots (left) came from, but it was a really awesome card.  The 1995 Stadium Club Statistical Extreme card came out of Mom's box, and just looks really great signed.  Finally, the 2017 Topps 87 insert had to come back to me, because it is the 87 design.

I'm really happy with how all of the cards came out, but I'm even happier that Max thought of me when he needed to get some Thomas cards fast.  He went above and beyond in hooking me up, and I always appreciate how we have our deals set up.  Thank you so much for thinking of me, Max!

Another Hall of Famer on Moms Ball - Red Ruffing

Another Hall of Famer that I can cross off of my list, thanks to my mom, is Red Ruffing.  Mom really nailed it with this baseball, as the guys that are on it are ones who would be super tough to get on single signed baseballs.  So, this multi-signed ball really helps the collection a lot.

Ruffing (b. 1905 - d. 1986) played in the majors from 1924 to 1942 and 1946 to 1947 for the Red Sox, Yankees and White Sox.  He had a career record of 273-225 with 1,987 strike outs and a 3.80 ERA.  He was a 6-time All Star (1934 and 1938 to 1942) and had a career-best MVP finish at 4th place in 1938.

Ruffing's career got off to a rough start between 1925 and 1929, losing between 13 and 25 games each of those seasons.  He led the league in losses in 1928 and 1929 with 25 and 22, respectively.  He turned the corner in 1930 when the Red Sox traded him for Cedric Durst; at the time, Ruffing was 0-3, but he would go 15-5 with the Yankees.  After the trade, Ruffing would average almost 17 wins a season for the next 13 seasons.  He won 20 games or more in four straight seasons (1936 to 1939) .  Ruffing won the World Series with the Yankees in 1932, 1936 to 1939 and 1941 ( 6 championships).

When Ruffing was traded from the Red Sox to the Yankees, then-Yankees manager, Bob Shawkey, a former pitcher, was convinced he could get better results out of Ruffing by changing his pitch delivery.  The changes worked, and the trade of Durst for Ruffing is considered one of the most lopsided trades in MLB history.

Red Ruffing was elected to the Hall of Fame in a run-off election in 1967, his final year of eligibility on the ballot.

Ruffing is my 150th Hall of Fame signature on a baseball. 

Mom's HOF Ball Part 2 - Earle Combs

The next Hall of Famer on the baseball Mom gave me is Earle Combs.

Combs (b. 1899 - d. 1976) played in the majors from 1924 to 1935 for the Yankees.  He had 1,866 hits, 58 home runs and a .325 batting average.  He led the league in triples in 1927, 1928 and 1930.  He batted .300 or better in 8 seasons, 4 of which he batted .340 or better.  He won the World Series with the Yankees in 1927, 1928 and 1932.  In his World Series appearances, he batted .350 (4 series, includes a 1926 loss to the Cardinals) with 1 home run.  His best MVP finish was 6th, in 1928.

Combs was elected to the Hall  of Fame in 1970 via the Veterans Committee.  He had appeared on 15 Hall of Fame ballots between 1937 and 1962, but didn't received more than 16% of the vote.  His career WAR, if anyone cares, 43.9; he had 7 seasons of 4.0 WAR or better, which is pretty good, even though I still don't understand the stat.  Regardless, for a veteran of 9 full and 3 partial seasons, Combs has some really good stats.

Earle Combs is my 149th Hall of Famer on a baseball.

Fun fact, of all of my baseball player autographs in my collection, Combs is my first to have played on the legendary 1927 Yankees.

Mom Knocks A Bunch of Hall of Famers off of the List Part 1 - Frank Home Run Baker

My mom has been working hard on crossing some tough names off of my Hall of Famer list.  She found this Yankees legends signed baseball and handed it to me this past week while I was vacationing back home.  I had taken the vacation as a mental health break, and ended up riding around with my mom while she ran errands, like old times.

She had told me that my Christmas gift for 2020, 2021 ans 2022 had come in, and she couldn't wait until December to give it to me, so she went ahead and hooked me up while I was in town.  I was surprised that she found a baseball with at least 4 Hall of Famers that I needed (and another Hall of Famer that I already had, but was happy to add again).

One of the Hall of Famers on the baseball is Frank "Home Run" Baker.  His signature is at the top of one of the side panels on the baseball.  From what I was able to gather, this baseball was signed at a Yankees legends or old timers day.  The ball is a very old baseball; it looks like it is a Spalding official baseball.

There are also a bunch of other former Yankees on the ball, and as time allows, I will tackle each one in a separate post.  I can't thank Mom enough for the ball, and the ability to cross off some of these tough players from my list.  So, thank you, Mom!  Here we go with the first player profile:

Frank "Home Run" Baker (b. 1886 - d. 1963) played in the majors from 1908 to 1914, 1916 to 1919 and 1921 to 1922 for the Philadelphia A's and New York Yankees.  He had 1,838 hits, 96 home runs and a .307 batting average.  His best MVP finish was 3rd, in 1914.  He led the league in home runs, hence the nickname, from 1911 to 1914.  This was during the deadball era, so his home run totals were 11, 10, 12 and 9 in those years, respectively.  He also led the league in RBIs 1912 and 1913;and in triples in 1909.

Baker won the World Series with the A's in 1910, 1911 and 1913.  He appeared on 15 Hall of Fame ballots, before being elected in 1955 via the Veterans Committee.

Baker managed the Easton Farmers of the Eastern Shore League and is credited with discovering Jimmie Foxx.  He was fired as manager upon selling Foxx to the A's because the Farmers believed that Baker didn't get enough money for Foxx.

Baker is my 148th Hall of Famer on a baseball.

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.

Christmas Gift From Mom - Randy Johnson Signed Ball and Frank Baker Signed Card

Mom gave me some nice stuff, again, for Christmas.  I am always glad to see what she is able to find.  Sometimes, she buys Christmas well in advance, say, December 26, and this year, I messed up by buying a ball I needed back in July at the National, while she had picked this Randy Johnson up in January.  Oops.

The good thing is, I can sell the Johnson I got at the National, and turn it in to a ball that I do need, and I can keep the one Mom gave me in my HOF collection.

She also picked up this 1972 Topps Frank Baker.  It is hard to see (even in person), but the Baker card is signed.  I checked out SCN, and Baker doesn't sign much at all.  His last success was 2017, and he has only signed 38% of the time.  So, Mom did pretty well in getting this card.

Baker (b. 1946) played in the majors in 1970, 71, 73 and 74 for the Yankees and Orioles.  He had 55 hits, 1 home run and a .191 batting average.

Baker is from Meridian, Mississippi, a town that Chris and I visited several years ago.  This is the town where I was able to meet up with Don McNair and hold his dad's 1930 World Series ring.  It is a really small world.

Thanks so much, Mom!  I always love to see what you're able to find!

TTM Success - Damion Easley

So, this one definitely took a while.  I had forgotten about all of the cool cards that I sent TTM to Damion Easley, so when this one finally made its way back to me, I was really excited to see the cards that fell out of the envelope.

I actually robbed this 1994 Pinnacle from a set my mom had started to put together back in 1994.  She gave me the album at one point, and I saw this Easley in there when I was just about to send to him.  I'm actually glad I pulled from the set, because this card looks spectacular, and will be a really cool addition to my autograph album.  Thanks Mom!

I also got a Pacific Crown Royale signed (top, crown shaped card) which looks pretty cool.  The 1993 Flair beneath it also is very sharp.

I love the old 1994 Finest design (left).  It turned out great.  I also added a 1998 Topps because I love the dirt shot of the card.  Those are some nice shots on cards, when you get a good portion of the card taken up by the dirt.  Those have always been some of my favorites.

Easley (b. 1969) played in the majors from 1992 to 2008 for the Angels, Tigers, Devil Rays, Marlins, Diamondbacks and Mets.  He had 1,386 hits, 163 home runs and a .253 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1998, and was also a Silver Slugger Award winner that season.

I mailed to Easley on February 13, 2017 and got the cards back on October 31, 2019, for a 990-day TAT.

TTM Success - Torey Lovullo

I added some 90s-era junk wax cards to my autograph album with this TTM success from Diamondbacks manager, Torey Lovullo.

I have a 5,000-count box of just 1994 Score, and I was really glad to be able to get at least one of them out of the box.  That box is near the bottom of a stack of 5,000-count boxes, and it is hard to get into it, sometimes.

I also have a bunch of these 1990 CMC AAA cards; they came from a box that Mom found in her attic.  These have come in handy with some of the older coaches in the league.  Also, 1994 Donruss is a pretty nice, colorful set that look good when signed.

Lovullo (b. 1965) played in the majors in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 1999 for the Tigers, Yankees, Angels, Mariners, A's, Indians and Phillies.  He had 165 hits, 15 home runs and a .224 batting average.

He was hired as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2017 and holds a record of 217-190 (.533 win %).  He was the NL Manager of the Year in 2017.

I mailed to Lovullo via Diamondbacks Spring Training on February 7 and got the cards back on April 27, for a 79-day TAT.

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.