TTM Success - Randy Johnson

I wasn't going to buy in on the Randy Johnson signing that my friend, Jackson, was hosting.  It was too rich for my blood, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to send off a card.  I wanted to support my friend, but I also had a card in mind that I wanted to send to the signing.  It wasn't the above 1997 Pinnacle Zenith.  It was the green chrome parallel below.  It wasn't until I found the Zenith in a box from my former LCS that I really wanted to send in.  Pair that with the National finally being canceled for 2020, I took some of the money I had saved for the National and put it toward the signing.  Since I couldn't decide on one card, I sent both.  The Zenith turned out amazing and may be one of my favorite signed cards in my collection now.

The 2020 Topps Silver Pack 85 Chrome green parallel also looks awesome.  It is numbered 18/99 and was a really nice pull from a pack back when I busted my 2020 Topps boxes.

Jackson has been doing a ton of signings lately, and I hope to join in on some more.  I mailed to the signing on November 14 and got the cards back on January 19, for a 66-day TAT.

TTM Success - Randy Johnson

Here is the second of the three Randy Johnsons that I got back TTM recently.  The third, and you all know who that Randy Johnson is, if still a whole bunch of posts away from getting posted.  This Randy Johnson is also in the 1983 Topps set, much like the Braves Randy Johnson that I posted this morning.  I got his 83 Topps done, as well as an 83 Donruss.

Johnson (b. 1958) played in the majors in 1980 and 1982 for the White Sox and Twins.  He had 62 hits, 10 home runs and a .244 batting average.

I mailed to Johnson on December 1 and got the cards back on January 8, for a 38-day TAT.

TTM Success - Randy Johnson

Recently, I received (spoiler alert) three TTM successes from three different guys names Randy Johnson.  Do the math, and yeah, some big stuff is coming.  Anyway, two of them came in at the same time, and when I was prepping to mail, there was just a little confusion that I had put the right cards in the right envelopes.

Anyway, I got a return from the Braves Randy Johnson on a 1983 Topps and a 1985 Topps.  Both cards came out great, and I was glad to finally get them out of my boxes.

Johnson (b. 1956) played in the majors from 1982 to 1984 for the Braves.  He had 129 hits, 6 home runs and a .267 batting average.

I mailed to Johnson on November 30 and got the cards back on January 8, for a 39-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!

2019 National Pickup - Randy Johnson Signed Baseball

I added another baseball to my Hall of Fame collection when I picked up this Randy Johnson signed baseball from Mill Creek Sports at the National.  They are the same folks that I got the Chipper Jones and Ichiro balls from.

Johnson (b. 1963) played in the majors from 1988 to 2009 for the Expos, Mariners, Astros, Diamondbacks, Yankees and Giants.  He had a career record of 303-166 with 4,875 strike outs and a 3.29 ERA.  He led the league in strikeouts 9 times.  He had 6 seasons where he struck out more than 300 batters.  He led the league in ERA 4 times.  He won the Cy Young Award 5 times (1995, AL; 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002, all NL).  He was an All Star 10 times (1990, 1993-95, 1997, 1999-2002, and 2004).  He won the World Series with the Diamondbacks in 2001, sharing Co-MVP honors with Curt Schilling.

Johnson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015 when he was named on 97.3% of the ballot, his first ballot.

I priced several Johnson baseballs, and on the Sunday of the show, I got a great deal on this baseball.  It was the same price someone else quoted me on an older ball without the HOF inscription, so I had to jump on this one.

Johnson is my 145th Hall of Famer on a baseball.

Birthday Gift From Nick - Prospect Autos Galore

The best part of receiving birthday packages from the card community has been the originality and thought that fellow collectors have put into what they have sent.  I oftentimes tell my friends that I would much rather receive a nicely written note instead of them spending their hard-earned money on me.  I got a package from my little buddy, Nick, on Friday and loved what he sent along.

I had cleaned him out of Orioles stuff long ago, so Nick scrambled to find some things that he gelt would suffice as a birthday gift, but he really could have just stopped at the above Topps custom card.  The card features Nick from several years ago when he met Houston Astros ace, Dallas Keuchel.  Nick signed the card and personalized it to me.  For someone so young, you can tell that Nick has practiced his autograph for quite a while.  The card is awesome.  Nick actually is a very talented ballplayer.  He messages me after each game that he plays, and they always seem to be wins.  I hope to hear his name called in a couple years during the MLB Amateur Draft.  I'll already have a pretty sweet auto!

Nick sent along some prospect cards that he had been holding onto recently.  This Patrick Leonard from 2013 Bowman Platinum is a really nice card.  It's not numbered, but the jumbo relic and auto are still nice.

Bowman Inception is probably one of the most appealing to the eye of any product you will see.  I watched my buddy Robert bust several cases of this at the National, and the cards just looked amazing.  I was really happy that Nick sent this along, this card looks great.

Not a prospect or an auto, this Masterpieces Randy Johnson relic is still a nice card.  Masterpieces was always a great offering from the last days of Upper Deck.  This is one of those products that I wish Panini or Topps would buy the rights of (can they do that?) and re-release into the market.

Finally, here is a really good prospect auto from 2016 Chrome.  I'm not a Red Sox fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I recognize that Owens is a pretty good prospect.  I know a lot of Red Sox fans who would want this, but since it was a gift from Nick, I won't let this leave my collection.  I will likely redeem it soon.

I met Nick through Instagram maybe two years ago and completed a couple trades with him.  We talked off and on after our initial dealings, but really hit it off earlier this year.  We pretty much talk every day.  He has to be one of the funniest people I have ever met; not for sheer comedy alone, but the fact that when Nick has something on his mind, he is not afraid to speak it.  Usually, that elicits some pretty candid responses from others in our Skype calls.  Nick cracks me up.  He is also amazing with my son, Chris.  Nick is always reaching out to Chris and chatting with him.  I think it is good for Chris.  Maybe one day, he will work on giving more than one-word responses.

Thank you so much for the birthday package, Nick!  I really appreciate it!

March 30, 2012 Bargain Bin Pack Pickups

No mail again, so I went to the Kinston card shop to pick up this week's Prime 9 card (Ernie Banks) and bought a bunch of loose cards and bargain bin packs.  Lots of junk wax in the bargain bin, but they are always fun to open.

I bought two packs of 1989 Donruss for 50 cents and the highlight of both packs was this Randy Johnson RC.  The good thing about 1989 Donruss is that it is a decent looking set and has a bunch of future HOF rookie cards in it.  Not bad at all.  The Big Unit looks a little annoyed that someone was taking his picture.  Oh well, 300+ wins and 4,000+ strikeouts later, he is bound for Cooperstown.

I got a pack of 1992 Topps Stadium Club for 75 cents and pulled this Matt Williams.  A very good player in his day, Williams was always a big pull for us when we were growing up.  He now coaches on the DIamondbacks.

 Finally, I got a pack of 2004 Topps Total for $1.  I didn't pull anything of note, really, except for this Jason Johnson.  My wife and I met Johnson back in 2001 and he was a really nice guy.  He was my first in person MLB auto.  Not too bad.  I still have mine, my wife's ball has faded.

So, I didn't do all that bad considering I spent less than 3 bucks on the packs.  I'm going to go through the other cards from the packs and sort them out to my regular trade partners.  I hope I get to the loose cards I bought in the next few days, but we'll see.  I hope they get preempted by some good mail tomorrow.  That would be nice.