TTM Success - Rickey Henderson

This 1987 Topps Yankees Leaders card was a tough one to complete.  I mailed out three of them at different times to Don Mattingly, and never got one back.  I finally paid for a private signing with him and got the card signed, hoping I would, then, be able to get Rickey at the National.  Rickey wasn't at the National this year, so I had to settle for a private signing, but that's alright.  I have met Rickey twice, once getting him on a ball, and the second time, I got him on the base 87 card.  Now, I can focus on others at the National, if guys I need show up.

I mailed to the signing on November 4 and got the card back yesterday (12/27) for a 53-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $85 for Rickey, and a lot more for Mattingly.

Another TTM Success From Don Mattingly

The plan was simple.  Try to get this 1987 Topps Yankees Leaders card signed by Don Mattingly before I went to the National, so I could get Rickey Henderson while I was there.  I sent one of these cards to Marlins Spring Training in February 2020 (as I had several Spring Trainings before that), then the season was canceled, as was the National.  I sent another card to 2021 Marlins Spring Training.  No luck in a return.  Finally, I saw a private signing pop up with Mattingly, so I decided to send the card off, so it would be back in time for the National.  Of course the card came back signed, but Rickey was not at the National this year.  Oof.  So, I will either have to jump on a private signing for Rickey that just popped up, or try to wait and see if he is at the National in 2022.  Tough decision.  I probably will go ahead and mail it off to the signing and get the card secured in my album so I can cross it off of the list.

I sent to the signing on March 30 and got the card back signed on May 11, for a 42-day TAT.  I paid a fee of... quite a bit... and still have one other Mattingly that I need to get signed.

2019 National Paid Signer - Rickey Henderson

There was only one of the paid signers that I wanted to spend the money on and meet at this year's National.  Rickey Henderson has three cards in the 1987 set, but I paid for only two vouchers.  The third card, a Yankees Leaders card, is out TTM to Don Mattingly.  If that card had come back, I would have paid for a third voucher for Rickey.  Hopefully the Yankees Leaders card eventually comes back, and I can add him at a later date.

Since I had two vouchers, I figured I would let my good friend, Anthony, go through the line with me.  Anthony wouldn't have paid to meet Rickey himself, since he is a broke college student.  I figured he would enjoy the meeting, and as you can see from the photo above, he did.

Rickey was really great!  I told him that even though he didn't know me, I felt like we were on a first-name basis.  He laughed and said "Well, that's good!" then smiled and shook my hand.  He came off as genuinely happy that fans came out to see him, and for someone who was as big a star as he was/is, I was impressed.

The cards turned out great!  Both of them look awesome, and I'm really glad to cross them off of the list.

I just hope the other card comes back, and I can get Rickey again at a future show.

Instagram Trade With Dylan

I completed a trade recently with my friend, Dylan from Virginia when I sent him a Rafael Devers auto that I pulled from a pack of 2015 Contenders baseball.  In return, he hooked me up with this really nice Rickey rookie.  I had an extra one of these before, but traded it away.  This one is in much better shape, even though it didn't scan all that great.

Dylan sweetend the deal with this 2015 Topps Chrome Christian Walker pink refractor.  This is a nice card to see in person.  I found it a bit odd that it wasn't serial numbered.  I thought for sure that the pink parallels were numbered.  Oh well.  It is still a nice card.

Finally, Dylan surprised me with this Cal Ripken standups card from 1985 Donruss-Leaf.  It is an '85 All Stars standup, and as you can see, it features Cal inside the Hubert H, Humphrey Metrodome.  I don't think I had this in my collection until now.  I think I would know, especially since this is an elongated card, and it would stand out.

Thanks so much for the trade, Dylan!

Hall of Fame Weekend - Meeting Rickey

The next legend we met during Hall of Fame Induction Weekend was Rickey Henderson.  Chris tried to sneak in and get a ball signed by Rickey, but the handler immediately asked him for his ticket.  I was so busy trying to get Drew's picture with Rickey, I didn't realize that Chris was trying to go two for two.  I immediately did the right thing and went outside and bought a ticket for $109.  A steep price, but I didn't want anyone to get into trouble.  I also didn't mind because Rickey was really cool to Chris.  They posed for a nice picture, as seen above.

Rickey signed this OMLB ball on the sweet spot and I am going to upgrade the one I already had.  I plan on sending my old one to Drew so he can trade it to a vendor that he knows for a HOFer that I don't have yet.  We'll see how it goes.

It was really cool meeting Rickey.  He was really nice and interacted with the fans going through the line to meet him.  he was pricey but I think it was worth it to meet "The Greatest."

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Rickey Henderson

The second Hall of Fame signed baseball that I got while I was in Columbia was the above Rickey Henderson.  It is a Gene Budig OAL ball and came in the original box (really cool).

The shop owner gave me a sweet deal on the ball so I couldn't pass it up making Henderson my 86th Hall of Famer.

Rickey Henderson (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1979 to 2003 for the (wait for it) A's, Yankees, Blue Jays, Padres, Angels, Mets, Mariners, Red Sox and Dodgers.  He played for the A's for 4 different stretches.  He had 3,055 hits, 297 home runs and a .279 career batting average.  He is the all time leader in stolen bases (1,406), caught stealing (335) and runs (2,295).  He was the 1990 AL MVP.  He won the World Series in 1989 with the A's and in 1993 with the Blue Jays.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2009 (his first ballot) with 94.8% of the vote.

If I had a vote...

Since the Hall of Fame vote comes out today, I thought I would toss out a question... If you had a vote, who would you vote for? I think the writers can vote for 5 players on the ballot. Here is what my ballot would look like:

Rickey Henderson (Can't wait to hear his speech... 'Rickey is the greatest of all time and now Rickey is in the hall of fame...')
Jim Rice (Come on, he should have been in a long time ago)
Bert Blyleven (How is he not in yet)
Andre Dawson (Former MVP on a last place team, great hitter, played on bad knees almost his whole career)
Harold Baines (Has almost 3,000 hits. If he had not been traded from the White Sox twice, into platoon situations, he would have had 3,000. Plus, he was a great player for a long time.)
Honorable Mention:

Tim 'Rock' Raines
Jack Morris
Don Mattingly
Mark Grace
Tommy John
Dave Parker
Lee Smith

Mark McGwire may not ever get in. I think that he was a one-dimensional player, but was the biggest star in the game and that should make a difference. Me, personally, I think he should get in eventually.