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!

May 2019 Graphing of Salem Red Sox at Down East Wood Ducks

While I was at my parents' the weekend of May 25, my Pro Debut boxes came in.  I got into the boxes after my trip to Hickory, but was able to use some of the cards for when the Wood Ducks were back in town against the Salem Red Sox.

I got Anderson Tejeda, Leody Taveras and JP Martinez on the Pro Debut cards, and they turned out really well.  The cards need to be prepped, as usual, but they look great when signed.

While I was in Hickory, I picked up this season's team set.  I got it after pregame autos there, so I didn't have time to prep and put the cards in the books, so these Wood Ducks were the first cards from the set that I could get done.

Salem doesn't have too many players on their roster who have cards, so I did what I could.  Chris and I got a ton of Bryan Mata cards signed, which was nice.

I was also able to get this 2015 NY-Penn League card of Victor Acosta signed.  I have had it for a couple years, so I was glad to get it out of my box.

I found out Marcus Wilson was on the Salem Roster the day we were heading out there, so I scrambled through my 2014 Bowmans and found one of his cards.  I was disappointed that I didn't have his 2013 Perfect Game card, though.

May 2019 Graphing of Dash at Wood Ducks

The Winston-Salem Dash came to Grainger Stadium in Kinston for the first time this season this past weekend.  Last year, they were stacked with players who had cards.  This season, Nick Madrigal remains on the roster, with a couple other players who have something they can sign.  Madrigal limits to 2 per, but he stopped for us before and after each game, with the exception of the first game of the series (he was late coming onto the field due to giving an interview).

I had a bunch of Madrigal cards that I had hoarded over the winter, and got each one signed.  The Bowmans Best at the bottom right was given to me by my friend, Ben.

I really like Panini Contenders, and they turn out really well when signed.  I prepped both of the cards, just to be safe, and they turned out nice.

John Ely is one of the Dash coaches.  I used to have a ton of his cards, but I gave most of them away years ago to a friend who was a Dodger fan.  I ended up ordering some more Ely cards off of COMC, but their shipping is so slow, I missed getting them signed this series.

I got a few random cards signed that I had found.  The George Timke is a leftover from last season, after having been given to me by my friend, Kolby.

With all of the 2017 Bowman that I opened, I'm surprised that the chrome refractor on the top right is the only Jameson Fisher that I had.

I got more of my Spokane Indians set cards signed with some new players on the Wood Ducks roster.  I also saw that I had missed a Kenny Holmberg card from that set, so I got it taken care of.

Joe Kuzia is really nice.  He stopped and talked to Chris a few times during the series, but we got our Hickory cards signed.

Sam Huff was also called up to the Wood Ducks, after mashing 15 home runs for Hickory in the first month of the season.

Leody stopped for us during this series, so I whittled down my total of his cards to, I think, 8 cards remaining.  I would like to finish them all off, but in the end, it doesn't really matter.  I have what I want done, and if the rest don't get signed, that's ok, too.

Finally, our friend, Scott, will be leaving the Wood Ducks soon.  Chris and I met him as we walked in the stadium for the first ever Wood Ducks practice, back in 2017.  He has stopped and talked to us every time we have seen him at the games.  He is about to leave to go into the Army, so when he told me, and gave me this signed photo, he and I got a bit emotional.  I wish him the best, and I know we will keep in touch!