87 Topps Set Pickup - Milt Thompson

It had been a while since I had heard from my buddy, Stefan.  He messaged me recently saying that he had picked up some more signed 87 Topps, and saw that I needed Milt Thompson.  So, for $3, he hooked me up.  I had sent TTM to Thompson, but it hasn't come back.  I figured 3 bucks would be fine for knocking the card off of my list.

Thompson (b. 1959) played in the majors from 1984 to 1996 for the Braves, Phillies, Cardinals, Astros, Dodgers and Rockies.  He had 1,029 hits, 47 home runs and a .274 batting average.  He finished 17th in the NL MVP voting twice (1987 and 1989).

Thank you for the quick and easy deal, Stefan!

From Stefan - Signed 1987 Topps Russ Morman

I got a message on Instagram a couple weeks ago from my buddy, Stefan.  He had bought a 1987 Topps set for cheap and was working on getting autos of guys that he knew I needed for my set.  His words were "I like to see sets completed."  So, he bought the set and got to work on it in order to help me out.  That really meant a lot to me.

Morman (b. 1962) played in the majors in 1986, from 1988 to 1991 and from 1994 to 1997 for the White Sox, Royals and Marlins.  He had 117 hits, 10 home runs and a .249 batting average.

Thanks so much for working to help me out, Stefan!  This card puts me at 539/792 or 68.1% of the set.

Some More 87s For The Set

I added two more signed 1987 Topps to the set recently with a deal I made with a couple friends.  The above Keith Hernandez was obtained from my friend, Stefan, who has hooked me up with quite a few autos in the past.  I paid him $20 for this card, and it looks really nice.

I had gotten an email from my friend, Rich, who was looking for an unsigned Len Matuszek 87,  I found two right next to each other in my box, so I sent them both.  I'm glad I did, because Rich was nice enough to get one signed for me.

Thanks for the deals, guys!  I wouldn't be this far along with the set if it weren't for all of the help I have received along the way.

A Trade With Stefan

I did my first Instagram trade in a while with a kid that I hadn't talked to in some time, my friend, Stefan.  He and I used to talk all the time, then the both of us got busy, and sort of drifted apart.  He was looking to trade for some 2017 Topps HM, and I had three cards that he needed.

In return, Sefan sent me the two 1987 Topps that he had that I needed from my list.  I was lucky that he had these, otherwise, I wouldn't have had any idea what to trade for.

Thanks for the deal, Stefan!

Amazing In Person Graphing Success - Tim Lincecum

I had one of my best IP autograph success today, almost by accident.  I am in Baltimore with my sister and have tickets to the Orioles series against the Angels.  My goal was to try to get Mike Trout on a ball.  I was actually really close to getting him, but I wasn't quite lucky enough, but I did get someone pretty awesome, Tim Lincecum.  You can see the ball that I got signed, it turned out great.

When Lincecum came up to where I was at, a small kid in front of me who had already had his ball signed offered to get mine signed as well, since he was right up against the wall.  This helped my ball get to the front, and Tim signed it.  While he was signing, I told him "You are my son's favorite player, ever.  He loves you!"  Tim looked at me, smiled and said "Make sure you tell him I said hello!"  I got out of the crowd and jumped on my cell phone to call my mom.  Chris, my son, is visiting my parents, so she had to get him out of the pool and to the phone.  I told Chris what Lincecum said and he was speechless.  I really wish Chris had been able to make the trip, but my fear is that had he been here, Lincecum wouldn't have been signing.

I was graphing with my friend from Instagram, Stefan, and another Instagrammer, Brian.  Stefan was able to get Lincecum twice and then got Trout!  Stefan has pledged to help me get Trout tomorrow, so maybe I will come away from this trip with some really good autos!  I had a really good time hanging out with the guys.  I am now getting into meeting up with fellow graphers, and have hat a lot of fun.  I know I'm really late to the game, but these kids have a lot of knowledge and expertise!

As far as the game, I hope that I am able to say that I saw Ubaldo Jimenez's last start as an Oriole.  You hate to see someone lose their job, but with the $50 million contract that he signed, he isn't hurting.  Let's hope Buck can find some decent starters somewhere, lest the Orioles lose their grip on the AL East lead.