TTM Success - Dennis Raben

My older brother is a huge Miami Hurricanes fan.  I found two 2008 Razor Dennis Raben cards and sent them out TTM.  He signed both cards, so I now have to remember to take the extra card up to Winston-Salem the next time I go, so I can give it to him.

Raben (b. 1987) was a 2nd round pick by the Mariners in the 2008 June Amateur Draft out of Miami (FL).  He played in the minors in 2008 and from 2010 to 2014 in the Mariners, Royals and Angels systems.  He reached high A.

He had 472 hits, 95 home runs and a .292 batting average. I mailed to Raben on December 4 and got the card back on December 20 for a 16-day TAT. 

A Consignment For CJ Kayfus

Last season, my brother Philip and I saw Miami at Wake Forest and we were able to get CJ Kayfus on some Perfect Game cards.  Since then, he was drafted by the Guardians and appeared in 2023 Bowman Draft.  I came across someone on Facebook who was willing to get Kayfus to sign a couple Bowman Draft, since he started the season at Lake County instead of Lynchburg.  I tried to get the guy to get Kayfus to sign the cards "Go U", but he wouldn't, apparently.  Oh well, I tried.

Kayfus (b. 2001) was drafted in the 3rd round by the Guardians during the 2023 July Amateur Draft out of Miami (FL).  Since 2023, he has played at Low and High A ball for the Guardians. He has 29 hits, 6 home runs and a .296 batting average.

I appreciate the guy getting the cards signed for me, but I'm not the biggest fan of having to pay.  I'd have much rather worked out a 50/50 deal or something else like a league swap. Oh well.

March 25, 2023, Graphing of Miami at Wake Forest

College baseball isn't usually my first choice to graph, but when my older brother, Philip, messaged me and asked if I wanted to go see the Miami Hurricanes take on Wake Forest, I was interested.  He let me know enough in advance that I was able to order some Perfect Game cards of some of the players, so it turned into a pretty decent rack.

I also had some Stars and Stripes cards of a couple of the players, so I was able to get a few out of my boxes, as well.  The above Yohandy Morales is one of the Stars and Stripes cards that I was able to get signed.

I missed picking up a couple guys Perfect Game cards due to an error on my part on Ebay, but that ended up saving me some money.  I wish I had gotten everyone, as it was really easy to graph at the game.  Another disappointment was that former big leaguer, Will Craig was coaching for Wake, but I couldn't find the bulk of his cards that I had somewhere, and the ones I did have didn't get signed, since I missed him post game.

Still, we had a really good time.  It was me, my brother, Philip; his wife, Karie; his friend, Dave; my oldest brother, Kenny; his wife, Gina; and their son, Ian.  I had never graphed with Ian before, but he is at a great age for it, at 12.  He seemed to have fun, and filled up an extra ball that I had brought for him.  He is a big Wake Forest fan, so it was nice helping him fill that ball up with signatures.

Wake ended up winning the game.  It was really cool to be at the stadium formerly known as Ernie Shore field.  It was the site of my first ever baseball game, back in the early 90s.  They have since remodeled the field, and renamed it David Couch field.  It will always be Ernie Shore to me.

I really appreciate Philip inviting me to go along.  In the end, I got the following autographs: Matt Wessinger x 2, Lucas Costello x 5, Carlos Lequerica x 1, Carlos Perez x 5, Alejandro Torres x 5, Yohandy Morales x 3, Alejandro Rosario x 2, Dominic Pitelli x 5, Karson Ligon x 5, CJ Kayfus x 5, Dorian Gonzalez x 6 and Gage Ziehl x 2 (46 total autographs).