TTM Success - Roger Smithberg

I was really excited when this TTM success came in from Roger Smithberg.  I was searching for some cards on COMC and discovered this Alaska Goldpanners card.  It is a 1990 Lens Alaska Goldpanners card, like a retrospective of former players (Jason Giambi has a card).  According to their website, the Goldpanners of Fairbanks are a collegiate level team famous for their "midnight sun games".  Their website boasts that over 200 Goldpanners have reaches the major leagues.  Players such as Barry Bonds, Dave Winfield and Tom Seaver have played for Fairbanks.  So, adding this card to the autograph album is pretty cool, in my mind.

I had this 1990 Bowman in my TTM box for a while, but it was the only Smithberg card that I had, so I was waiting around to see if I could find any others.  I got lucky when I saw the Goldpanners card on COMC and remembered that I had one to send.  It all worked out.

Smithberg (b. 1966) played in the majors in 1993 and 1994 for the Oakland A's.  He had a career record of 1-2 with 7 strike outs and a 4.09 ERA.

I mailed to Smithberg on April 8 and got the cards back on April 17, for a 9-day TAT.

To read more about the Alaska Goldpanners, check out there website, here.

TTM Success - Ozzie Timmons

I received a TTM success from a player that I remember watching at Winston-Salem's Ernie Shore Field back when I was a kid.  Ozzie Timmons played in 86 games for the Winston-Salem Spirits in 1992.  That was back when my mom would take us to the field to watch the Frederick Keys.  My grandfather would also take us to a few Spirits games, as well, but I believe that was a couple seasons before.

Timmons (b. 1970) played in the majors from 1995 to 1997 and 1999 to 2000 for the Cubs, Mariners and Devil Rays.  He had 95 hits, 20 home runs and a .235 batting average.

I mailed to Timmons via the Durham Bulls (he is their hitting coach) on April 5 and got the cards back on April 15, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jason Stumm

I wish I was around the card community in the late 90s and early 2000s.  There seem to be a bunch of cool sets that came out during that era, like this 2000 Topps HD.  The card is really thick, and heavy.  I had to pre-treat it with baby powder before I mailed it out to Jason Stumm.  I had never heard of Stumm before, but this was a really cool TTM success.

Stumm (b. 1981) was a first round draft pick out of the 1999 amateur draft by the White Sox.  He mever reached the majors, after spending 7 seasons in the minors.  He had a record of 7-16 with a 4.09 ERA and 203 strike outs.

I mailed to Stumm on March 27 and got the card back on April 14, for an 18-day TAT.

TTM Success - Paul O'Neill

I took a shot on a TTM request that I thought I had a decent chance of getting back, but I had seen that folks have had spotty results with Paul O'Neill.  This 1995 Stadium Club Ring Leaders card had been in one of my boxes for a long time, so I figured that I would go ahead and see what would happen.  I'm really glad I sent it off!  After I had mailed this card to O'Neill, I got a Ring Leaders card signed by Howard Johnson, but this one is still pretty awesome.

O'Neill (b. 1963) played in the majors from 1985 to 2001 for the Reds and Yankees.  He had 2,105 hits, 281 home runs and a .288 batting average.  He was a 5-time All Star (1991, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1998) and his best finish in the MVP voting was 5th (1994 - AL).  He was the 1994 AL batting champion with a .359 average.  He won the World Series in 1990 with the Reds, and 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 with the Yankees.  O'Neill appeared on the 2007 Hall of Fame ballot, but received only 2.2% of the vote.  He is married to my sister-in-law's cousin, and his nephew plays for the Down East Wood Ducks.

I mailed to O'Neill on March 20 and got the card back on April 14, for a 25-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chris Codiroli

I added a few mid- 80s cards to the autograph album with this success from Chris Codiroli.  The above 1986 Donruss is a really cool card.  I don't have a whole lot of 86 Donruss in the album, but I do have a bunch in bulk.  The problem is, that box is at the bottom of all of my boxes, covered with Topps cards.  I need to get into that box again and look through it to make sure I don't have some guys in there that I haven't mailed to yet.

I also had found two different Topps cards of him, a 1987 and a 1984.  I had a ton of the 84 for some reason, so the extras of him that I didn't use were sent out as TTM starter packs to some folks on Instagram.  I hope they have the same luck I did.

Codiroli (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1982 to 1988 and 1990 for the A's, Indians and Royals.  He had a career record of 38-47 with 312 strike outs and a 4.87 ERA.

I mailed to Codiroli on April 4 and got the cards back on April 13, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Larry Harlow

I added an autograph of a former Oriole with this TTM from Larry Harlow.  I picked up this 1978 Topps from the February card show, which was nice because for the longest time, I didn't have very many signed 78s.  I think this card looks really nice, with his bright orange jersey paired with the thin red border.

Here is another 1981 Topps for the album.  I have a ton of these in there because I have so many in a box in my closet.  There still aren't as many as from 1987. but I still have a ton.

Harlow (b. 1951) played in the majors in 1975 and from 1977 to 1981 for the Orioles and Angels.  He had 271 hits, 12 home runs and a .248 batting average.

I mailed to Harlow on February 21 and got the cards back on April 12, for a 50-day TAT.  He also included a nice hand written note that said "Thanks for being a baseball fan!"

TTM SUccess - Leo Gomez

I was finally able to get another of the Japanese cards signed that Ryan gave me a while ago.  The first one, Don Buford, didn't turn out as nice as this Leo Gomez did.  Buford signed in a blue ballpoint pen that dug into the card.  Gomez, on the other hand, signed in blue Sharpie, and the difference obviously shows.

He switched pens and signed this 1993 Topps in black Sharpie.  This card turned out really nice, as well.

Gomez (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1990 to 1996 for the Orioles and Cubs.  He had 466 hits, 79 home runs and a .243 batting average.

I mailed to Gomez on January 31 and got the cards back on April 11, for a 70-day TAT.