TTM Success - Willie Horton

I made a concerted effort recently to clean up my TTM box.  I spent several days organizing it, and alphabetizing it.  Another thing I wanted to do to help manage the box, was to finally take the plunge and send off to some more of the players who charge for their autos.  I had a separate section in my box devoted to such players, and many of them have been sitting in there for over a year.

Finally, I got around to sending to a few of them.  One of the players I had been waiting to send to for a long time was Willie Horton.  I kept putting it off, and decided that when I was going to pay the money, he would be one of the first I wou;d sent to.

I had some really nice cards of Horton to send.  The 1992 Action Packed (right) was one I really wanted to add to the album.  I have since added a Boog Powell to the album, so this isn't the first, but I meant for it to be!  I also got this nice 1976 Topps card done.  I had a few of Horton's Topps cards available, but I thought that the 1976 would look the best out of what I was going to send.

Horton (b. 1942) played in the majors from 1963 to 1980 for the Tigers, Rangers, Indians, A's, Blue Jays and Mariners.  He had 1,993 hits, 325 home runs and a .273 batting average.  He was an All Star 4 times in his career, and his best MVP finish was 4th (1968).  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1968.

I mailed to Horton on September 16 and got the cards back on September 28, for a 12-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $10/card.

TTM Success - Jim Rice

I decided to push a little bit harder with the 1987 set, mostly because I have two boxes of them, and need to find something to do with all of these extra cards.  I spent the money on finally adding Jim Rice to my list of TTM successes.

I already have Rice's autograph on a ball for my HOF collection, but I figured at $10/card, it wasn't a bad idea to add him to my autograph album as well.  Also, I will forever remember searching the two boxes with my son Chris for just one card, the above All Star version.  We finally found this one in the last row of the second box.  Full disclosure, though, I went into my boxes a couple weeks later and found one almost immediately.

Rice (b. 1953) played in the majors from 1974 to 1989 for the Red Sox.  He had 2,452 hits, 382 home runs and a .298 batting average.  He led the league in home runs in 1977 (39), 1978 (46) and 1983 (39).  He led the league in RBI in 1978 (139) and 1983 (126).  He had over 30 home runs 4 seasons and over 100 RBI in 8 seasons.  He batted over .300 in 7 seasons.  Rice was the AL MVP in 1978.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2009, his 15th and final year of eligibility and received 76.4% of the vote.

I mailed to Rice on September 16 and got the cards back on September 25, for a 9-day TAT.  He charges a fee of $10/card, and will only accept cash.

TTM Success - Bill Swaggerty

It's always nice getting in a TTM success from a former Oriole.  This success from Bill Swaggerty was really cool, especially because had I kept the cards with me, I could have gotten them signed while I was in Baltimore.  Oops.  Could have saved two stamps!

Still, I got the three cards signed, which included the 1985 Topps at the top of the page, the 1986 Donruss (left) and 1985 Fleer (right).

Swaggerty (b. 1956) played in the majors from 1983 to 1985 for the Orioles.  He had a career record of 4-3 with an ERA of 4.76 and 28 strike outs.

I mailed to Swaggerty on September 14 and got the cards back on September 23, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jim Walewander

Sometimes, when you send out a TTM request, the player will send their own cards along with what you sent.  This happened early on for me, when Virgil Trucks sent me a couple signed cards along with my baseball.  I wasn't expecting an extra card from Jim Walewander, I was just hoping the second time sending would be a charm since the first address didn't work.

Walewander sent this awesome art card along with the cards I sent, and it looks really cool!

I used the request to add some late 80s Topps cards to my album like this 1988.  I have a ton of cards from 1988, but the box was at the bottom of my stack of Topps boxes, so this set is often overlooked.

I sent out a 1990 CMC (top left) that I found in a box that Mom rescued from the attic, and the top right 1989 Pro Cards minor league card came out of a box that my wife got me a long time ago for my birthday.

Walewander (b. 1962) played in the majors in 1987, 1988, 1990 and 1993 for the Tigers, Yankees and Angels.  He had a 52 hits, one home run and a .215 batting average.

I mailed to Walewander on September 14 and got the cards back on September 23, for a 9-day TAT.  This was my second attempt, as his listed address has changed.

TTM Success - Mike Cubbage

I was able to add some nice older cards to my autograph album with this TTM success from Mike Cubbage.  I really liked this 1981 Topps, mainly due to the coloring on the card, but also at the face Cubbage is making in his photo.

The 1978 and 1980 that I sent came out of a box that I got from the Columbia antique shop.  Both cards were really nice; I'm digging that old school Twins helmet.

Finally, here is a 1982 Topps with Cubbage as a Met.  All of the cards turned out really nice.

Cubbage (b. 1950) played in the majors from 1974 to 1981 for the Rangers, Twins and Mets.  He had 503 hits, 34 home runs and a .258 batting average.

He also managed the Mets for 7 games in 1991, leading them to a 3-4 record (.429%).

I mailed to Cubbage on September 11 and got the cards back on September 23, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - Scott Leius

I had a bunch of Scott Leius cards to choose from for this TTM success, and I'm happy with my selections that I sent out.  The above 1994 Collector's Choice turned out really well.  I like the Metrodome cameo in the background.

This 1993 Select also turned out really well.  I love horizontal cards, and this one looks good.

The 1991 Gold Leaf rookie looks better than the scan.  I also was able to add a 1995 Topps.

Leius (b. 1965) played in the majors from 1990 to 1996 and 1998 to 1999 for the Twins, Indians and Royals.  He had 375 hits, 28 home runs and a .244 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Twins in 1991.

I mailed to Leius on September 11 and got the cards back on September 23, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - Trever Miller

I had Trever Miller's cards in my box for a long time before I finally got around to mailing to him.  I'm not sure what took me so long, but I'm glad I finally got around to sending these out.  His cards cover a wide range of years, beginning with this 1992 Pinnacle.

I also had this 1991 Classic Best that was in one of my boxes.  I don't think I have gotten any other cards from this set signed.  I remember way back when thinking that the Classic Minor League cards would be worth a lot.  It has just taken me 26 years to fully apperciate a minor league card, now that I'm graphing.

Finally, here are the two Topps cards that I was able to find in my boxes.  I'm glad I found the 2011 Topps, as I don't have many of those around to get signed at all. 

Miller (b. 1973) played in the majors in 1996, 1998 to 2000 and 2003 to 2011 for the Tigers, Astros, Phillies, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Devil Rays/Rays, Cardinals and Red Sox.  He had a career record of 18-17 with 434 strike outs and an ERA of 4.18.

I mailed to Miller on September 2 and got the cards back on September 23, for a 21-day TAT.