Graphing the Carolina League All Star Game

A couple weeks ago, Chris and I traveled to Five County Stadium in Zebulon, NC to witness the Carolina League All Star Game.  There was an autograph session before the game, which provided us with an opportunity to get a ton of cards signed.

All Star sets were available in the Mudcats' team store, so I picked up a few.  I was able to get most of the cards signed, with the exception of three pitchers who weren't there, and a few of the Mudcats coaches.

The cards look really cool, and took up several pages in my binder.  There were several guys who didn't have any cards, so it was nice being able to add them to the album.

In all, I counted that Chris and I got 179 cards signed at the game.  That's not too bad.  We graphed the auto session, per-game, and also post-game.  We didn't try outside after the game, but I'm sure that we would have come away with some if we had.

I did stoop so low as to graph the mascot, but hey, Muddy is in the team set, so I had to get the card signed.

 The game was pretty good, but I spent a lot of the time tallking to my friends during the game.  THe Southern Division won 7-6, and Joel Booker was named the MVP.

Former Wood Ducks closer, CD Pelham, got the save in the Southern Division's win.

I only need a few more of the coaches in order to complete the set.  Well, I also need Tyler Mapes, but I have no idea how I am getting him.  I need to find someone who graphs the Harrisburg Senators.

Speaking of guys who are on the Senators now, I was able to get all of my Carter Kiebooms signed.  Except for the two team set cards I had from last year.  I forgot them at home.  So, I am definitely looking to get someone who sees Harrisburg to get them done.

The Kiebooms I got done all turned out nicely, though.  These two 2018s were really nice.  Kieboom commented on the Pro Debut insert saying that he hadn't seen that one before.

I had a few 50/50s that I had taken that I was able to wrap up at the game.  Tucker Neuhaus is always cool, so I was able to get a few done for Gerard, and he let me keep these two.

Getting Dylan Cease isn't always easy, so I was glad to get a couple extras done, in addition to my All Star set.

Finally, here are the last cards.  The Booker is from last year's South Atlantic League All Star set.  I picked it up when I was in Columbia a while back.

TTM Success - Steve Reed

This TTM success from Steve Reed was really cool because of something I will point out in a bit.  I had a bunch of his cards, and I was happy to see that he signed everything that I sent.  He has a really nice signature, as well.

What I found funny was that when I put all of the cards beside each other, I was able to create a pitching sequence showing Reed's delivery.  This was actually really cool.  Add in the 1993 Donruss above, and it enhances it even more.  I just thought that was something kind of cool that I was able to do using some 90s junk wax.

Finally, here is a 1994 Score.  This set was really nice when it came out, and still looks good.  Like all mid-90s cards, the over-gloss kills it now.  The gloss gets hot and will stick to the other cards and will sometimes create a brick of useless cardboard.  I have had to throw out a bunch of mid-90s stuff because of this.

Reed (b. 1965) played in the majors from 1992 to 2005 for the Giants, Rockies, Indians, Braves, Padres, Mets and Orioles.  He had a career record of 49-44 with 630 strike outs and a 3.63 ERA.

I mailed to Reed on March 26 and got the cards back on April 10, for a 15-day TAT.

TTM Success - Mike Birkbeck

Here are some more late 80s cards for my album in this TTM success from Mike Birkbeck.  I enjoyed this 1989 Topps, which turned out well.

In addition to my card for my 1987 Topps set, I also sent a couple late 80s Donruss cards.  They look pretty good, and I like both of those sets' designs.

Birkbeck (b. 1961) played in the majors from 1986 to 1989, 1992 and 1995 for the Brewers and Mets.  He had a career record of 12-19 with 149 strike outs and a 4.86 ERA.

I mailed to Birkbeck on March 16 and got the cards back on April 9, for a 24-day TAT.

TTM Success - Scott Terry

Another card for the 1987 set came in with this TTM success from Scott Terry.  I had send to him back in 2016, but never got my cards back.  I suspect that I sent to a wrong address, but nothing was ever returned.

Terry (b. 1959) played in the majors from 1986 to 1991 for the Reds and Cardinals.  He had a career record of 24-28 with 262 strike outs and a 3.73 ERA.

I mailed to Terry on March 26 and got the card back on April 9, for a 14-day TAT.

For The Set - Another TTM Success From Mark Thurmond

One of the early TTMs I sent out that missed a 1987 Topps was to Mark Thurmond.  I recently rectified that by sending out, and receiving this signed 1987 Topps.

I mailed it out to Thurmond on March 26 and got the card back on April 7, for a 12-day TAT,

TTM Success - Buddy Schultz

Again, I am behind on posts, so I wanted to try to get a few out over the next few days.  I have so many signed cards sitting on my desk, it had become a tad overwhelming.  An embarrassment of riches, I suppose.

I received a TTM success from Buddy Schultz recently that took up a few late 70s/early 80s cards.

Schultz signed the cards in a thin ballpoint pen, but the signature is still nice, and easy to see.

Schultz (b. 1950) played in the majors from 1975 to 1979 for the Cubs and Cardinals.  He had a 15-9 record with 193 strike outs and a 3.68 ERA.

I mailed to Schultz on March 30 and got the cards back on April 7, for an 8-day TAT.

Signed Cards From Michael

My friend, Michael, visited last month, and during his visit, we made a deal for some signed cards.  I have a surplus of IP autos that I have gotten, and was able to turn those into some nice cards for my album.  I don't have many relic cards in my album, so I wanted to take this Jay Gibbons off of his hands.

I added a few more 2018 Topps to the album with these three horizontal cards.  They all look really nice.

Michael was also nice enough to help me with my 1987 set.  I needed three of the four cards; I later found out that I had McGregor, but I will keep it anyway.

Finally, I was able to choose some random cards of his, and chose these six.  I thought they all looked nice, and some helped with various Topps years.

Thanks for the deal, Michael!