July 13-18, 2021 Graphing of Delmarva Shorebirds at Down East Wood Ducks

This just-completed series with the Delmarva Shorebirds might have been one where I was limited the most with what I could get signed.  Most of the Delmarva guys I had stuff for either moved up to Aberdeen or they were on the IL.  Plus, I had a lapse in my planning and missed that Dave Anderson had a ton of cards.  That ended up helping, because I was able to spread out looking for Anderson stuff over several of the games, and still got a good bit of stuff signed.

The biggest highlight was that I was finally able to get a Luisangel Acuna signed for myself.  Everything else that I have gotten has been for other people, and this custom that was part of a 50/50 from Instagram afforded me the opportunity to add one to my album.  Yes, Acuna is related to Ronald Acuna, Jr.  He is Ronald's little brother, and has really come on strong with the bat recently.

I got a good many of the customs done, which was nice.  A few were of guys I haven't gotten yet, and I am also happy to add another Cody Freeman to the album.

There's no problem with another Thomas Saggese in the album.  Hudson Haskin was the only Shorebird that I had cards of, other than the below Ryne Ogren Delmarva team card below.  I was bummed that Carter Baumler and Anthony Servideo were on the IL.

I had actually missed this Ogren in my box, but thankfully the 6-game series helped me be able to get everything done.

It also helped me have time to look through a ton of boxes in order to pull every Dave Anderson card I could find.  I'm sure that a few of these sets are very under-represented in my autograph album.

I was able to get Anderson's full run of Topps cards signed.  I wasn't going to go for the 87, since it was already crossed off in my set, but upon further review, I upgraded from black to blue with this one.  So, I now have an Anderson (in black) available for trade.

Anderson was really nice.  You can get him talking, and he is very interactive with fans.  I enjoyed that I was able to talk with him as much as I did.

Finally, my keen eye noticed the little league team in line ahead of me on Thursday.  I was looking at the names on the backs of the shirts, because each kid had a nickname, and noticed that the coach was listed as Mike Devereaux.  I saw the coach and knew he looked familiar, because of all the time I spent studying the 90s Orioles lineups when I was a kid.  So, I walked up to their coach and asked "Mike Devereaux, the former Oriole?"  He said, "Yes, I am!", so I thanked him for all of the years as an Oriole and how I was a big fan of the team.

Devereaux was very awesome and posed for a photo.  He also signed a pocket schedule, since, of course, all of my Devereaux cards were at home.  It was a really good series, even though I didn't get as much signed as I maybe could have.

A Whole Bunch of Autos From Gerard

My good friend, Gerard, hooked me up with a ton of autos in a recent package.  He knocked 5 cards off of my 1987 set, including this Charlie Leibrandt.  I joined a private signing with Leibrandt a while back and the promoter lost my cards, so I got screwed on that.  I

I'll never use those folks again.

He also knocked off Alfredo Griffin, who for some reason I have missed on several private signings.  I sent TTM to Ray Fontenot, but never got anything back, and also Curt Wilkerson and Domingo Ramos.

Gerard also saw Mickey Tettleton at a recent Cape Cod League game.  He knew in advance, so I was able to send him some cards.  They all turned out great.  This 1994 Upper Deck really looks good.  That really might be an underrated set, in my opinion.  The cards tend to look really sharp when signed.

These Tettletons also turned out great.  I especially like the 1993 Topps Finest.  Those cards really look amazing when signed, especially in person.

I rarely get the opportunity to get any 2001 Heritage signed, as I don't have many, but this one of Tom Goodwin really looks good.  I love Heritage and this one really will look cool in my album.

Gerard also got me a few other Goodwins signed; just a few randoms that I found in my boxes.

He also got me Max Rajcic from the Cape League on a coupld Stars and Stripes.

My green parallels turned out really great.  I was super happy he was able to get Triston Casas for me, since I missed him.  The Feltman also looks awesome.

Finally, Gerard finished off a bunch of cards I had sent him for Portland.  I was glad to be able to get him a few Hudson Potts cards once he got with the Red Sox.  Along with all of these other guys.

Thanks so much for the cards, Gerard!

TTM Success - Andrew Abbott

These Panini American Pride cards look really great.  I hate that this TTM success that I got back from Andrew Abbott had such a bad marker used, but the card is still signed and will still go into my album.  I prepped the card, but I think it was just a dying marker that he used.

Abbott (b. 1999) was a 2nd round pick by the Reds in the 2021 July Amateur Draft out of the University of Virginia.  He probably will start his pro career at Low A ball, since he was a college pitcher, but that is, of course, up to the Reds.

I mailed to Abbott on January 20 and got the card back signed, along with a note on March 5, for a 44-day TAT.

TTM Success - David Huff

Here are some nice cards that I got signed TTM from David Huff.  They had been hanging around in my boxes for a long time, and finally got out and put into my albums.  I really liked the 2009 Topps Heritage.  The card turned out really well, and the design is a classic.

Huff also signed a 2006 Bowman gold parallel, 2010 Topps and a 2010 Topps Heritage.

Huff (b. 1984) played in the majors from 2009 to 2016 for the Indians, Yankees, Giants, Dodgers and Angels.  He had a career record of 25-30 with 234 strike outs and a 5.17 ERA.

I mailed to Huff on January 23 and got the cards back on March 5, for a 41-day TAT.

TTM Success - Joe Palumbo

Former Wood Duck Joe Palumbo signed a few cards for me TTM through Rangers Spring Training.  This 2020 Panini Select was the key to the TTM request, and the card looks awesome.  I really like this design, and the cards look really great in my album.

I also got a 2020 Donruss base and a foil signed; the foil is on the right.

Palumbo (b. 1994) was a 30th round pick by the Rangers in the 2013 June Amateur Draft out of St. John the Baptist High School in New York.  He made his debut for the Rangers in 2019, and also pitched for them in 2020.  He has a record of 0-4 with 26 strike outs and a 9.47 ERA.

I mailed to Palumbo on February 9 and got the cards back on March 4, for a 23-day TAT.

TTM Success - Kris Bubic

The first 2021 Topps that I was able to get signed was actually this one that came back from Royals Spring Training TTM from Kris Bubic.  I have gotten a few 2021s since, but this definitely was the first.  Bubic has a very slight signature, but it is there, I assure you.

Bubic (b. 1997) was a first round (40th overall) pick by the Royals in the 2018 June Amateur Draft out of Stanford.  He made his MLB debut in 2020 for the Royals and has also pitched this season.  He has a record of 3-10 with 97 strike outs and a 4.89 ERA.

I mailed to Bubic on February 16 and got the card back on March 4, for a 16-day TAT.

TTM Success - Tim Berry

Several cards came out of my Orioles box when I was able to get Tim Berry to sign for me TTM.  I had his stuff put aside for a while, hoping that I would have seen him at some point, but that never happened.  I had seen earlier in the year where someone got him TTM, so I dug a bunch of cards out and sent them along.

All of the cards turned out great.  The 2015 Pro Debut at the top of this post is probably my favorite of the bunch.  He also signed 2014 Bowman, 2014 Pro Debut, 2015 Heritage Minors and 2015 Bowman.

Berry (b. 1991) was a 50th round pick by the Orioles in the 2009 June Amateur Draft out of San Marcos High School in California.  He played in the minors from 2010 to 2018 in the Orioles, Marlins, Padres and Phillies systems.  He did reach AAA, but was unable to make the jump to the majors.  He had a career record of 36-50 with 636 strike outs and a 4.77 ERA.

I mailed to Berry on December 1 and got the cards back on March 2, for a 91-day TAT.