TTM Success - Tim Conroy

The 1987 Topps cards being added to the signed set are slowing down. I need something like 40 or so more to complete the set, and am down to some tough ones. I was able to get Tim Conroy via a private signing on SCN recently, which crossed him off of my list. 

Conroy (b. 1960) played in the majors in 1978 and from 1982 to 1987 for the A's and Cardinals.  He had a record of 18-32 with 307 strike outs and a 4.69 ERA.

I mailed to the signing on April 13 and got the card back on June 14, for a 62-day TAT.

October 2, 2023, Brooks Robinson Memorial

On Monday, I had the privilege of being able to attend the memorial to Brooks Robinson that was open to the public at Camden Yards.  I was able to take off of work and be in Baltimore for the service, which was really nice.

There were a bunch of former Orioles, Hall of Famers, current Orioles and fans there to remember Brooks.  Boog Powell was the last former player to speak, saying "I'm not good at saying goodbyes so I'll see you on the field again someday.  I love you, my friend. I miss you."

The speakers (seated, with Boog at the podium) were, from left: Jim Kaat, Joe Torre, Cal Ripken, Brooks David Robinson, Boog Powell, Scott Garceau, Eddie Murray and Doug Decinces.  Brooks's grandchildren, Brooks and Grant Farley also spoke.

Cal gave an emotional speech, breaking down and crying when he got to the end while saying how much he would miss Brooks.

Eddie Murray also gave a really good speech.  This was the most I've ever heard Eddie talk, and there were some really good stories.  One about how he and Brooks's daughter Diana bonded over video games and picked her up from her house to go to the video arcade and play games (and apparently when she neglected to tell her dad that the then 21-year old was coming to pick up the much younger Diana to go out).  It was a very funny story told by Murray.

Given the circumstances, I don't want to say that I enjoyed the event, but I was glad I was able to be there.  The weather was beautiful. Tears were shed.  Scott Garceau put it well "I'm sure we are all here for the same reason, we all love Brooks Robinson."

October 1, 2023, Graphing of Red Sox at Orioles

Sunday morning, I jumped in the car and headed north.  I stopped along the way to pick up my friend, Alex.  We went on to Baltimore with the intention to get to the Brooks Robinson memorial scheduled for Monday.  Since it was scheduled for Monday morning, I booked a hotel and checked into some Orioles tickets.  I got some for Sunday's game against the Red Sox; the final game of the regular season. 

I brought some cards with me, but wasnt stressing too hard about trying to rack while graphing.  I did want to be prepared, and it worked out.  Inside the stadium pregame, I got DL Hall by the dugout.  I was glad i was able to get someone to get me on the board.

My mood was a bit somber since I was still upset over the loss of Brooks.  His number was hung from the warehouse in tribute, which was nice. 

There was an usher standing at Brooks's statue inside the stadium.  She took my photo in front of the statue for me.  I don't own a Brooks jersey, so I wore the first jersey that I bought in Baltimore back in 2005, my Brian Roberts jersey.

After the game, Alex and I sent to the home plate plaza entrance to try to get Jim Palmer.  We did get to speak to Palmer, but he wouldn't sign for us.  On any other day, I might have followed Jim, as most graphers do and is normal to get him to sign.  I let him pass since he had a tough week.  I was able to get Trevor Story, which was a nice pickup.  I could have gotten a few more Red Sox, but I didn't spend a lot of time looking for their stuff.  This trip wasn't planned at the last minute, but maybe the next to last.

I also got Steve Melewski on the 2007 Topps above. I read his blog, and had gotten Roch Kubatko a while back.  Steve was surprised that I asked him for his autograph and said after he signed it "now it is worth less than it was 30 seconds ago."

Alex and I didn't have anywhere we really needed to be after the game, so we hung out a while talking with the other two graphers out at the home plate entrance.  We heard the kids who were hanging out near the Oriole player lot yelling for Gunnar Henderson.  Surprisingly, he stopped for them and signed autographs out of his truck.  I got my Topps Now card signed, and Alex got my baseball signed for me.  He had also gotten a ball signed by Alex Verdugo earlier.  I let him keep that ball since they share the same first name.

In all, we got the following autographs: DL Hall x 1, Gunnar Henderson x 2, Trevor Story x 1, Steve Melewski x 1 and Alex Verdugo x 1 (6 total autographs).

TTM Success - Bill Zepp

Another 1971 Topps got signed TTM and put into my autograph album when this return from Bill Zepp came in.  This cars turned out nicely, as well.

Zepp (b. 1946) played in the majors from 1969 to 1971 for the Twins and Tigers.  He had a record of 10-5, 81 strike outs and a 3.64 ERA.  I mailed to Zepp on June 1 and got the card back on June 12 for an 11-day TAT. 

Another TTM Success From Bill Mazeroski

Here is another card signed by Hall of Famer, Bill Mazeroski.  I had found the card in my boxes from Conrad and figured I'd send it out to be signed.  The card turned out nice.  It's a 1971 Topps that was in decent enough shape.  Those cards are hard to keep in mint condition due to the black borders.

I mailed to Mazeroski on June 1 and got the card back on June 10, for a 9-day TAT. I paid his $10.00 fee.

TTM Success - David Aardsma

These David Aardsma cards sat in my "to be TTMed" box for a very long time.  Once mailed, they were out there for a long time, as well.  They finally came back signed, and turned out great.  Above is a 2004 Topps.

Here are a 2010 Topps, 2011 Topps and a 2005 Fleer Ultra.  

Aardsma (b. 1981) played in the majors in 2004, from 2006 to 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015 for the Giants, Cubs, White Sox, Red Sox, Mariners, Yankees, Mets and Braves.  He had a record of 16-18 with 340 strike outs and a 4.27 ERA.

I mailed to Aardsma on April 19, 2021, and got the cards back on June 6, 2023, for a 778-day TAT.

TTM Success - Nick Ahmed

These cards came back signed TTM from Nick Ahmed.  I had sent to Diamondbacks Spring Training.  The above 2021 Panini Mosaic blue parallel turned out great.  These were really nice cards that I ended up with a lot of.  I was glad to get this one signed and into my album.

I also got a 2011 Bowman Chrome, 2017 Topps and a 2022 Topps signed.

Ahmed (b. 1990) has played in the majors since 2014 for the Diamondbacks.  He has 678 hits, 70 home runs and a .234 batting average.  He was a Gold Glove Award winner in 2018 and 2019.

I mailed to Ahmed on February 14 and got the cards back on June 6 for a 112-day TAT.