More From Eddie Robinson

Yesterday I got two really cool packages in the mail.  The first was my membership renewal package for the Pearl Jam Fan Club (AWESOME!) and the second was the book that I ordered from Eddie Robinson when I sent him the check for his TTM auto.

I'm currently reading Eight Men Out, but once that is done, I'll read this book.  I thumbed through some of the pictures yesterday and I am really eager to start this book.

I was happy to see that Mr. Robinson inscribed the book.  The inscription reads as follows: "For your love of the game.  I hope you like my story.  Best wishes, Eddie Robinson."

Really nice inscription from Mr. Robinson.  I hope I do enjoy his book and I hope I get a chance to tell him so.

Something Cool From the Estate Auction

I know several Dodger fans who will enjoy this next post.  One of the coolest things I picked up from the online estate auction (you know, the one where I got the Early Wynn and Lou Boudreau signed baseballs) is the below pennant from the grand opening of Dodger Stadium.

I got this for a steal.  I saw several of these going for $175 on Ebay and let's just say I got this for a fraction of that!

I saw it among the listings in the auction and I figured it would be a cool addition to the man cave or maybe even flip at a later time for a HOF signed ball or something.  We'll see.  I just think it is pretty awesome.

Construction began on Dodger Stadium in 1959 and was completed in 1962.  The pennant comes from the Grand Opening celebration, April 9, 1962, that was held for officials and the community the day before Opening Day 1962 where the Dodgers would face the Cincinnati Reds.  Dodger Stadium is now the third oldest ballpark in the majors behind Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.

TTM Success - Eddie Robinson

I finally got another TTM success after taking some time off from it recently.  I haven't sent any off in a good while, mainly because I have run out of ideas as to who I should send to. One of the last ones I sent off was to Eddie Robinson and I finally got my ball back yesterday.

I mailed to Robinson (b. 1920) on May 31, 2012 and got my ball back on November 4, 2012.  One of the reasons for the delay was that I failed to send any money with my ball.  About a month ago, I got a letter from Robinson asking for a donation of $10 for the signature and an ad for his book.  I sent two separate checks, one for the book and one for the autograph and got the signed ball back yesterday.

But wait!  That's not all!  In addition to the baseball, he also sent a signed index card and two signed baseball cards!  Awesome!

Robinson played in the majors from 1942, 1946-1957 for the Indians, Senators, White Sox, A's (two separate stints, one with the Philadelphia A's and later with the Kansas City A's), Tigers and Orioles.  He had 1,146 career hits, 172 home runs and an average of .268.  He was a key member of the 1948 World Champion Indians.  Funny, I have gotten two signed baseballs from players who were on that team just a few days apart from one another.  Eddie Robinson and Al Rosen are the only surviving members of the 1948 Indians.

Robinson is my 65th TTM success.  I need some assistance in figuring out my next batch of TTMs.  I want to stick with my theme of old players because I enjoy looking into the past of the game and learning about these guys.  Current players are nice and all, but I would much rather correspond with these guys.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Lou Boudreau

Here is the second baseball I got from that online estate sale that I spoke about yesterday.  My 78th Hall of Famer, Lou Boudreau.

Boudreau has one of the crispest signatures for any Hall of Famer, in my opinion.  This signature is on a Bobby Brown OAL ball.

Boudreau (b. 1917 - d. 2001) played in the majors from 1938 to 1952 for the Indians and Red Sox.  He was the 1944 AL batting champion and 1948 AL MVP.  He led the league in doubles three times (each of those seasons hitting 45 doubles).  He won the World Series with the Indians in 1948.  He finished his career with 1,779 hits, 68 home runs and a .295 batting average and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1970 (his 10th ballot) with 77.3% of the vote.  At first glance, Boudreau doesn't appear to have the numbers to back up a Hall of Fame election, but as a shortstop, he was comparable to other shortstops who are in the Hall, namely, Travis Jackson and Phil Rizzuto.  Boudreau's numbers actually are strikingly similar to those of Jackson.

Something really cool about Boudreau is that he was a player/manager for the Indians from 1942 to 1950 (thus winning the World Series in '48 as a player AND a manager) and for the Red Sox from 1952 to 1954.  He also managed the Kansas City Athletics from 1955 to 1957 and the Cubs is 1960.  He had a career managerial record of 1,162-1,224 (.487 winning percentage) with one World Series title.

Now, I am about to make you all sick.  Baseballs signed by Boudreau usually go for $75-$80.  I got this one for $21.  Not bad, if you ask me.  I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for more estate auctions, that's for sure.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Early Wynn

It has been quite a while since I have been able to add Hall of Fame signed baseballs to my collection.  I have been really busy with work and have been knocking out cards from my want list.  However, I checked out an ad on the side of my Facebook (most of which are scams, but this one turned out to be legit) for an online estate auction and I was not disappointed.  I ended up spending approximately $120 on two signed baseballs, a signed 8x10 for my son's birthday and a vintage pennant.

The first signed baseball, which is my 77th Hall of Famer, is signed by former pitcher Early Wynn.  Wynn (b. 1920 - d. 1999) played in the majors from 1939, 1941-1944 and 1946-1963 for the Senators, Indians and White Sox.  He had a career record of 300-244, 2,334 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.54.  He was the winner of the 1959 AL Cy Young Award and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972, his third year on the ballot, with 76.0% of the vote.

I'm really happy to add the Wynn ball to my collection.  He has a really awesome signature.  The ball is a Bobby Brown OAL baseball and still has the original box.  Wynn's signature on a ball usually goes for around $115 to $120, but I was able to get this one from the estate auction for $45.  Very awesome!  Stay tuned for the next signed ball that I got from the auction.

More Cards on COMC.com

I hope everyone takes a look at the new cards I added for sale on COMC.com.  This time around, I added less high-end stuff in hopes of clearing out some of my boxes and maybe flipping them for Orioles cards.  There's a bunch of A&G minis and Topps Gold parallels that I added, so hopefully some of you need them for your respective PCs.  Go ahead, take a look:

http://www.comc.com/Users/wregenthal

The Orioles Are Beginning to Bring Home Some Hardware

The 2012 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards have just been announced and the three nominated Orioles won for their respective categories.

Adam Jones won his second Gold Glove (last winning in 2009) in Center Field.

Matt Wieters won his second Gold Glove (he won it last year) for Catcher.  Is it not ridiculous that Wieters has yet to have a Topps card?

Finally, J. J. Hardy took home his first Gold Glove at Shortstop.  He is the first Orioles shortstop to win the award since Cal Ripken did it in 1992.  It has been that long?  Jeez.

Anyway, there you have it, the three nominated Orioles took home some awards.  I anticipate one more award being handed out to an Oriole, a Manager of the Year Award to Buck Showalter.  I believe that award will be announced next week.