Set Pickup - Dan Quisenberry Auto

I had been looking for a Dan Quisenberry signed 1987 Topps for a long time, and finally found one for a reasonable price on Ebay.  His Sharpie wasn't too great on this card, but it is signed, and it crosses a tough one off of my list.

Quisenberry (b. 1953 - d. 1998) played in the majors from 1979 to 1990 for the Royals, Cardinals and Giants.  He had a career record of 56-46 with 379 strike outs, 244 saves and a 2.76 ERA.  He led the league in saves 5 times (1980 and 1982 to 1985).  He finished second in the AL Cy Young race twice (1983 and 1984) and third twice (1982 and 1985).  He finished third in the AL MVP race in 1984.  He won the World Series in 1985 with the Royals.

Quisenberry was a three-time All Star (1982, 1983 and 1984) and 5-time Rolaids Relief Award winner (1980 and 1982 through 1985).

He only appeared on one BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot, 1996, where he received only 3.8% of the vote.  I wonder if the writers knew then what they know now, would Quisenberry have gotten a better shake in the voting.

Quisenberry was diagnosed with a highly malignant brain tumor in January 1998 and passed away in September 1998 at the age of 45.

TTM Success - Bip Roberts

Bip Roberts is now on PastPros, so I sent off a 1987 Topps for my set and got it back signed.

Roberts (b. 1963) played in the majors in 1986 and from 1988 to 1998 for the Padres, Reds, Royals, Indians, Tigers and A's.  He had 1,220 hits, 30 home runs and a .294 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1992.  That season, he finished 8th in the NL MVP race.

I mailed to Roberts on April 15 and got the card back on April 28, for a 13-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $23.00.

Another TTM Success From Carl Erskine

Lately, with all of the TTMs that I have been sending out, I have had to double up on some guys that I have sent to in the past.  Partly because I'm trying to keep the mail coming in, and also because I want to continue to add some cool cards to my albums.  The above 2005 Topps All Time Fan Favorites card turned out really well.

I also sent a 2008 Donruss Threads and a 1992 Action Packed.  I remember the Action Packed cards, and realized that I actually like them.  They're kind of odd, but look pretty cool in my album.

I mailed to Erskine on April 20 and got the cards back on April 27, for a 7-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $5/card.

Another TTM Success From Whitey Herzog

I thought I was done sending cards to Whitey Herzog TTM, but I had completely forgotten he had been an Oriole, and he turned up in the 1991 Crown Orioles set.  I am not working on this set, but I am trying to get some of the cards signed.  Mostly, guys that are notable and also some of the older former players who may not have many cards to begin with.

The 1991 Crown was a big reason I sent to Herzog again, but I also had gotten this awesome 1961 Topps from my friend, Neil, around Christmas time, and I had also wanted to get it in my autograph album.  This card looks great, and I am glad I sent it along.

Finally, I had this 1960 Topps in my vintage box, and figured that since I was sending the other two cards, why not find another $5 and send this one, as well.

So, for a fee of $5/card, I sent these three off to Herzog and they all look great.

I mailed to Herzog on April 20 and got the cards back on April 27, for a 7-day TAT.

TTM Success - Rich Hand

Well, the autograph didn't show up all that well in the scan, but this 1973 Topps was signed TTM by former pitcher, Rich Hand in black ballpoint pen.

Hand (b. 1948) played in the majors from 1970 to 1973 for the Indians, Rangers and Indians.  He had a career record of 24-39 with 278 strike outs and a 4.01 ERA.

I mailed to Hand on April 1 and got the card back on April 27, for a 26-day TAT.

TTM Success - John Hale

I added some late 70s cards to my album with this TTM success from John Hale.  The above 1978 Topps is a nice example of an airbrushed photo, as Hale had spent the previous season with the Dodgers.  I think they did a good job on the airbrushing, as opposed to some other cards I've seen.

The 1976 and 1979 Topps cards below are very similar, which I thought was kind of cool.

Hale (b. 1953) played in the majors from 1974 to 1979 for the Dodgers and Mariners.  He had 137 hits, 14 home runs and a .201 batting average.

I mailed to Hale on April 16 and got the cards back on April 25, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Rodney Scott

I had ROdney Scott's cards in my box for probably 4 years or more, but always put off mailing to him due to him having signing fees.  I finally had a few extra bucks and decided to send to him, so I could clear out some space in my box.

I sent along a 1981 Topps (above) and a 1979 Topps (below).  He used some weird colored marker; I guess you could say that is purple.

Still, the cards got signed, and they'll add something a little different to my album, which always helps.

Scott (b. 1953) played in the majors from 1975 to 1982 for the Royals, Expos, A's, Cubs and Yankees.  He had 504 hits, 3 home runs and a .236 batting average.  He led the NL in triples in 1980 with 13; that year he also had 63 stolen based.  He finished 22nd in the 1980 NL MVP race.

I mailed to Scott on April 8 and got the cards back on April 25, for a 17-day TAT.  I paid a fee through PastPros of $17/card.  Had I known that the signatures wouldn't look all that great, I probably would have put it off even longer.  Oh well.