TTM Success - Ben Grieve

These cards took forever to get here, but after they did, I was glad to add them to my album.  The above 1994 Upper Deck looks really nice.  I like the yellow.

I really like the 2000 Topps HD.  Those are some really cool cards, and look awesome when signed.  Grieve also signed a 1998 Fleer Ultra and a 1999 Topps Gold Label.  Those Gold Label cards also look awesome.

Grieve (b. 1976) played in the majors from 1997 to 2005 for the A's, Devil Rays, Brewers and Cubs.  He had 864 hits, 118 home runs and a .269 batting average.  He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1998; he was also an All Star that season.

I mailed to Grieve on February 27, 2017, and got the cards back on June 25, 2020, for a 1,214-day TAT.

TTM Success - Dave Weathers

I had put these cards away after not seeing any successes from Dave Weathers for a while.  I found the cards again when I was going through a box, and checked to see if he had started signing again.  He was, so I sent these cards off.

The above 1995 Topps is a really good shot, and I was glad to get it signed.

I also got a 1994 Upper Deck, 1995 Fleer and 2008 Topps signed.

Weathers (b. 1969) played in the majors from 1991 to 2009 for the Blue Jays, Marlins, Yankees, Indians, Reds, Brewers, Cubs, Mets and Astros.  He had a career record of 73-88 with 976 strike outs and a 4.25 ERA.  He won the World Series with the Yankees in 1996.

I mailed to Weathers on June 13 and got the cards back on June 24, for an 11-day TAT.

TTM Success - Shawn Green

There have been a bunch of private signings that I have wanted to take part in, but this one that popped up for Shawn Green was once I was really excited about.

I had a ton of Green cards dating back to his debut that I have held onto for 20+ years.  So, when the signing came up, I had a ton to choose from.  The above 1995 Studio gold card really turned out awesome.  I loved these cards back in the day, and had even built this set.  The cards have all dissipated over the years, but I still had this Shawn Green.

I wished that this 1995 Score Select Certified Edition came out a bit better, but the card still looks great.  I can't really complain all that much.

Green (b. 1972) played in the majors from 1993 to 2007 for the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Mets.  He had 2,003 hits, 328 home runs and a .283 batting average.  He finished 5th in the 1995 AL Rookie of the Year voting, and his best MVP finish was 5th in 2002 (NL).  He was a 2-time All Star (1999 and 2002) and won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award in 1999.

Green appeared on the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot, but only received 0.4% of the vote.  This is most likely due to his connection to PEDs.

I mailed to the private signing on May 20 and got the cards back on June 23, for a 34-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $30.00/card.

TTM Success - Jeff Manship

I thought I had more of his cards, but this was the only card I could find of Jeff Manship.  This is a 2007 Bowman Chrome that he signed TTM for me.  It turned out better than the scan shows.

Manship (b. 1985) played in the majors from 2009 to 2016 for the Twins, Rockies, Phillies and Indians.  He had a record of 7-10 with 159 strike outs and a 4.82 ERA.

I mailed to Manship on June 13 and got the card back on June 23, got a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Nolan Sanburn

I waited a long time to get these cards signed, but once I was able to, I was super happy.  I had bought all of these cards from COMC when I saw that Nolan Sanburn would be coming to Kinston (I think it was with Potomac, but I don't remember).  The cards got here, but Sanburn was released before the series, so the cards stayed in my boxes and waited until I finally saw an address pop up.  I saw that he was signing, and jumped at the chance to get my stuff signed, finally.  Except, my cards had gotten separated somehow, and I couldn't find them all.  I found most of them right off, so I sent them TTM.  I then found the remaining cards, and Chris sent them off.  One of those, he gave back to me, but he used the rest, so they're all signed, now.

I had some pretty nice parallels to get signed, and they turned out great.  You can see why I really wanted to get them done.

Sanburn (b. 1991) was a second round pick by the A's in the 2012 June Amateur Draft out of the University of Arkansas.  He spent 6 seasons in the minors, reaching as high as AA.  He spent time in the A's, White Sox and Nationals systems.  He had a career record of 10-15 in the minors with 273 strike outs and a 3.89 ERA.

I mailed to Sanburn on June 13 and got the cards back on June 23, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jake Smolinski

A recurring theme has come up recently; I have really enjoyed getting cards out of my former "rookies box" that I used to keep up with.  I had started the box back when I got back into collecting in 2005, but it got to be a pain in keeping up with it, so once the box filled up, I left it alone.  It had come in handy, all it took was for me to find one Mike Trout rookie in there and sell it (before his prices went nuts, though).  Oh well.  Most of the guys in the box got a cup of coffee in the majors, or didn't appear at all, so the box has really become a nice tool to use to get some cards for TTMs.

I was glad to find this 2007 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Jake Smolinski in that box, so it was a nice card to be able to get signed.

I also got a 2017 Topps and 2017 Topps Gold signed.  Both turned out well.

Smolinski (b. 1989) played in the majors from 2014 to 2018 for the Rangers and A's.  He had 143 hits, 16 home runs and a .235 batting average.

I mailed to Smolinski on May 13 and got the cards back on June 23, for a 41-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jeff Harris

I was really happy to get these cards back from Jeff Harris. It was mainly because I really wanted to get a 2006 Upper Deck Epic card signed (and there is one shown below). I was also glad to get all three of these cards out of my box. 

I opened a few boxes of 06 Epic, which were very expensive. I sold off a lot of the cards, but a small handful survived several card shows and Ebay. Now, there is one in my album (along with the 2006 Topps and 2006 Flair Showcase).

Harris (b. 1974) played in the majors in 2005 and 2006 for the Mariners. He had a career record of 2-5 with 26 strike outs and a 4.26 ERA.

I mailed to Harris on April 25 and got the cards back on June 23, for a 59-day TAT.