TTM Success - Rosey Grier

This really nice 2001 Topps Archives of Rosey Grier turned up in one of the boxes I got from my former LCS when it closed.  I thought it looked cool, so I looked Grier up and saw that he signs TTM for a fee through his foundation.  I got the card back signed, along with a note thanking me for my donation.  I was really happy with how the card looks.

Grier (b. 1932) celebrates a birthday today, July 14.  He played in the NFL from 1955 to 1966 for the Giants and Rams.  He was a first-team All Pro 8 times and second-team All Pro 6 times.  He was a third round (31st overall) draft pick out of Penn State in 1955.  He was an NFL Champion with the Giants in 1956.

After his football career ended, he would go on to become a bodyguard for Senator Robert Kennedy during Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign.  He was guarding Ethel Kennedy when Robert was shot.  He subdued the shooter and took control of the gun.  Grier also acted (mostly television) and sang.

I mailed to Grier on February 10 and got the card back on March 2, for a 20-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $30.00.

TTM Success - Chris Hoiles

This 1994 Triple Play Medalists card has kind of become an old friend, as far as signed cards go.  I worked to get the card filled with autographs, and finally finished it when I saw a private signing with Chris Hoiles pop up.

I didn't think it would take long to fill the card, then the Orioles canned Fan Fest... Then COVID happened.  I figured Hoiles would be an easy signature.

So, I waited and finally, a private signing came up.  I sent the medalists card, as well as this 1991 Crown Orioles.  Both look great, and I can finally let that medalists card rest in my album.  Now, I just need to figure out which album I took it out of in the first place.

Hoiles (b. 1965) played in the majors from 1989 to 1998, all for the Orioles.  He had 739 hits, 151 home runs and a .262 batting average.  He finished 16th in the 1993 AL MVP race.

I mailed to the signing on January 2 and got the cards back on March 1, for a 58-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $24.00.

July 10, 2021, Graphing Recap of Hillcats at Mudcats

A snap decision to take a look at the Lynchburg Hillcats while they were in Zebulon facing the Mudcats led me to almost missing getting several cards signed.  I had a couple guys send me Lynchburg cards to get signed as a 50/50 just in case I saw them, and I had some put aside from 2020 and 2021 Bowman.  I missed the guys I had pulled back in 2018 and 2019 and put aside in a Carolina League graphing box that I had put together.  Thankfully, about 15 minutes before we left for Zebulon, I remembered that I had that stash of cards.  I got them all prepped and into my snap case in time to leave for the game, then loaded them into my books for pre-game.  One of the cards was the above 2018 Bowman Chrome gold refractor of Lenny Torres.

The day actually called for a double header, and I came only armed with Hillcats cards in three books; me; my son, Chris and my friend, Tyler.  We were able to finish up everyone by the start of the second game, which was great, because it was super hot and humid out there.  We ended up leaving halfway though the second game since we were really tired and thirsty (and didn't want to continue to pay $6.00 for bottled soda).

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish off some of the cards, since this would be the only time I would see the Hillcats.  Luckily, none of the players limited, and we were able to see all of the ones I had brought cards for.  Daniel Espino was especially nice, signing everything that each of us had, and also carrying on lengthy conversations with each grapher he came into contact with.

I had a whole bunch of different Espino cards, and I was really happy with how they all turned out.

I was worried that I would miss Petey Halpin.  He walked by before the first game and said he would come back.  Turned out, he meant he would come back after the first game.  He did, and signed everything we had.

Finally, we were able to get Josh Wolf, who also was really nice, and talkative.  The whole group of Hillcats that we saw were all super nice and talkative.

We ended up getting: Espino x 21, Christian Cairo x 5, Petey Halipn x 4, Korey Holland x 3, Gabriel Rodriguez x 2, Lenny Torres x 6, Yordys Valdez x 3 and Josh Wolf x 10, or a total of 54 signatures.

TTM Success - Eric Yang

This 2019 Bowman Draft card of Eric Yang really turned out well when it came back signed TTM.  I only pulled one card of him, but it was worth sending.

Yang (b. 1998) was a 7th round pick by the Reds in the 2019 June Amateur Draft out of UC-Santa Barbara.  He has played in two seasons in the Reds system (2019 and 2021), reaching High A.  He has 71 hits, 6 home runs and a .251 batting average over those two seasons.

I mailed to Yang on January 6 and got the card back on March 1, for a 54-day TAT.

TTM Success - Anthony Bass

There were more Anthony Bass cards in my boxes, I know it, but I couldn't find them.  So, these two were the only ones I sent out to him at Spring Training.  The came back looking nice, and I was glad to add another Spring Training TTM success to my album.  I normally do pretty bad with Spring Training (and this year was no exception), but I do get excited when I DO get some back.

Bass (b. 1987) played in the majors from 2011 to 2015 and 2015 to now for the Padres, Astros, Rangers, Cubs, Mariners, Blue Jays and Marlins.  He has a career record of 10-21 with 297 strike outs and a 4.32 ERA.

I mailed to Bass via Marlins Spring Training on February 11 and got the cards back on March 1, for an 18-day TAT.

TTM Success - Nick Wittgren

My first Spring Training success of 2021 turned out to be a really nice one.  This 2020 Topps Stars and Stripes parallel turned out really great when I got it signed TTM from Nick Wittgren.  He signed it in gold Sharpie, which really makes it look cool.

Wittgren (b. has played in the majors from 2016 to now for the Marlins and Indians.  He has a record of 18-8 with 237 strike outs and a 3.53 ERA.

I mailed to Wittgren on February 11 and got the card back on March 1, for an 18-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chad Hutchinson

These older Bowman cards look really nice when they come back signed TTM.  I got this 2003 Bowman back from Chad Hutchinson recently, and it turned out really well.  His current signature looks a lot like the facsimile signature used on the original card, which is kind of funny.

Hutchinson (b. 1977) was a first round pick (26th overall) by the Braves in the 1995 June Amateur Draft out of high school, but chose to go to Stanford instead.  He was then drafted by the Cardinals in the second round of the 1998 June Amateur Draft.  He made the majors in 2001 with the Cardinals and pitched in 3 games.  He was 0-0 with 2 strike outs and a 24.75 ERA, and was out of organized baseball after that.

I mailed to Hutchinson on November 17 and got the card back on March 2, for a 104-day TAT.