50-50 Returns From Jack

Recently, I began chatting with a guy in Texas named Jack who offered to take some Frisco guys for me.  That was awesome, because I had a bunch of leftover stuff that I wanted to get signed.  Jack took the cards and got a lot done for me.

He helped me get a Hickory team set card of Hever Bueno signed.  Also, a Wood Ducks cards of Nick Starr got finished.  The biggest help was when Jack got a number of Alex Speas out of my box.  I missed Speas, who never ended up playing for the Wood Ducks. He was injured a lot of his time with Hickory.  I was gladntonget some of the cards I had stockpiled signed and into the album.

Finally, Jack hooked me up with this 2020 Pro Debut of JP Martinez in a Woodies uniform.  My feelings on Martinez are well known, but I still wanted one of these signed since he was in the Wood Ducks jersey on the card.

Jack should have some more stuff for me soon; I can't wait to see what else he got taken care of for me. 

Nick Yorke Autos From Jacob

When Chris and I were in Portland, we met two brothers named Jacob and Justin who were very helpful in identifying players for us.  We got to talking and decided to help each other out by doing a team swap.

Jacob took the remaining Nick Yorke cards I had left and got them all signed for me at subsequent games after we left.  I got him a bunch of Wood Ducks stuff signed, so both of us got some stuff done.

I really appreciated Jacob helping me with the Yorke cards. These cards all have been out multiple times for graphing, so they had a lot of miles on them.  They're all finally done and can now be put away.

Some Autos From Josh and Matt

My Wood Duck friends, Josh and Matt, went up to Hickory a couple weeks ago while Hudson Valley was in town.  They took the cards I failed to get signed on my trip, split them, and got a few.signed for me.

I was really glad they were able to get Spencer Jones to sign, because he completely ignored Chris and I.  Folks at the Hudson Valley game we went to kept telling us how great a guy Jones was; I didn't see him interact with folks quite like I was told he would.  I later found out that he's a lot tougher to get to sign that I was originally led to believe.  So, my cards are signed and I don't have to worry about asking him again. 

I didn't see Antonio Gomez until just before the game started when we were there.  Drew Thorpe was the starter, so he wasn't signing pregame anyway.  Sergio Santos ignored Chris and I.  Then, of course, the game was cut short due to the storm thar rolled in, so we didn't get another chance to ask for signatures.  Thankfully, Josh and Matt both got these cards signed for me.

Josh also included a couple more custom cards he made from his and Matt's MLB The Show game.  These are some pretty unique customs.

Finally, Josh surprised me with an old card from his T-ball days.  I still can't understand why he signed across his face.  I gave him a hard time (all in good fun) for signing over his face.

Josh and Matt are good dudes.  Both have been instrumental in getting a lot of cards signed for me this season.  They've really embraced graphing and seem to enjoy it.

Thanks guys for taking these cards and getting them signed for me.  It takes a lot of the annoyance away from me having missed getting them done on my trip.

2023 Topps Free Signer - Jim Morrissey

The time has come for the final signer from the 2023 Naional, former Bear, Jim Morrissey.  He would have been a voucher I would have traded away in the past, but I didn't really make much of an effort to trade any vouchers this year.  So, I found some of Morrisey's cards and added them to my autograph album. 

Morrissey (b. 1962) played professionally from 1985 to 1993 for the Bears and Packers.  He had 9 interceptions for 52 yards in his career.  He was part of the 1985 Bears that won Super Bowl XX.

Over the next several posts, I'm going to catch up a bit on some incoming autographs from some buddies and knock a few TTMs off of the pile.  I'll circle back with a few more National posts shortly.

I've gotten a lot more comments recently than I have in a while. I read all of them and I appreciate them.  There isn't a reply feature that would notify folks if I respond to a comment, so if there are questions, just shoot me an email.  Thanks for reading.

2023 National Free Signer - Steve Trout

The next free signer at the National was Steve Trout, a guy who I had gotten as a free signer before at a National a few years ago.  I had a bunch of his cards put aside for a potential TTM at some point.  I had held off sending to him because I didn't want to pay a fee to send to someone I've already met.  I'm glad I waited, because I ended up with 6 of Trout's vouchers.

I got the above 1981 Topps signed, which turned out well 

I also got a 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1988 Topps signed.

The above 1989 Topps was one I found while locking for Jim Gantner cards prior to leaving for the show, and it turned out nicely, as well.

Trout is always fun to meet.  He's very friendly and seems to enjoy doing signings. I believe I have most of his Topps run signed, so that's a plus.

2023 National Free Signer - Bob Dernier

Bob Dernier was the next free signer on the last day of the National.  By the time I got through Dernier's line, most of the people had cleared out.  Still, I had two more signers to go after Dernier, but it was a far cry from earlier in the week.

I had sent all of my Dernier cards out to my friend, Max, in the past, so I picked these three cards up from the guy selling signer cards at the show.  I liked the above 1982 Topps Traded, even though I didn't realize it was a Traded until later on.

I also got a 1985 Topps and a 1985 Fleer signer by Dernier.

Dernier (b. 1957) played in the majors from 1980 to 1989 for the Phillies and Cubs.  He had 634 hits, 23 home runs and a .255 batting average.  He finished 17th in the 1984 NL MVP race abd won a Gold Glove that year.

2023 National Paid Signer - David Justice

The last paid signer for me at the National was David Justice.  He was a last minute addition to the show and also a last minute pickup for me.  I had this 1994 Collectors Choice checklist put aside in case I saw a signing with Justice pop up, so I went ahead and got it signed.

Justice (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1989 to 2002 for the Braves, Indians, Yankees and A's.  He had 1,571 hits, 305 home runs and a .279 batting average.  He was the 1990 NL Rookie of the Year and a three-time All Star (1993, 1994 and 1997).  His best MVP finish was 3rd in 1993.  He won the World Series in 1995 with the Braves and 2000 with the Yankees.  He was the 2000 ALCS MVP. Justice appeared on the 2008 Hall of Fame ballot, but received only 0.2% of the vote.

I had heard that Justice could be standoffish when meeting him, but he was actually really nice.  The guy photo bombing in the back had hijacked the line; talking (loudly) with Justice while we went through the line. We weren't really able to get a word in, and I think Dave realized that. He shook my hand hard and clapped his arm around me for the photo.  He is a big dude.  I'm really glad I went ahead and added the voucher to my list, as it was a good experience meeting him.