1987 Topps Set Pickup - Chet Lemon

This is my most recent pickup for my signed 1987 Topps set, a Beckett certified Chet Lemon.  I jad recently read an article about how Lemon has suffered a series of strokes, so I grabbed this one off of Ebay.  The article was really good and explained why folks hadn't heard much out of Lemon for some time now.  His wife wanted to let fans know, since there are plans to have Lemon at an upcoming Tigers game commemorating the 1984 World Series Champion Tigers.

Lemon (b. 1955) played in the majors from 1975 to 1990 for the White Sox and Tigers.  He had 1,875 hits, 215 home runs and a .273 batting average.  He was a three-time All Star (1978, 1979 and 1984).  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1984.  He appeared on the 1996 Hall of Fame ballot but received only 0.2% of the vote. 

I like having my set in an album, but I don't want to crack this case.  I'll probably put an unsigned Lemon in the album with a slip of paper saying "see graded card" or something like that.

TTM Success - Dave Meier

Here is a quick TTM success that I got from Dave Meier on a 1985 Topps card.

The card turned out nicely after sitting in the to-be-TTMed box for a few years.  I finally got around to sending it out.

Meier (b. 1959) played in the majors in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988 for the Twins, Rangers and Cubs.  He had 70 hits, 1 home run and a .253 batting average.

I mailed to Meier on July 15 and got the card back on August 13, for a 29-day TAT.

1987 Topps Set Pickup - Steve Bedrosian

Another signed 1987 Topps was added to set off of Facebook recently when I grabbed this Steve Bedrosian for cheap.

Bedrosian (b. 1957) played in the majors from 1981 to 1991 and from 1993 to 1995 for the Braves, Phillies, Giants and Twins.  He had a record of 76-79 with 921 strike outs and a 3.38 ERA.

I've got one more new 1987 Topps that I picked up, which I will show soon.

Another TTM Success From Chris Volstad

Back in 2019, I got a TTM success from Chros Volstad on several cards.  I finally sent to him again once I picked up a 2006 Greensboro Grasshoppers team set.  Volstad was in the set, and the card looked really nice.  It looks even better now that it is signed.  I bought one of the sets for my friend, Michael as well, since Orioles manager, Brandon Hyde is also in there. Hopefully Michael can get that card signed.

I found these other cards of Volstad when I sent.  I had forgotten that I got him back in 2019, so the 2009 Allen and Ginter is a duplicate, except the previous one he signed was in black. The 2012 Topps turned out well, also.

I mailed to Volstad on May 24 and got the cards back on August 12, for an 80-day TAT.

Set Complete - 2024 Topps

My friend, Jordan, hooked me up with the last card I needed to complete my 2024 Topps set.  The final card was this Yoshinobu Yamamoto rookie card.  Jordan was generous enough to give me the card, even though I give him a hard time for seeing his cards for graphing in top loaders mere seconds before they're signed.

My friend, Gerard also helped with the set, since I was short by maybe 10 or so after I busted my boxes.  It used to be easy for me to complete Topps sets, but boxes are harder to come by since Fanatics only cares about breakers anymore. Hobby boxes are allocated in short supply, so I'm stuck busting retail boxes.  Also, the collation was horrible this year. I'd open five boxes and get a ton of duplicates of the same 5 guys and didn't pull a single Yamamoto. Just go ahead and tell me that one was short printed.

Anyway, I loved this year's design; it is one of the better ones over the last 10 years or so.  Now I can sit and wait for next year's design to be revealed.  Thanks for helping me finish this set, Jordan and Gerard.

1987 Topps Set Pickup - Greg Minton

Finally, some more signed 1987 Topps will be added to the set in short order.  I've seen a couple folks giving up on their set endeavors and punting, so I've swooped in and grabbed a few guys that I needed.  The first is this Greg Minton that I got from a guy on Facebook.

I had written an email to Minton about a year ago, and got a response.  He said for me to send him a card and he would sign it.  The card never came back, so I bought this one and crossed Minton off of the list.

Minton (b. 1951) played in the majors from 1975 to 1990 for the Giants and Angels.  He had a career record of 59-65 with 479 strike outs, 150 saves and a 3.10 ERA.

Minton puts me at 756/792 for the set.  36 cards to go!

TTM Success - Dave Lemonds

While I work to catch up on posts, here's a TTM success from Dave Lemonds.  He signed a 1973 Topps in ballpoint pen.  The card looks nice.  I've gotten quote a few TTMs back recently, and some IP posts to get scanned; that'll keep me busy for a while.

Lemonds (b. 1948) played in the majors in 1969 and 1972 for the Cubs and White Sox. He had a record of 4-8 with 69 strike outs and a 2.99 ERA.

I mailed to Lemonds on August 5 and got the card back on August 12, for a 7-day TAT.