A Third TTM Success From Scott Bailes

While going through my boxes, I found even more cards of Scott Bales so I could send a third TTM request to him.  The cards I got back were all junk wax era cards, but there's nothing wrong with that.  Above is a 1990 Donruss that turned out nicely.

Above are cards from 1990 Fleer, 1992 Fleer, 1991 Score and 1988 Donruss.  Somewhere i have a partial 1990 Fleer set.  Who knows where that is.  Otherwise, I'd have a lot more of them in the autograph album. 

I mailed to Bailes on November 19 and got the cards back on December 6 for a 17-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Jim Vatcher

These cards were supposed to be posted yesterday (1/7), but the death of Brian Matusz had me not feeling like posting, so I didn't.  I may reflect on Matusz's passing later on; the emotions are still raw.  In the meantime, I will continue on as planned.  

So, here are some signed cards that I got back signed TTM from Jim Vatcher.  The cards are all staples of the junk wax era, but all also turned out well and look great in the album.  I especially enjoyed the above 1991 Score.  These are just sharp cards, and tend to look good when signed.

I also got a 1991 Topps, 1991 Upper Deck, 1992 Stadium Club and a 1991 Donruss signed.  They all turned out well.

Vatcher (b. 1965) played in the majors from 1990 to 1992 for the Phillies, Braves and Padres.  He had 27 hits, 1 home run and a .248 batting average.

I mailed to Vatcher on November 5 and got the cards back on November 20, for a 15-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jeff Schulz

Another TTM success with some Junk Wax era cards came back the same time as my Greg Cadaret success when these three cards came in from Jeff Schulz.  The above 1991 Score is a nice card. I like the white border on the card.

I also got a 1991 Upper Deck and a 1991 Donruss signed with this success. 

Schulz (b. 1961) played in the majors from 1989 to 1991 for the Royals and Pirates.  He had 19 hits, no home runs and a .244 batting average.

I mailed to Schulz on February 5 and got the cards back on February 20, for a 15-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Eric Gunderson

Some cards were removed from my junk wax box when I got this TTM success from Eric Gunderson.  With the boxes and boxes of this stuff that I have, it is hard to get them organized and sorted so I can send to players from this era.  So, I take what I can get, and removing some Gunderson cards helped.

I got cards from 1992 FLeer (top), 1990 Score Rookies and Traded (left), 1991 Score (middle) and 1991 Upper deck signed.

Gunderson (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1990 to 1992 and 1994 to 2000 for the Giants, Mariners, Mets, Red Sox, Rangers and Blue Jays.  He had a record of 8-11 with 137 strike outs and a 4.95 ERA.

I mailed to Gunderson on November 17 and got the cards back on January 25, for a 69-day TAT.

TTM Success - Adam Hyzdu

I had seen that Adam Hyzdu signed TTM and I had this 1991 Score all ready to go, then I saw that he was also in 2003 Topps, so I sent that along as well.  The above 91 Score looks great, I think.

I also really liked this 2003 Topps.  That's quite a span of years in cards.

Hyzdu (b. 1971) played in the majors 2000 to 2006 for the Pirates, Red Sox, Padres and Rangers.  He had 82 hits, 19 home runs and a .229 batting average.  He was a first round (15th overall) draft pick by the Giants in the 1990 June Amateur Draft.  He 1,703 games in the minors and had 1,642 hits, 273 home runs and a .276 batting average.

I mailed to Hyzdu on August 13 and got the cards back on October 10, for a 58-day TAT.

TTM Success - Wayne Edwards

I got a lot of junk wax era cards out of my box with this TTM success from Wayne Edwards.  I was surprised at all of the cards I found, and added some nice ones to my album.

I'm usually a Topps guy (and there is a Topps in the bunch, a 1991), but some of these other brands look really nice when signed.  Most aren't my first choice, but I was glad with how all of these turned out.

I've grown to like some of the older Bowman cards when they get signed.  These two are from 1991 (L) and 1990 (R).  These turned out really well with Edwards's signature.

Edwards (b. 1964) played in the majors from 1989 to 1991 for the White Sox.  He had a record of 5-5 with 84 strike outs and a 3.37 ERA.

I mailed to Edwards on May 21 and got the cards back on June 29, for a 39-day TAT.

TTM Success - Keith Miller

I got a bunch of junk wax era cards out of my boxes with this TTM success from Keith Miller.  He signed 5 cards for me, and they all turned out really well.  I don't know how long I had the above 1991 Score, but I know I opened a ton of them way back when, so it was nice to get one into my album.

Miller also signed a 1992 Upper Deck, 1988 Topps, 1989 Topps and 1991 Topps.

Miller (b. 1963) played in the majors from 1987 to 1995 for the Mets and Royals.  He had 347 hits, 12 home runs and a .262 batting average.

I mailed to Miller on June 1 and got the cards back on June 23, for a 22-day TAT.

TTM Success - Tim Teufel

Here is a nice TTM success from a guy who I had in my box for quite a while.  Tim Teufel is in a lot of card sets from the late 80s and early 90s, so I had a lot of cards to choose from.  I liked this 1991 Score that I got out of a repack box and added it to my request.

I had a Topps run from 4 years that went along in the TTM request.  The cards range from 1987 to 1990, and all turned out nicely.

Teufel also included one of his own religious testimonial cards with the TTM request.  This card has a nice shot of him on it, and a nice passage on the back.

Teufel (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1983 to 1993 for the Twins, Mets and Padres.  He had 789 hits, 86 home runs and a .254 batting average.  He finished 4th in the 1984 AL Rookie of the Year voting and won the World Series with the Mets in 1986.

I mailed to Teufel on June 12 and got the cards back on October 30, for a 140-day TAT.

A Care Package From Patrick

I'm not the best trader in the card community.  That is something that I have come to accept in my years doing this hobby.  Where I fail in that aspect, I feel like I make up for it in generosity and helping young folks build their collections.  Ever since I helped out at the card shop in Winston-Salem, I have always done everything I could to help kids and teens add cards to their collections that they normally wouldn't have access to.  The other part of that, that I enjoy, is how my helping people leads to new friendships.

I made a friend on Instagram recently named Patrick, who hails from Minnesota and is naturally a Twins fan.  He and I have chatted pretty much every day, and I have helped him find some nice vintage for his collection, and also made a couple care packages for him to add some Twins to his binders.

He's a really nice guy, and seemingly enjoys the hobby as much, if not more than I do!  In response to the packages I sent him, Patrick went through his boxes of cards and his albums to find me some Orioles cards that he could send my way.

Check out the Jose Canseco cameo on this card.  I've seen hundreds of these and never noticed Jose on the card until today!

Clearly, I don't send care packages out to people just to get stuff in return.  I felt bad when Patrick messaged me and said that he didn't have a whole lot of Orioles cards, because I didn't want to deprive him of any of his cards.  He sent me something anyway, which was really nice of him, and meant a lot to me.  There were no relics, autos, or high end cards in the package.  Patrick took from his collection because he felt it necessary to send a care package in return.  That in itself carries much more meaning for me than any auto or relic ever could.  He went out of his way to try to make me happy with a care package (and included a nice note), and that is all you can really ask for.  Although there weren't any "glorious" cards in the package, the sheer thoughtfulness of Patrick is what I will take away from this.  These cards that he sent mean a lot to me, and I hope he knows that.

I know he appreciates me helping him add some nice stuff to his collection.  I also know that when he is in the position I am in later on, he will go out of his way to help out someone who may be new to the community, or is trying to build their collection.  I can tell that is how Patrick is.  I'm glad I have been able to help him, and I sincerely appreciate him sending me this care package.  I'm also very happy that I have a new friend that I can send care packages to!

Thanks, Patrick!

Two Care Packages From Blogger Adam

I got two care packages in the mail recently from fellow blogger Adam from the blog: Infield Fly Rule.  I lost count of how many team bags of Orioles and other assorted cards he sent, but it was a ton.  It was tough selecting a few to blog, but I went with a couple I didn't have, and one nice RC that was in the bunch.

I didn't have the above Panini Black Friday Chris Davis, so this one was a welcome addition.  I love the coloring of the card with the charcoal and orange.  It really pops, I think.

Adam found an emerald parallel for my 2013 set, which was nice.  I haven't really been concentrating on the set like I should, but things should be picking up soon with my set building activities.

I didn't have this black parallel of Caleb Joseph's first Bowman card.  I only have one of the base card as well.  That's kind of weird, to tell the truth.  This one looks really awesome and will be put into my Orioles PC.  This makes only the second Caleb Joseph card that I have (you know, the base card I mentioned two seconds ago).

Finally, Adam sent this 1991 Score RC of Mike Mussina.  I know I have one of these around here somewhere, but now, I have this one and I can easily place it into my RC box, instead of searching for the other one.  Who knows where that one is.

So, thanks for the care packages, Adam!  It is really appreciated.  I'm sorry it took me so long to get these posted, but with the snow days in the area, I should be catching up somewhat.

Christmas Gifts From Noah

I got a sweet Christmas package from my friend, Noah.  He really hooked me up in the package, and I wanted to show some of it here.

Noah gave me the above Hunter Harvey auto from Bowman Sterling as part of a deal, and included it with the Christmas package.  The Christmas stuff was mostly Orioles for my PC, many of them being Cal Ripken cards.  Noah is a really awesome guy, and really came through.

I sent him a really nice 2014 Museum Collection triple relic auto of Wilin Rosario for his PC.  Is it just me or was Museum Collection one of the best products of 2014?  Either that or Bowman Chrome.

Noah had busted a box of 1991 Score and ended up with quite a few Cals from there and I was the lucky recipient of them.  Thanks so much for the 1991 Score Cal Ripkens, Noah.  I mean, I already had like 20 of them, but 5 more couldn't hurt, right?  Haha.

Really, though, thanks for the Christmas package, Noah!  I really appreciate it!