TTM Success - Kyle Davies

Several Topps cards came back signed TTM from former pitcher, Kyle Davies.  I don't have a lot of 2009 Topps in the autograph album, so i was glad to get this one in there.

He also signed a 2004, 2008 and 2010 Topps.  All of the cards look great.  They had sat in the to-be-TTMed box for some time, and I finally got some mailed out.

Davies (b. 1983) played in the majors from 2005 to 2011 and 2015 for the Braves, Royals and Yankees.  He had a record of 43-65 with 547 strike outs and a 5.57 ERA.

I mailed to Davies on September 28 and got the cards back on October 10, for a 12-day TAT. 

June 6, 2024, Graphing of the Long Island Ducks at High Point Rockers

The past few days have been a whirlwind.  Chris's graduation from high school was on Saturday, and we had planned a trip to High Point on Friday to see Pablo Sandoval. I had PDOs to burn, so I went ahead and took both Thursday and Friday off to prep for the trip.  We had some family stuff happen earlier in the week with my grandma, along with Chris getting off of work on both Thursday and Friday, so we went ahead and went up Thursday morning. I prepped some cards for the Long Island Ducks in case we could get by there Thursday night after sitting with Grandma for a bit.  We got to High Point and absolutely racked Long Island.

I was excited to see Wei-Yin Chen again; I had gotten him on a baseball a while back, but never on a card (as far as I can remember).

Another player I was excited to see was Josh James.  I had him pulled a while back, then missed him.  He was with Memphis earlier this year but was repeased before i could get him.  He had been elusive until after Thursday's game.  He signed everything Chris and I had as he was leaving the dugout.

It had rained off and on during the game, resulting in two rain delays.

I was glad to get Mike Montgomery because i had tracked him with a radar gun in Kinston back in 2009.  He was really nice and did two per for Chris and I.

Chance Sisco was another player I had wanted to get for a while, and finally cleaned out all of the cards I had pulled of him. 

I had gotten Ryan McBroom TTM a while back, but he signed my 2020 Topps in black. I upgraded that card with this one in blue.  I also cleaned out all of my Lew Ford cards, along with all of the Ford cards that Max sent me.

I split all of the Fords between Max and I.  I hope he likes the ones I sent him. 

My Wei-Yin Chen cards look cool signed in Mandarin Chinese.  I cleaned out some old cards when I pulled my Daniel Corcino and Hector Gomez cards. I also found an Ivan Castillo card at the last minute and was able to get it out of the box.

I had pulled a bunch of Alexi Casilla cards to try him TTM a few years ago.  I never got around to dropping those cards in the mail, but I knew exactly where to find them.  He signed everything we brought with us; another player who cleaned us out.

Finally, as we were walking out of the stadium, we ran into Colin Moran.  He was good for one per, so I got the 2013 Donruss Elite Extra Edition signed, while Chris got my 2022 Topps Heritage done.  Moran was the only High Point Rocker that we went for, so we wouldn't miss the Ducks guys that we needed.

In all, we got the following autographs: Colin Moran x 2, Alexi Casilla x 17, Ivan Castillo x 3, Wei-Yin Chen x 4, Daniel Corcino x 1, Lew Ford x 16, Hector Gomez x 3, Josh James x 16, Ryan McBroom x 3, Mike Montgomery x 4 and Chance Sisco x 9 (78 total autographs). 

TTM Success - Jeff Karstens

Here is another TTM success that I got on some cards that took me a while to send out. I had this 2009 Topps Gold parallel of Jeff Karstens that I wanted to get signed, and finally dropped it in the mail.  The card turned out well.

I also sent off a 2006 Topps Rookie 52 and a 2012 Topps. 

Karsten (b. 1982) played in the majors from 2006 to 2012 for the Yankees and Pirates.  He had a record of 26-40 with 330 strike outs and a 4.44 ERA.

I mailed to Karstens on March 8 and got the cards back on April 17, for a 40-day TAT.  

TTM Success - Clint Barmes

The first time I mailed to Clint Barmes, I got my cards back unsigned.  I said heck with it and tossed the cards in a yard sale box and forgot about them.  I saw some folks get TTM successes from him recently, so I dug the cards out and tried again.  This time, I got a TTM success from Barmes.  I liked the above 2009 Topps since I don't have many cards from that set in my album.

I also got back a 2003 Topps Traded, 2003 Leaf, 2006 Upper Deck Sweet Spot and a 2006 Topps Allen & Ginter.  All of the cards turned out great, and I am glad I finally got them into the autograph album.

Barmes (b. 1979) played in the majors from 2003 to 2015 for the Rockies, Astros, Pirates and Padres.  He had 932 hits, 89 home runs and a .245 batting average.

I mailed to Barmes on January 25, 2022, and got the cards back on December 17, 2022, for a 326-day TAT.

An Assortment of Autographs From Gerard

Falling behind of posting stuff has led to a huge stack of signed cards that still need to be scanned.  This stack can hopefully be managed quickly, especially if I combine posts of stuff from the same person.  Scattered among the cards were several that Gerard has sent me over the past few months.

He recently did a signing with Franklin Perez that I didn't write down nor count toward my TTMs.  I had sent several Perez cards to Gerard just after the National with several that he could use for himself.  I found the above 2018 Bowman Chrome purple shimmer refractor in a dollar box at the National and decided that this would be the key to what I wanted back from the signing.

I also sent off the 2018 Topps Pro Debut showing Perez in a Buies Creek uniform.  I couldn't find my team set card; I think I sent it TTM to Perez and never got it back.  Gerard provided the 2017 Carolina League Top Prospects card, which was nice (because mine was sent in that lost TTM).

Gerard had also arranged a private signing with Terry Kennedy, and since I needed the 1987 Topps Padres leaders card signed, I jumped in that signing as well.  I included my 1991 Crown Orioles card, since I'm not officially working on that set, but want to get them out of my box and signed.

My hope is that Gerard can get Andy Hawkins to do a signing so I can complete the leaders card.  Gerard also provided a base 1987 Topps of Kennedy so I could upgrade mine from black ink to blue.

Here are a bunch of random cards that Gerard sent back from past 50/50s and other signings.  I was glad he gave me the 2003 Bowman Heritage of Nate Spears.  I love that design.  I probably got Matthew Lugo on my own 2019 Bowman Draft, but this one will go in my album anway.

The 1991 Topps Oddibe McDowell was one of the last mystery TTMs that came in; back when we were doing those.  THat kind of stopped with the both of us getting really busy.  I might pick that up on a limited basis.  I thought about doing that for maybe one of my nephews or nieces.

Finally, here are a couple landscape oriented cards.  The 2019 Topps Rangers card is signed by former Rangers manager, Chris Woodward.

The Christian Vazquez seems to be the first 2022 Topps Heritage to make its way into my album.  I really appreciate all of the cards from Gerard.  I'm also glad that I am at a point where I can clean my desk up.  It is never too early to prep for next season.

Some Signed Cards From Chris Ray

This shouldn't count as a TTM success, and also shouldn't count as IP graphing; this is somewhere in between.  My friend, Ryan, and I went to Chris Ray's brewery outside of Richmond a couple weeks ago.  We both thought we may get lucky, and that Chris Ray would be there.  We each brought a few cards, and were disappointed to learn that he wasn't there.  Thankfully, the staff there was willing to let us leave the cards.  Ryan planned ahead and brought stamped envelopes with him.  So, we left the cards and envelopes, and today, the cards came in.

I left a 2009 Topps gold parallel (top), 2006 Topps (above left) and 2007 Topps (above right).  Each came out great.

Ray (b. 1982) played in the majors from 2005 to 2007 and 2009 to 2011 for the Orioles, Rangers, Giants and Mariners.  He had a record of 18-19 with 230 strike outs, 51 saves and a 4.10 ERA.  He and a player to be named later (Ben Snyder) were sent to the Rangers in the trad that brought Kevin Millwood to Baltimore.

TTM Success - Dave Trembley

Dave Trembley may not be remembered as the best manager to ever helm the Orioles, but given the teams he was handed, I think he did an admirable job.  We met him back when he was managing the Orioles, and he was one of the nicest guys I've ever met.  I was really sad when he was let go, but he quickly latched on with the Braves.  I finally got around to sending to him TTM, and got some nice cards taken care of.  The above 1991 Classic Best came out of a bargain box my wife bought off of Ebay.  This might have been one of the highlights of the box, and I kept it with my Orioles stuff for over 10 years.  I have finally moved this card to my autograph album, where it should have been kept all along.

I have cards of Orioles managers all in succession in my Orioles box, so Trembley's cards weren't hard to locate.  I got a (from left) 2010 Topps Heritage, 2009 Topps Heritage and 2009 Topps signed.

Trembley also included this Orioles post card that he signed.  He also inscribed the back with his tenure as Orioles manager.

Trembley (b. 1951) managed the Orioles from 2007 to 2010 to a record of 187-283 (.398 win %).  His teams were plagued by a lack of pitching, which seems to be the case most times when talking about the Orioles over the last 10-15 years.  He was dealt a tough hand, and managed with class.  A lot of the Orioles players who would see some success under Buck Showalter broke in under Trembley.

Trembley began managing in the minors in Kinston (I didn't know that, until just now) in 1986.  Back then, they were the unaffiliated Kinston Eagles.  He moved to the Pirates organization from 1987 to 1989.  After a break from managing in 1990, he managed Charleston (in the Padres) organization from 1991 to 1992 and Wichita (also Padres org.) in 1993.  Trembley then spent time in the Cubs organization 1994 to 2002, managing Orlando, Daytona, West Tennessee and Iowa.  His first stop in the Orioles organization was in 2003, when he was tapped to manage AA Bowie.  He spent 2 seasons in Bowie, then 2 at the Orioles then-AAA team in Ottawa, before managing the Orioles in 2007.

I mailed to Trembley on October 12 and got the cards back on October 19, for a 7-day TAT.

TTM Success - Josh Whitesell

Here are some nice cards that came back signed TTM from Josh Whitesell.  The above 2009 Topps 206 really is a nice card.  I have had a bunch of these that I haven't been able to do much with, so getting this one signed was nice.

He also signed a 2009 Allen & Ginter, 2009 Topps gold and a 2009 Upper Deck.  I kind of forgot how nice 09 Upper Deck looked.  I just think it is a solid design, and I don't have many of those cards.

Whitesell (b. 1982) played in the majors from 2008 to 2009 for the Diamondbacks.  He had 23 hits, 2 home runs and a .200 batting average.

I mailed to Whitesell on September 22 and got the cards back on January 28, for a 128-day TAT.

TTM Success - Josh Banks

 I added some late 2000s cards to my album with this TTM success from Josh Banks.  The above 2008 Stadium Club turned out great.  I always liked this set, and it has been tough to get some of them signed.

I also added a 2009 Topps and a 2008 Upper Deck.  Both of them look really nice, as well.

Banks (b. 1982) played in the majors from 2007 to 2010 for the Blue Jays, Padres and Astros.  He had a career record of 4-8 with 55 strike outs and a 5.66 ERA.

I mailed to Banks on October 15 and got the cards back on October 25, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Adam Lind

There aren't many signed 2009 Topps cards in my autograph album, but I added one more with this TTM success from Adam Lind.  The card was out for a while, but it finally came back in, and looks great.

Lind (b. 1983) played in the majors from 2006 to 2017 for the Blue Jays, Brewers, Mariners and Nationals.  He had 1,247 hits, 200 home runs and a .272 batting average.  He was a Silver Slugger Award winner in 2009.  That was the only season where he received MVP votes; he finished 15th in the voting that season.

I mailed to Lind on February 22, 2018, and got the card back on January 18, 2019, for a 330-day TAT.

TTM Success - Matt LaPorta

I have realized it is a lot tougher adding cards from the mid-to-late 2000s via TTM than any era of cards.  These are usually the guys who are recently retired, so you can't send via teams, and it is tough getting the addresses for their locations.  Still, a few pop up here and there, and this was how I was able to get Matt LaPorta.

 LaPorta was a former First Round pick (7th overall) by the Brewers in the 2007 June Amateur Draft.  He was the key piece in the July 2008 trade that sent CC Sabathia to the Brewers.  In the end, it wasn't LaPorta who made the most impact from that trade; it ended up being a player to be named later, Michael Brantley, who would impact the Indians more.

Still, I was able to get some nice cards done by LaPorta.  I sure had a bunch of them.

LaPorta (b. 1985) played in the majors from 2009 to 2012 for the Indians.  He had 230 hits, 31 home runs and a .238 batting average.

I mailed to LaPorta on August 21, and got the cards back on August 31, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Dave Roberts

Here are some cool cards that I received signed TTM from Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts.  I had heard he signed, so I sent off a few cards and was glad to get them back.  You can never go wrong with a signed Allen & Ginter.

I added a couple Topps cards to my Topps Autograph ledger, and these are two years that are very under-represented.  I need to find some bulk 09 Topps.  I got rid of all of my bulk years ago, but now I regret letting it go since I now use it for TTMs and stuff.

Roberts (b. 1972) played in the majors from 1999 to 2008 for the Indians, Dodgers, Red Sox, Padres and Giants.  He had 721 hits, 23 home runs and a .266 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Red Sox in 2004.

Roberts managed the Padres for one game in 2015, then became the Dodgers manager in 2016.  He led the team to the World Series last year, losing to the Astros.  He holds a career managerial record of 280-198 and won the NL Manager of the Year Award last season.

I mailed to Roberts on February 10 at Spring Training and got the cards back on June 18, for a 128-day TAT.

TTM Success - Kris Medlen

Here is a Spring Training TTM success that I was happy to see come back.  I had this 2014 Bowman silver paper parallel of Kris Medlen that I wanted to add to my album, so I sent to him at Spring Training.  He ended up being released, so it was good that I sent when I did.

 I also added a few recent Topps issues that needed representation in the albums.  This 2009 Topps turned out really well.

I also liked this 2011 Topps, especially with it being a horizontal card.

Medlen (b. 1985) played in the majors from 2009 to 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018 for the Braves, Royals and Diamondbacks.  He had a career record of 41-26 with 496 strike outs and a 3.33 ERA.  He finished 20th in the 2012 NL MVP voting when he went 10-1 with a 1.57 ERA across 50 games.

I mailed to Medlen on February 10 and got the cards back on April 5, for a 54-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chris Coste

Here is a TTM success of a more recent player, Chris Coste.  I needed more 2009 Topps in my album, so it was easy picking which cards of his to send.  I'm just glad I had his '09.

I was also able to get this nice 2009 Upper Deck signed, and it turned out nicely.

Coste (b. 1973) played in the majors from 2006 to 2009 for the Phillies and Astros.  He had 219 hits, 23 home runs and a .272 batting average.  He won the World Series in 2008 with the Phillies.

I mailed to Coste on January 22 and got the cards back February 1, for a 10-day TAT.

Some Recent Autograph Pickups

I picked up a few nice cards lately that other folks have gotten signed, starting with two Gerald Lairds that my buddy, Dylan, was able to get for me while he was graphing the Connecticut Tigers.  This 2008 Heritage Chrome RC of Laird turned out really nice.

I had found four Laird cards, and I chose the Heritage Chrome and this 2005 Topps, while Dylan kept two other Topps cards.

My friend, Scott, from the Wood Ducks games hooked me up with this Richie Shaffer auto that he got IP for my help in getting him Triston McKenzie a while back.  I had this Schaffer already, but I was happy to take it, nonetheless.  Especially since the person who got me the previous one is now someone I won't be doing 50/50s with anymore.  I'd rather help Scott out.

Finally, I made a trade on Instagram using two of my extra Jamie Quirk IP autos for these two Orioles.  I definitely needed more 2009 Topps in my album, so I had to choose the 09 Jeremy Guthrie, and I didn't have McGregor yet, so I was happy with this 1986 Topps.

TTM Success - Jeremy Guthrie

Adding a former Oriole to my autograph album is always a special day.  I was really surprised to get this return from Jeremy Guthrie at 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning; my mail usually comes at 5:00-5:30PM.  What had happened was, my mail didn't come at all that Friday night.  I checked my mailbox up until 8:00PM, then figured my mail lady had disappeared.  I had a couple TTMs in the mailbox to send out, and the flag never dropped.

As Chris and I were pulling out of the driveway to go to his game that day, another mail person was dropping off our mail.  So, I got my stuff a day late, but it came.  Whew.

I was glad to get the above Target exclusive 2009 Topps Throwback signed.  This goes into the "I like to get different cards signed" aspect of the collection.

I also added a 2008 Topps to the collection.  At one point, this set was the one that I had the least of, and last set I needed to complete the Topps run in my Topps Autograph project.  Now, as of today (4/7), I have 5 signed cards from 2008 Topps.  I only have one 2017 Topps so far, and have 2 signed cards from (not counting 1951 Red and Blue Back, since they are so limited anyway) 2001, 2009, 2013 and 2015.

Guthrie (b. 1979) has played in the majors from 2004 to 2015 for the Indians, Orioles, Rockies and Royals.  He is currently signed with the Washington Nationals, which is where I mailed to.  He has a career record of 91-108 with an ERA of 4.37 and 1,046 strike outs.  He didn't play for the Royals during the 2015 World Series.

I mailed to Guthrie at Nationals Spring Training on February 8 and got the cards back on March 18, for a 38-day TAT.

Christmas Gift From Michael

Slowly, I am catching up on posts for Christmas, at least.  I know I have said that the last few posts, but I do feel like I am on the home stretch for the Christmas stuff that I received.  One of the biggest packages I got was from my friend, Michael.  He filled up a box with autographed stuff, and a few other items.

He gave me signed baseballs of Orioles 2016 #1 draft pick, Cody Sedlock, former pitcher Jason Berken, former O's coach, Jim Presley and also a balled Michael signed himself.  He also included an 8 x 10 of former closer Chris Ray, and an Orioles giveaway hat.

Michael also gave me this really nice bat that he signed and inscribed using a gold paint pen (I think it is a paint pen; it looks bolder than a sharpie).  The bat is really nice (and really heavy).  Had Michael not signed and inscribed it, I would be tempted to take a few swings with it in the batting cages.  Its a really sweet bat!

Finally, Michael sent along four signed baseball cards.  The Geovany Soto 2009 Topps is only the second 2009 Topps I have in the collection.  I have a ton of 1981 Topps, but you can never go wrong with adding a Hall of Famer.  Michael also has a relationship with Orioles prospect, Adrian Marin, so he was able to get the two bottom cards signed for me.

Thank you so much for the awesome gift(s), Michael!  You always go above and beyond, and it is definitely appreciated!