Christmas From Max 2024

Max came through again with some cards to help out with my 1987 Topps set.  Crossing off the tough Mark Portugal (above) was something I was really happy to do once I opened his gift.  He also got me another signed card from the set, but I had already gotten the same guy from a private signing, so Max's will be used to trade for someone else that I need and will be posted later on.

Portugal (b. 1962) played in the majors from 1985 to 1999 for the Twins, Astros, Giants, Reds, Phillies and Red Sox.  He had a career record of 109-95 with 1,134 strike outs and a 4.03 ERA.   He finished 6th in the 1993 NL Cy Young Race and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1994.  He was part of the Teins organization when they won the World Series in 1987, but did not pitch in the playoffs.

Max also found this Wamder Franco signed 1987 Topps-design insert when he was looking for signed 87s and picked it up for me.  He got it as a joke, and i definitely chuckled when I saw it.  What a shame, though.  Wander was really cool the couple of times when I met him in Durham.  I'm going to refrain from discussing his issues much more other than I know we will never see him play in the majors again. Still, it's a nice card and I'm still putting it in the autograph album. 

Thank you so much for the Christmas gift Max.  You always come through.  

Max With the Last of the 2024 50-50 Returns

Catching up came be tough when you've got a lot going on and a lot to do in the coming weeks.  I made time today to scan a ton of cards so I could pre-load some blog posts that should carry me through Thanksgiving. 

One of the most important batches of cards that needed to be scammed was the final box of signed stuff that Max took care of this past season.  He really helped me out with moving cards out of my boxes.  He also hooked me up with some great autos, like the above 2022 Topps Heritage Andrew McCutchen.  I haven't been able to get Cutch TTM or IP, so this was an awesome addition to the autograph album. 

Max sent me thhis 2023 2023 Topps White Sox team set carx signed by Pedro Grifol.  It appears that Max got Grifol pretty close to the time he was let go by the White Sox.  I loved Max's note on the penny sleeve.  I kept it on the card in the album. 

I was glad to finally get this 2015 Bowman Chrome mini shimmer of Kyle Freeland signed.  I kept coming across it in the boxes; it is nice to fi ally have it locked in place in the autograph album. 

Max always helps me move these random team cards.  They always come in handy while graphing, whe. You run into guys who either don't have cards or you weren't able to find any in a pinch.  He got me: Jeff Bannister x 3, Brody Basso, Cam Boozer, Henry Blanco, Bob Carpenter and Ryan Borucki.

This batch of cards consists of: Darnell Coles, Hunter Gaddis, Willie Harris, Porter Hodge, Marcus Jensen and Chris Johnson x 3.

This next batch: Chris Johnson, Don Kelly x 3, Torey Lovullo x 2 and Tyson Miller x 2.

Here are Carlos Narvaez, Mickel Otanez, Max Schuemann, Derek Shelton, Cade Smith and Caleb Thielbar.

Finally, this Yankees card is signed by Luke Weaver.

These landscape-oriented cards are of Jorge Lopez, Torey Lovullo, Joe Ryan and Will Venable.  I was crossing my fingers that Max could help me out with the Joe Ryan.  That is such a cool card, I would have hated for it to stay in the Bowman box missing ink.

These are Spencer Arrighetti, Javier Assad, Brandon Bielak, Daz Cameron x 3 and Willi Castro x 2.  A couple team set cards got taken care of, which was good.  I don't know if I ever would have gotten a chance to get the Arrighetti signed.  Getting those Daz Cameron cards really helped me clear out some room in the Box Of Shame because I had those left over from when he was with Norfolk last season.

The next cards are: Travis Chapman, Enyel De Los Santos x 2, Ezequiel Duran, Damion Easley x 4 and Carlos Febles.  Check out De Los Santos's autograph. It is a pretty nice one, especially on that 2019 Bowman Heritage.  I also got some Febles done that I had left over from when he was a coach with the Red Sox.

Here are some more: Carlos Febles x 2, Kyle Finnegan, Jake Fraley, Kevin Frandsen, David Fry, Ryan Goins, Brad Goldberg and Jon Gray.  Even more Febles got signed, which pretty much wipes me out of his stuff (other than one I found tonight while looking for something else).

This batch: Mark Gubicza x 2, Ricky Gutierrez x 2, Willie Harris, Nico Hoerner, Jeff Huson, Tim Hyers and Jimmy Jones.  The Ricky Gutierrez 1995 Topps are cool cards.  I happened to have the base and the Cyberstats parallel.  I also had the Willie Harros for a long time, since he came through Kinston as a coach for Myrtle Beach in 2017.  The card got buried in a box following that season, and I was able to locate it and get it out to Max.

Even more: Jimmy Jones, Jakob Junis, Andrew Knapp, Justin Lawrence, Korey Lee, Luke Little, Jorge Lopez and Nicky Lopex x 2.  A lot of these came out of a box that I had kept aside of guys who I thought I'd see in Kinston (like the Korey Lee, Luke Little, or the 2018 Heritage Minors Nicky Lopez).  I was glad to ckear stuff out of that box.

These cards are of Luke Maile, Nick Martinez, Sam Moll, Eli Morgan, Jerry Narron x 2, Tomas Nido, James Paxton and Mitchell Parker.  I've gotten Narron in person, finally, but had several cards left over.  He's not the easiest to graph, so these getting done was great.  I had the Tomas Nido left over from when I saw Syracuse last year and missed Nido.  I had bought the card with the hope of getting him IP, but he wouldn't stop.  With Max's help, the Bowman Hi Tek is now signed.

These cards are of Bo Porter, Mike Redmond, John Schneider, Jon Singleton, Josh Staumont x 2, Tyler Stephenson and Ross Stripling x 2.  The 2016 Freddie Freeman signed by Bo Porter was a cool touch by Max.  I doubt I'll be able to get Freeman, but you never know.

Here are: Ross Stripling, Brent Suter, Jayce Tingler, Ezequiel Tovar, Ildemaro Vargas x 2, Will Venable, Jeff Ware and Ron Washington.  Obviously, I have Washington in my 1987 set, so this one goes in my regular autograph album.   I'm also surprised that I didn't already have that 1992 Topps Jeff Ware signed already.

This final batch is of Ron Washington, Alika Williams x 2 and Jacob Wilson x 3.  My buddy Josh probably would love these Jacob Wilsons, since he's a huge Jack Wilson fan.  I'm pretty sure I sent him a few unsigned Wilsons. 

This Jacob Young 2024 Topps retail blue parallel looks pretty nice.  I had forgotten I pulled this one.

Finally, this Tanner Banks 2022 Topps update wraps up the stuff Max sent.  I need to look at trying to get Bennett Sousa to sign his side of the card at some point.

It took me longer than I wanted, but I finally get everything Max sent scanned and uploaded.  I hate that it took me so long, but life gets in the way sometimes.  I look forward to the next lists that Max sends me.  Let's hope some of the names come out of the Box Of Shame or maybe a few from what Max calls the Death Pile; the pile of stuff that gets sent back unsigned.  I keep all of those separated with the hope that either of us gets a second chance at these guys.

Thanks so much for hooking me up, as always, Max!

The Biggest Return From Max Yet

My friend, Max, has helped me tremendously with getting cards out of my boxes and into my autograph album. He was the person who first helped me set up my graphing book back in 2017 and I haven't looked back.  His latest return of signed cards to me had to have been the largest one so far, and it had some really cool stuff that I was excited to file into the album pages.  The above Curtis Mead parallel was something that I wanted to get signed ever since I pulled it.  Mead is a tough graph these days, so I'm glad this one is done.

Max likes to take these Topps team cards to cover for guys he has no cards of.  Thankfully, he always labels them so i know who he got.  These cards are, left to right then top to bottom: Colten Brewer, Shawn Armstrong, Austin Shenton, Ronel Blanco, Ben Brown, Garrett Cooper, Declan Cronin, Calvin Faucher.

I try to send him the older ones, too.  The 1994 Score stadium cards are also helpful.  These are, from left to right and top to bottom: Logan Porter, Jhonny Peralta, Sean Doolittle, Carson Spiers, Trevor Megill, Pat Murphy.

Max completed a 2018 Topps Heritage that i had gotten signed by Heath Hembree when he got it signed by Ildemaro Vargas.  He also got Yuki Matsui, Matt Wise, JR House, Bryan Hoeing, Tanner Scott, Sam Hentges and Ricky Gutierrez.

This Alika Williams Jumbo relic card is pretty cool.  I was disappointed that I couldn't find my other Williams cards in time.  I had him pulled in the past, and couldn't remember which box they got put in.  I did find them, but I'm afraid Max won't see him again.  Let's hope he does.

Here are skme recent cards that he got signed by Alec Marsh, Jordan Lyles, JP France, Hunter Brown, Harold Ramirez, Kyle Farmer, James Karinchak, Dylan Floro, Jake Irvin.  I was glad to get these added to the Topps ledger.  I have already gotten several 2024 Topps done, which is nice.  Hopefully my Series 2 come in soon, so I can go for some more.

Here are some 2022 cards signed by Scott Barlow, Stuart Fairchild, Emmanuel Rivera, Triston McKenzie, Martin Perez, Rene Pinto, Jhoan Duran and Angel Zerpa.  I especially like the holiday parallels.  Those are always fun to get signed.

This next group, signed by Zack Littell, Luke Maile, Skip Schumaker, Rod Barajas, Mike McCoy and Doug Waechter go farther back in time for Topps flagship sets.  There is also a Bowman Chrome Rod Barajas and a 2008 Upper Deck First Edition of Skip Schumaker.

Even more older cards signed by Jeremy Guthrie, Matt Capps, Jayce Tingler, David Bell, Miguel Cairo, Jody Reed, Bob Scanlan and Rod Allen go as far back as 1989 Fleer (Allen).  The 1995 Fleer Bob Scanlan is also awesome.  You know, because 1995 Fleer is great!

Here is a Kyle Farmer 2021 Topps Update, a Garrett Hampson 2019 Topps, Gabriel Arias 2021 Heritage Minors, a cool Thyago Viera Diamond Kings that I kept seeing during several passes through my boxes, a Bryan Abreu 2019 Heritage Minors, a Quintin Berry 2012 Bowman, a Collin Cowgill 2012 Bowman, a Chris Johnson 2009 Bowman (which is crazy because I've heard he never signs), and Rays manager Kevin Cash on a 2002 Bowman Chrome. 

The above Tanner Scott turned out awesome.  I like this Bowman insert set. There are two Gaby Sanchez parallels, a JR House 2001 Bowman Chrome, an upgraded Garrett Cleavinger signed in blue, an upgraded 2022 Topps Chas McCormick and a few more Ildemaro Vargas cards.

Max hooked me up with a few team set cards signed by Jacob Young, Rene Pinto, Bryan Abreu.  I've made good progress on the giveaway set from when we went to Fredericksburg last season.  There may be one or two left that I need to get signed (I didn't go by the card shop and get the two special ones they offered).  I was also happy to see the 2019 Carolina League Top Prospects card get signed by Bryan Abreu.

Finally, here are a couple old.team set carda signed by Zach Rosscup and Alec Zumwalt.

Max really hooked it up, and is still.goi g strong on the season.  Hopefully, he can keep knocking out these cards and I can keep finding stuff for him.

Thanks so much, Max!

More Signed Cards From Max

My friend, Max, sent me another batch of signed cards recently that added a ton more guys to the autograph album.  He has helped me get so many cards out of my boxes and got them signed.   The above Garrett Cooper 2021 Topps rainbow foil turned out great.  I'm pretty sure I'm out of Garrett Cooper cards by now, but you never know. There's probably a box in my stack of boxes that has a couple more I need to dig out.

Something that I have learned to love is the search function of the blog.  If I mention all of the players shown, I'll be able to search and know who I have in my albums.  That's a big help, especially when someone like Max hooks me up with so many different players.  So, here are signed cards of Ryan O'Hearn, Korey Lee, Kyle Cody, Ty Blach, Garrett Cooper and Brenton Doyle.

I was really glad to get some Cole Tucker cards signed, especially the 2019 Bowman Heritage (top left). The 2021 Topps Pro Debut of Alfonso Rivas looks nice.  Im reappy glad to get those out of the boxes because the font used on 2021 Topps, Chrome and Pro Debut is so hard to read, especially when leafing through cards in a hurry.

Kyle Freeland, Peter Lambert and Jake Bird round out this stack of cards.

Here are two team cards Max used, Tyler Holton at the top and Joe Davis at the bottom.

Here are a bunch of coach cards that Max got signed: Rigo Beltran, Lane Zawadski, Darren Holmes, Dave Bush, Tom Goodwin and Juan Nieves.  That Dave Bush 2007 Topps Heritage turned out great.  I wish I had kept the bulk cards I used to have from that set.

Finally, here are a few Bobby Meacham and Jose Hernandez cards.

Thanks for hooking me up, as always, Max.  I have another box ready to ship, which will hopefully go out tomorrow!

2024 Cubs Convention Autos From Max

Another Cubs Convention has come and gone, and my amazing friend, Max, took a bunch of cards and got them signed for me.  He always delivers, and this year he got me some good stuff taken care of.  He also helped me clear some room in my boxes.  The above 2020 Donruss orange foil of Adbert Alzolay turned out great.  I had a ton of Alzolay's cards, and Max got a good one done.

I'm pretty sure Max has gotten every single Dave Otto out of my boxes, and the above 1992 Topps is a nice Otto card.  Surely there's one or two left hidden in a box somewhere.  That just means a have way too many boxes.  I was also glad to see this 2011 Topps Ryan Dempster get done.  Thats another guy who I'm finallynrunning low on. 

I remember finding the two Ray Birris cards in the boxes I had on loan from Conrad.  He's got a great signature and the 1974 and 1975 Topps were great additions to the autograph album.

I just recently cleared out a bunch of Manny Trillo cards and sent them to Max so he would have more for the next time he sees Trillo.

I am also finally low on Geovany Soto.  Getting those two 2007 Bowmans signed was nice, since I've had a ton of 07s since that set came out. That was the first "modern" (as in post 2000) Bowman set that I had in bulk.  They've just been languishing in a box since then, so it was nice to get some moved. 

Some more recent stuff was thinned out as well.  It was unfortunate that the Cubs waited until the last minute to announce who was going to be at the Con.  I had to scramble to get a package together for Max, but I had a lot of 2022 and 2023 stuff at the ready.  We probably could have racked up a lot more autos had the Cubs put the list out a week earlier.  Still, adding the Javier Assad, Caleb Kilian and Mark Leiter, Jr. cards to the album was nice.

I was even able to get a couple Alexander Canario cards out of the Box Of Shame for the Con.  I had missed him when I saw the Twnnessee Smokies a couple years ago, so it was nice to finally get him. Max rounded out the package with a 2023 Topps Update Jose Cuas, a Panini Prizm Luke Little and a 2020 Bowman Luke Little.

Thanks for getting these done for me, Max.  I look forward to your next message with a list of guys you need this season.  Baseball is back and I'm excited to see who all each of us it able to see this year. 

Max Crosses Off Another Tough 1987 Autograph

My good friend, Max, messaged me the other day asking if I had gotten Orel Hershiser for my 1987 set yet.  I hadn't, so he picked this up for me.  I was surprised.  I haven't seen any Hershiser signings as of late, so I wasn't sure how I would add this card to my set.

Hershiser (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1983 to 2000 for the Dodgers, Indians, Giants and Mets.  He had a record of 204-150 with  2,014 strike outs and a 3.48 ERA.  He had over 20 wins once (23 in 1988).  He was an All Star 3 times (1987 to 1989).  He was a Gold Glove Award winner in 1988 and a Silver Slugger in 1993.  He was the NL Cy Young Award winner in 1988.  His best MVP finish was 6th (1988).  He won the World Series with the Dodgers in 1988.  That post season, he was both the NLCS and World Series MVP.  He was also the ALCS MVP in 1995.

Hershiser appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot twice (2006 and 2007), but received at most, 11.2% of the vote.

Thank you so much, Max, for helping me add Hershiser to the set!

Some Signed 87s For Christmas From Max

Several tougher 1987 Topps cards were crossed off of my checklist when I got a Christmas gift from my good friend, Max.  He has helped me tremendously with this set, and I am very grateful.  I had sent to Brian Fisher TTM, but never got my card back.  Now, I don't need to worry, as the card is now signed and in the 87 album.

I had been promised a signed Ed Correa from someone else, but he hasn't delivered, so this one will take care.of that.

I had mailed to Keith Atherton, but he also hasn't returned my card.  Mickey Hatcher does sign TTM, but for a fee to a vendor who I had a negative experience with some years ago, so I don't necessarily like dealing with his group.  Max saved me so many headaches by crossing these guys off the list.  He also put me at 752 cards, which means I have 40 to go.  I never thought I'd be this close. 

Thank you so much for the Christmas gift, Max!

Last 2023 50-50s From Max

A box of cards came in from Max recently that had the rest of the 50/50s he was able to take for me toward the end of the season.  He knocked out a bunch of cards that I sent to him, starting with the above 2022 Topps Chrome MLB Logo refractor of Jackson Kowar that I found at the National. This card is really cool and turned out great.  I'm glad I was able to find it and send it along. 

Max got one of my 1991 Crown Orioles cards signed; this one being of Rex Hudler.  

Max took the A's, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Royals and a couple other teams.  It was cool that he got the two World Series teams.  The 2006 Topps Diamondbacks team card is signed by Denny Stark, by the way.

Max also hit the Rockes and got a few guys I'd probably never see.  The German Marquez Topps Archives (bottom, middle) looks great.  I was also glad to get some 2023 Topps signed.  Kyle Freeland had signed for me TTM, but it was nice to get a few more of his cards out of the boxes and into the album. 

The Paul Blackburn cards at the bottom of this scan had been in my to-be-TTMed box for a long time.  He stopped signing when I pulled them, so it was great that Max could fi ally get some ink on them for me.  I'm surprised I still had some Jerry DiPoto cards left, but I did, and they got done.

The Rodolfo Castro on the 87 Topps design was a cool card.  I'm glad Max sent that one back. He knows how much I like that set.  Jack Suwinski lives or grew up near Max, so I think he actually knows him personally.  I forget what he told me, so I'll have to check again with me how that works.  I've sent him a few Suwinski cards, and the 2022 Topps Update that I got back looks sharp.

A couple more Bob Brenly cards were taken care of this time around. I like the 2004 Topps, a set that I have been trying to get more of into the album.  Those mid-2,000s sets were some that I unloaded my bulk at past shows, so there aren't as many of those in my stash as there are other eras.

I'm always happy to add one of my Midwest League cards to the autograph album. I got this set a while back from an old friend, and have been chipping away at it over the years.  Alek Thomas was a guy who I thought may be tough to get from that set, but Max hooked it up.  He also got me Zach Davies, a former Oriole farmhand who I haven't been able to graph.

The above 2015 Topps is signed by Tuffy Goeswich; the 2019 Topps Rainbow Foil A's card is signed by Lucas Erceg, and the 2023 Topps Diamondbacks team card is signed by Scott McGough. Max always helps put with the team issue stuff, in case he is out of anyone.  I have been putting more of these aside for future use with him, myself and other 50/50 stuff.  These team cards do come in handy.

Thank you as always for the awesome stack of signed stuff, Max.  I'm excited to see what we can get out of the boxes in 2024!