Spring Training Returns From Carson W

My friend, Carson, made his first attempts at Spring Training graphing this year.  He hit the Rays and Tigers camps, and did pretty well.  The highlight of what he got done for me was this Topps Chrome Turkey Red insert of Tyler Glasnow.  I really appreciated Carson including it in the return package, since I tried to get it signed last year and missed.

Carson got a bunch of Rays stuff out of the prospects boxes and also the box of shame. I had missed Tyler Zombro (for good reason; he had been out after being hit in the face by a batted ball).  I never saw Greg Jones, who Carson got some cards signed by.  He also helped me with Carson Williams who was one per then didnt sign the rest of the time Charleston was here last year. 

Carson hooked me up with the above Shane McClanahan relic and the Cooper Kinney 2022 Pro Debut.

Finally, Carson got a Curtis Mead done for me, as well as two Colt Keith cards from Tigers camp.

Thanks for taking these, Carson. I owe you some Wood Ducks autos soon.

Some 50-50s and Spring Training Autos From Gerard

Stacks of signed cards from sources other than TTMs continue to pile up on my desk.  I need to scan and post a bit more frequently to catch up, or I will remain behind on scanning and cropping for a long time.  I wanted to go ahead and get these cards from Gerard onto the blog, since I still had a team bag full of these cards he got done for me last season.  I combined these Red Sox cards from last year with the Rays cards he got signed for me recently at Spring Training, and hae a lot of stuff to add to the autograph album.

Gerard helped me finish off some Carolina League Top Prospects cards from a couple seasons ago with the above Jarren Duran and Bran Mats.  I was also glad to get a 2021 Heritage Minors Hudson Potts signed, and the Bryan Mata 2018 Bowman Chrome refractor.  I also enjoyed that he got me the 2019 Bowman Heritage Mata at the top of the post.  I really like that set, and was glad to add another of those to the album.

I may have seen Durbin Feltman with Salem or Greenville, but I don't remember, so it was nice to add these three to the album.  I know I saw Cameron Cannon, but I'm still glad to get a few extras of him, as well.

Getting cards from 2018 Bowman is starting to get tougher, as a lot of those guys have moved up and on from the teams I see, or they are now out of baseball.  It's funny how quickly a card set can get, maybe not obsolete, but out of the forefront of what you're seeing in a current season's autograph book.

When Gerard told me he could take some Rays for Spring Training, I was excited to get this 2022 Bowman Chrome green shimmer refractor of Curtis Mead signed.  The card is awesome, and I almost couldn't find it before I sent the package off.  Thankfully, I found it in the last place I looked and got it into the package.

I had hoped that this was a 2021 Topps Charlie Culberson, and not a Topps Update, because I have only 9 2021 Topps in my autograph album.  I don't count updated toward my Topps statistics, but this one is, in fact, an Update.  Oh well.  I still like the card, it just won't run my numbers for 2021 Topps into double digits.  I did send a bunch of 2021s to Spring Training for TTMs, but results from those have been super slow.

Gerard helped me get some generic team cards into the album by getting these 2010 Topps Tampa Bay Rays cards signed.  From left, Jordan Qsar, Kevin Kelly and Colton Brewer.

He also helped me get a few cards out of my box for older prospects cards like the 2014 Topps Heritage Minors Daniel Robertson, a 2018 Bowman Michael Mercado and a 2019 Bowman Logan Driscoll.

Finally, a couple more older cards with a 2016 Bowman Nick Burdi and a 2019 Midwest League All Star Niko Hulsizer.  He also helped me get a 2022 Topps Update Chrome purple Rene Pinto and a 2022 Topps Update Rene Pinto signed.

Thanks for getting all of these cards signed for me, Gerard.  This was a good start to this season's 50/50s for the two of us, and I look forward to what else we can get ink on this season.

TTM Success - Damian Rolls

Here are some cards that came out of my card shop boxes that I was able to get signed TTM recently.  I had seen that Damian Rolls was signing TTM, and this 2002 Fleer Focus popped up, so I thought I would send it along.  I saw that he also had a 2004 Topps, so I rescued that one from the box that the shop was going to throw in the trash, and now it is sitting in my binder.

Rolls (b. 1977) played in the majors from 2000 to 2004 for the Devil Rays.  He had 203 hits, 9 home runs and a .248 batting average.

I mailed to Rolls on November 9 and got the cards back on April 1, for a 143-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jake Guenther

Here is a nice 2019 Bowman Draft of Jake Guenther that I was able to get signed TTM.  The card came out great.

Guenther (b. 1997) was a 7th round pick by the Rays in the 2019 June Amateur Draft out of Texas Christian University.  He Played for the Princeton Rays in the Appalachian League in 2019 where he had 56 hits, 2 home runs and a .320 batting average.

I mailed to Guenther on August 27 and got the card back on January 9, for a 135-day TAT.

TTM Success - Marcus McCain

There isn't much to see, but Marcus McCain did sign this 1997 Topps Devil Rays rookies card.  You have to look close, but there is an autograph there.

McCain (b. 1974) played in the minors in 1996 and 1997, reaching High A ball, before moving on to independent ball.  Overall, he had 258 hits, 2 home runs and a .300 battimg average.

I mailed to McCain on October 27 and got the card back on December 29, for a 63-day TAT.

TTM Success - Michael Brosseau

I added some recent cards to my autograph album with this TTM success from Rays infielder, Michael Brosseau.  The above 2020 Topps Fire turned out really well.  I like these cards, and enjoy getting them signed.

I was also nice getting the above 2020 Topps signed.  I ended up getting quite a few signed, even though I wasn't able to go to any games.

Brosseau (b. 1994) has played in the majors since 2019 for the Rays.  He has 62 hits, 11 home runs and a .284 batting average.

I mailed to Brosseau on November 16 and got the cards back on December 4, for an 18-day TAT.

TTM Success - Mark Malaska

I was thumbing through the 2003 Topps extras I have and found that Mark Malaska signs TTM, so I went ahead and mailed the card I had to him.  It came back fairly quickly and has been added to my album.

Malaska (b. 1978) played in the majors in 2003 and 2004 for the Devil Rays and Red Sox.  He had a career record of 2-1 with 29 strike outs and a 3.75 ERA.

I mailed to Malaska on August 18 and got the card back on August 27, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Toby Hall

I got this really nice 2006 Topps Allen & Ginter back signed TTM from Toby Hall.  The card turned out pretty well, for the most part.  His Sharpie kind of bailed at the beginning, but in the end, I'm happy with the card.

Hall (b. 1975) played in the majors from 2000 to 2008 for the Devil Rays, Dodgers and White Sox.  He had 616 hits, 46 home runs and a .262 batting average.

I mailed to Hall on July 9 and got the card back signed on August 10, for a 32-day TAT.  He kept my 2002 Topps.

TTM Success - Matt Andriese

I added two recent cards to my autograph album with this TTM success from Matt Andriese.  The above 2016 Topps Update is actually a rainbow parallel, but the scan didn't really pick it up.  Still, it looks really cool.

Then, I got this 2015 Topps Update, which also turned out well.

Andriese (b. 1989) has played in the majors since 2015 for the Rays and diamondbacks.  He has a career record of 24-30 with 391 strike outs and a 4.58 ERA.

I mailed to Andriese on January 2 and got the cards back on January 24, for a 22-day TAT.

TTM Success - Joey Wendle

I got another success back from Spring Training, this one coming from Joey Wendle out of Rays camp.  I was able to get a 2015 Bowman Chrome out of my box, which was nice.  I wish the Sharpie showed up better on it, but oh well.

I also added this 2019 Topps.

Wendle (b. 1990) has played in the majors since 2016 for the A's and Rays.  He has 175 hits, 9 home runs and a .294 batting average.  He finished 4th last season in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.  He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2012 June Amateur Draft by the Indians.

I mailed to Wendle on February 19 and got the cards back on March 2, for an 11-day TAT.

TTM Success - John Jaso

I added some pretty sweet cards to my album with this TTM success from John Jaso.  The above 2010 Topps Update is a card that I was really happy to see come back signed.  I love the horizontal shot, and the headfirst slide.  This card is really great!

I was also able to pull a couple old cards out of my boxes, the above 2009 Bowman has been in there since 09, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get any more of those out of there.  The above 2011 Topps Heritage was something I threw in right as I was preparing my envelope for mailing, and it turned out really nicely as well.

Jaso (b. 1983) played in the majors in 2008 and from 2010 to 2017 for the Rays, Mariners, A's and Pirates.  He had 573 hits, 55 home runs and a .258 batting average.

I mailed to Jaso on January 14 and I got the cards back on January 28, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jake McGee

Slowly, I have been getting more into sending off to current players, to try and see if I can move some more recent cards from my boxes to my album.  I sent off a bunch of Spring Training TTMs, a few of which have been returned.  A good many of them remain out.  This success from Jake McGee was actually sent out prior to Spring Training, and came in right when pitchers and catchers were set to report.

I got McGee on the 2014 Topps gold at the top of the post, and these two from 2011, a Topps Finest and a Topps base.  I saved the rest of the McGee cards I had, with the intention of maybe sending to him during the season, as well.  The 2011 Finest was actually in my card show box, but hadn't sold, so it was an easy choice to send along.

McGee (b. 1986) has played in the majors since 2010 for the Rays and Rockies.  He has a 23-16 record with 415 strike outs, 44 saves and a 3.15 ERA.

I mailed to McGee on January 8 and got the cards back on February 6, for a 29-day TAT.

September 2017 Trip to Baltimore

I thought I was done graphing for the year.  I was content to rest on the 964 signed cards that I had gotten and call it a year.  I decided that, for my birthday, I would make the trip to Baltimore for a game or two, and ended up doing a bit more graphing.

I was slammed for work, so I didn't get a lot of time to sort, but luckily, I still had a ton of Orioles cards that I had sat aside for the Norfolk exhibition game in March.  I took those stacks, then supplemented them with a few Orioles alumni that I thought may come.

I also met up with my good friend, Michael, and he showed me the ropes of graphing at Camden Yards.  He helped me outside the stadium, inside at the field, and up in the club level.  One of the biggest autos I was able to get was this Jonathan Schoop.  It turned out really nice, especially since I didn't get a chance to prep the card beforehand.  I was really lucky that the auto suck with this one.  I was able to get him to sign it at his car, along with a ton of other folks.  I appreciate that his wife was so gracious as to let us hand the cards inside the car to him.

Boog Powell was probably the easiest Oriole to approach.  He was at his station at Boog's BBQ chatting and posing for photos.  He signed every card that I had, which was great, because I had brought some nice Topps cards straight from my PC.

I was able to get this 1992 Action Packed card signed, which is the first that I have been able to add to my album.  It turned out nice, and the line through the auto came due to the scan.

I had brought a few Orioles team cards with me, just in case I ran into any players and didn't have their cards on hand.  Such was the case with Austin Hays on Saturday at the field level.  I had him sign the 2016 Heritage team card instead, which turned out really nicely.  The 2017 Topps team card is signed by radio personality, Tom Davis, while the 2016 team card is signed by THE Roch Kubatko!

I was able to talk to Jim Palmer outside of the stadium after the game, Friday night.  He wouldn't sign, though.  He told me he would sign for me Saturday, if I was at the game.  Sure enough, before the game Saturday, he came over in the parking lot and signed a card for me.

I got Palmer to sign this card post game, Saturday.  He is funny with autographers; he said "You're all collectors!", and joked around with all of us.  He took one kid's graphing book and asked everyone to "throw em all up there" so, with the kid holding the book, Palmer signed all of our cards.

I was also able to take a selfie with Palmer, but it turned out pretty blurry.  Still, he was nice about it.

I was able to get Rick Dempsey before Saturday's game in the parking lot.  I had a number of cards with me and handed them over to him.  He signed a few (above) and I thanked him.  He wasn't overly talkative, but we did talk about what he would do in the offseason.  He talked about playing golf.

Because it was the final home series of the season, there were a bunch of Orioles alumni at the stadium and walking around the club level.  I was able to get Chris Hoiles on one.  I missed Joe Orsulak, though.  I saw Ross Grimsley leaving the stadium, and caught Scott McGregor, getting him on a card for myself, and one for Michael.

I was with fellow grapher, Patrick, when Brady Anderson came outside on Saturday night.  Michael had told me that Brady was gone for the weekend, but luckily, I was able to find his cards very quickly in my box.  I took the first two cards that I saw, which landed me this 1991 that Patrick got for me, and the awesome Pacific below that I was able to get done.

Also outside on Saturday night, I was able to use the above 2016 Orioles team card on Jimmy Yacabonis.  He might have made better sense on a 2017 team card, but in my scramble, this one was the first I could get my hands on in a pinch that night.  It'll do.

Buck Showalter was the last to leave the stadium on Friday night, and Michael and I were the last graphers standing.  Buck stopped his car and motioned for us to come over; he chatted with us for a bit, and was more than happy to sign for us.  I noticed, though, that he only signed the Orioles cards that we presented.  I had two other cards (a Yankee card and a Diamondbacks card) and he left them blank.

Jeremy Hellickson was sitting in his car on Saturday night, and told the graphers that he would sign on Sunday.  Apparently, though, he was waiting for someone who was late, so he finally motioned for us to come over, and he signed for a bit until the person he was waiting for finally came and caught a ride with him.  Who was he waiting for?  Alex Cobb!

I actually recognized Dave Johnson while we were in the club level.  He was really nice to Michael and I.  While he was signing for us, we talked about his son, Steve, who had to cancel a vacation to the Caribbean due to the hurricane.

I also got Johnson a second time as he came out of the stadium on Saturday so I could finish off my page of him.  I appreciated him stopping and chatting again.

On this trip, I was surprised at the number of Rays players that I was able to get on cards.  Saturday before the game, we were able to get Rays manager, Kevin Cash, after his finished his afternoon run.

I was able to get Alex Cobb a couple of times.  Jose Sucre is on the Rays team card at top left.

Cobb was really nice; he signed for me several times, and finished up all of the cards I had of him.

A lot of the players were one per, except for Curt Casali, but I had all of the same card of him, 2016 Topps.

I really enjoyed chatting with Tommy Hunter before the Saturday game.  He was open and honest about how he enjoyed his time in Baltimore, and how he didn't want to leave.

Tommy also gave a fellow grapher some crap for calling out for him to come over, then leaving to try to get Evan Longoria instead.  He was really funny and took quite a while to sign for everyone.

I wasn't going to do any graphing on Sunday morning, but I had to meet Michael and hand off some extra cards that I had.  While we were waiting for him, Austin Hays came over and posed for a photo with Chris.

I had one ROMLB with me, just in case.  I decided to use that ball to get an autograph from Orioles radio voice, Joe Angel.  With Michael's idea, I got Angel to inscribe the baseball "Wave it bye bye" and "In the WIN column".

The ball turned out great, except for the little smudge on the side.  I didn't care!

 I believe that Joe Angel will end up in the Hall of Fame as a Ford Frick Award winner, so hopefully this ball will find its way into my HOF collection soon.

Finally, the biggest autograph (in my mind) that I was able to get this weekend was that of Rays pitcher, Chris Archer.  I used my knowledge that he was from NC to my advantage.  He is from Clayton, NC, so I yelled over to him "Hey Chris!  I drove through Clayton on Tuesday on my way to Fuquay [Varina]!"  He smiled and waved, so I asked him if he minded signing a card for me.  He said he would when he was done, and was good on his word.  I had to jump on the dugout to slide the card and pen to him, much to the chagrin of the usher who yelled at me, but I didn't care.  I got the auto!

So, with this trip, I netted 1,016 signed cards on the season.  I think this was an awesome way to close it out and officially retire my graphing book for the winter.  I'll fire it all up again for Fan Fest in January.