Another TTM Success From Al Hrabosky

This TTM request to Al Hrabosky took me a long time to finally send out.  I got around toit and then had to wait a while for a return.  I had gotten Hrabosky back in 2016 as one of my first card TTMs.  I sent this one out to get two more cards out of my box.

This 1976 Topps 1975 MLB Leading Firemen is cool. I wanted to drop it in the mail to Goose Gossage to finish it off, but he's charging $25/card now and keeping track of who sends to him.  I had sent to him several times, so there will be no getting away with another freebie.  That's fine, because his signature is worth it, so this one will likely get sent out to him soon.

I mailed to Hrabosky on March 9 and got the cards back on July 13, for a 126-day TAT.

TTM Success - Ron Gardenhire

When these cards came back signed from Ron Gardenhire, I had thought I had gotten him previously.  It turns out, no, these were the only cards I had sent him.  They are now signed, and it looks like I don't have anything else out to him.   I got his 1982 Topps rookie card done.  I may have to finish the card off by taking advantage of some private signings at some point.

I also got a 1983 Donruss, 2004 Topps and a 2006 Topps signed.  All of them turned out well.

Gardenhire (b. 1957) played in the majors from 1981 to 1985 for the Mets.  He had 165 hits, 4 home runs and a .232 batting average.

He managed the Twins from 2002 to 2014, to a record of 1,068-1,039 and the Tigers from 2018 to 2020 to a record of 132-241.  His overall managerial record was 1,200-1,280 (.484 win %).  He was the AL Manager of the Year in 2010.  He finished second five times (2003, 2004, 2006 2008 and 2009).

I mailed to Gardenhire on March 31, 2022, and got the cards back today (April 8, 2024), for a 739-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Dan Graham

Another 1991 Crown Orioles card has been signed and added to the autograph album.  I sent to Dan Graham again to get this card done. 

I also had the above 1981 O Pee Chee that was a unique addition to the album. Then, I found the above 1982 Donruss, which was good to get out of that box, since that's usually the last box that I go through.

I mailed to Graham on January 22 and got the cards back on April 1, for a 70-day TAT.

TTM Success - Reggie Cleveland

These cards of Reggie Cleveland sat in my to be TTMed box for a couple years since I was waiting to send out sparingly to guys who charge.  I had a little extra money, so I figured I would pull from that row, and fell upon Cleveland.  I figured it would be a good time to get these cards done, and at his price, I could send out several.

The above 1972 Topps turned out great.  I have quite a few signed 72s in my album, and this one will fit right in.

I also sent off a 1974 Topps, 1974 Topps Traded, 1982 Topps and a 1982 Donruss.  All of these look really nice, as well.

Cleveland (b. 1948) played in the majors from 1969 to 1981 for the Cardinals, Red Sox, Rangers and Brewers.  He had a career record of 105-106 with 930 strike outs and a 4.01 ERA.

I mailed to Cleveland on September 19 and got the cards back on September 28, for a 9-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $2.00/card.

2021 National Pickup - Cal Ripken Sr Signed Card

When I went to the National this past year, I stopped by a vendor who had boxes of signed cards that they had gotten TTM or IP.  They had several deceased players at some really good prices, so I picked up a decent amount of cards.  I intended to post them after the National, but I was so far behind with TTM and IP graphing posts, I put them in a drawer and forgot about them.  Going through the cards now, it is kind of an embarrassment of riches, because of all of the cool cards I forgot I had.  These definitely need to get into the autograph album, so I will start with one of the cooler cards I picked up, this signed 1982 Donruss Cal Ripken, Sr.

I have seen Sr's autograph plenty of times, so I know this one is legit.  I immediately put it aside once I saw it in the vendor's box, because I knew, if nothing else, this one was going home with me.

Ripken (b. 1935 - d. 1999) was a minor league player, coach and manager in the Orioles system for 36 years (from 1957 to 1992).  Signed as a minor league catcher in 1957, he played in the Orioles minor league system until 1964.  In 1961, he began coaching and managing in the Orioles system, starting with the Leesburg Orioles in the Class D Florida State League.  He would reach the majors as a coach beginning in 1976, before finally becoming the Orioles manager in 1987.

As Orioles manager, he had a record of 68-101 (.402 win %).  This was capped off by an 0-6 start in 1988 before being fired; that Orioles team would go on to lose 15 more games in a row,  to start the season 0-22, a Major League record.

TTM Success - Herschel Cobb

Some folks that I've talked to don't really care for getting autographs of descendants of former MLB greats.  I actually like reaching out to some and getting some cards signed.  This was the case of my TTM success from Herschel Cobb, grandson of Hall of Famer, Ty Cobb.  I was happy to get these three cards signed, but I was equally as happy to get the above card from the 2017 National signed by someone.

This Heritage Auctions card was part of the VIP pack from that National.  It is an oversized card, much like the size of the pre-1957 Topps offerings.  Cobb signed the card using Ty's fountain pen and green ink.  The ink bubbled a bit, but I don't care.  The card still looks cool.

I also got these two cards signed by Cobb.  The card on the right, a 2017 Topps Memorable Moments insert didn't really accept the ink at al.  You can see the faint remnants of the signature on the card.  It probably wasn't allowed to dry fully before it was put back in the return envelope.

The card on the left is a 1982 Donruss Diamond Kings and turned out to be the best of the bunch.  It is a nice card anyway, but looks really cool now that it has a signature on it.

Herschel Cobb is now 77 years old and wrote a book - Heart of a Tiger - Growing Up With Ty Cobb, which I need to pick up.

Ty Cobb (b. 1886 - d. 1961) could perhaps be the greatest baseball player that ever lived.  This, obviously, has been up for debate for quite a long time, but his career stats are among the top in each category.  He was one of the first five players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame (1936).  He had 4,189 hits, 117 home runs and a .366 batting average.  He was the MVP in 1911 and a 12-time batting champion.  Surprisingly, Cobb never won a World Series.  

Cobb was always known as a fierce competitor, and had his troubles on and off the field.  The book, Ty Cobb - A Terrible Beauty does a really good job debunking a lot of the urban legends regarding what we thought we knew about Cobb as a person.  The author of this book goes a long way in discrediting the well-known biography of Cobb by Al Stumpf.  Apparently, Stumpf fictionalized a lot of the accounts in his book to make a name for himself.

I mailed to Herschel Cobb on October 16 and got the cards back on October 28, for a 12-day TAT.  Cobb included a signed note and also an index card with Ty's signature stamp that Ty used in his lifetime.

Facebook Pickup - George Hendrick Signed Cards

Not too long ago, I joined a Facebook group for private signings, and I have knocked off quite a few cards for my 1987 Topps set.  There was a signing offered for George Hendrick, but initially I passed on it because the price was too high.

It turned out that the promoter ended up with some extra signed 1987s anyway and posted as such.  I inquired about them, and he made me a great offer, so I went ahead and picked the card up.  He added the above 1982 Donruss Diamond King for just a little more, and I went ahead and picked that up, too.

Hendrick (b. 1949) played in the majors from 1971 to 1988 for the A's, Indians, Padres, Cardinals, Pirates and Angels.  He had 1,980 hits, 267 home runs and a .278 batting average.  He was an All Star four times (1974, 1975, 1980 and 1983) and a silver slugger twice (1980 and 1983).  His best MVP finish was 8th (1980, NL).  He won the World Series with the A's in 1972 and the Cardinals in 1982.

Hendrick appeared on the 1994 Hall of Fame ballot, but received no votes.

From Blaine's Collection - Ripken Rookies

Here are some more cards that I got from my friend, Blaine, when I bought his Orioles collection.  There were the three base card rookies of Cal included, and I was glad to get them even though I already had them all.  Above is the 1982 Fleer Cal rookie, which is probably the worst of the four rookie cards that he has.  Fleer was doing their best when they got into the card industry, but those first two years (1981 and 1982) were really low-budget, and you can tell with the photography.  I'm sure Cal looks back on this card and thinks "Wow, look at all of that hair!"

Regardless, it is still a cool card.  I don't remember if this or the Donruss was the first Cal rookie that I ever got.  I know the Topps was a tough "get" back then, and the Topps Traded is still tough to find.

Yeah, this used to be a really tough card to get.  I remember finally getting one when I traded a bunch of wheat pennies to my brother.  Then I found one cheap at a card shop for my 1982 Topps set.  Then I got another when my mom gave me her Cal collection.  Then I got one in a $5 mystery pack at this past year's National and now I got this one out of Blaine's deal.  So, if my potato math is correct, I have five of these.  Awesome!

Finally, here is the Donruss version that I got from Blaine.  Now that I look it over, I believe the Donruss is the first Cal rookie that I was able to get when I was around 11 or 12 years old.  Now, I have two.  I don't usually care for graded cards, but this is pretty cool.  Also, being graded at an "8" is kind of fitting, seeing as it is Cal and all.  You know, 8 is his uniform number.  Yeah, you knew that.

So, yeah, Blaine really hooked me up on this deal.  I still have a good bit of stuff to show from the cards he sent.

A Few More Christmas Packs - 1982 Donruss

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone out there.  Also, for the ones of you who may have a bit of a headache, remember this for today:  NO LOUD NOISES!  Haha.

 The last few cards from Christmas were, again, from my mom.  She gave me a present that I unwrapped and inside was a 1990s Lucky Charms tin.  Yeah, the cereal.  I knew better than to automatically think that Mom had given me stale cereal, so I opened the tin and inside were several packs of baseball cards that she undoubtedly bought way back in the day and then stored either in the attic, or in the basement.  She is always finding treasures buried here and there at the house, so when she found these, the figured that they would make a good present, haha.

I opened the packs, of course hoping that the Cal Ripken rookie would be inside.  Sadly, it wasn't.  Oh well.  I did get a couple of cool cards, though.

 First off, this Eddie Solomon is a prime example of the fun in opening some of these old packs.  I mean, really.  Look at that awesome Pirates hat and blazing yellow pants!  There are some old jerseys that I saw in these packs that were simply amazing.  Haha.  Gotta love the late 70s & early 80s uniforms...

I got a Hall of Famer out of the bunch, Andre Dawson (rocking a pretty bad Expos uniform).  Pretty sweet helmet.

Finally, I pulled this Steve Garvey diamond king where Garvey is gazing longingly into your eyes.  Pleading for you to persuade the BBWAA to finally induct him into the Hall of Fame.  Will it happen?  I doubt it, but you can't fault him for trying.

Actually, it is a pretty nice card.  I have always been a fan of the Diamond Kings.  I liked them even better in 1992 when they looked like actual paintings.  The Cal Ripken from that year was absolutely beautiful.

So, that does it.  Just about wraps her up.  Christmas was really productive for me.  I also got some cash from one of my grandmothers, so I used it to get a Hall of Fame signed baseball.  Who did I get?  You'll have to wait and see!