UPDATES – Sparky Anderson & Tony Fernandez!

So, at present, my ability to dedicate time to the audit has been limiting however I am hoping to complete that by the end of this weekend (we shall see how that all pans out).

I did want to stop by quick to post a couple additions that have been added over the last week that fill holes from the first half of the set.

Neither addition is particularly difficult to attain however neither is real easy either so I am very happy to add these to the collection.

 

#485 Tony Fernandez

Obtained through a private signing hosted on SCN.  I have written Mr Fernandez twice (so I at least gave it the old college try) with nary a response.  Sharp looking card and a welcomed addition.

 

#218 Sparky Anderson

It is always nice to pick up signatures from those that are no longer with us.  Especially those like Sparky who were such fixtures in the game.  Picked this one up on SportLots through a contact on a Facebook TTM group (bit of a roundabout fashion) but happy to add this auto of one of baseballs classiest guys.

 

Thanks for popping in for this quick update.  More to come hopefully today or in the next day or two.

Catchup #3 – Mickey’s Cards

And one more time we go back to the rules from the first post, and one more time I have broken those rules.

This should be clarified for my own benefit here as we move forward so I don’t cloud what has transpired over the years.  The original plan was to send to all living card holders from the 1987 Topps set to see how lucky I could get – then it expanded to take on the 1987 Topps Traded set because, well, I got one.  So I figured I better get them signed as well.

Throughout the peaks and valleys of this project, addiction has taken over.  Now, not in a sense that I am going to be willing to pay $1k for the Ricky Wright card(s) but I am now willing to go further to obtain cards that I would not otherwise be able to do.

So, as the last post interjected Private Signings (which I have been participating in more frequently) this one will focus on one website where I have picked up a pile of cards over the last couple of months.  Mickeys Cards – aka http://www.mickeyscards.com – let me start by saying that I have no affiliation with them and am not being paid for this endorsement (it would be a terrible investment on their part as no one reads any of this).

I first heard of Mickey’s on twitter – I would be fully willing to pass along the good member that sent me in that direction for that first look but I’m too old and my brain is too feeble so that twitter member has been lost in the cobwebs of my memories.  My most sincere apologies.

Service is fantastic and shipping is lightning fast – I think I have placed three different orders with them and all of them shipped within 12 hours of payment – crazy good considering most were probably placed at around 10pm Pacific Time.

So lets have a look, shall we?

There are going to be far too many cards for me to go through them individually so I am just going to let you have a look for yourself and I will do my best to arrange them by the sets or themes when they were purchased.  As you can see above, this was a number of 1987 Topps that were scratched off the list.

 

One 1987 Topps card tucked in there (an upgrade to the ball point pen that I had prior) but the rest are all 1988 Fleer as you can see.

 

1984 Topps is the theme here with a 1983 Topps Dave Henderson to add to the Mariners collection or the 1983 Topps build, whichever binder has more space I suppose.

 

And lastly is a huge pile of 1989 Topps and Topps Traded.

 

As you can see by these photos, I was able to scratch off a huge number of needs from quite a number of projects.  Prices are certainly reasonable and, as mentioned above, the service and shipping is wonderful.

Now, in all of these cards, there was on that was pretty suspect – the legitimacy of the auto was in significant doubt.  I reached out to the guys at Mickey’s, they responded but then took some time to review the autograph and compare with others, they agreed with our assessment that it was not an authentic autograph and were quick to offer me a refund or credit (I took the credit – we both knew I was going back…ha!).

I’m not going to tell you it was great service because they rolled over and gave me a refund.  What I appreciated is that they dug into the card itself, where they acquired it, the auto, comparisons, etc – and came to a decision.  Had they come back after all of that and advised that they were comfortable with the authenticity, my review would be the same – I much prefer those that do their homework and come back with an informed decision than those that just cave and offer the quick refund.  It’s truly better for everyone involved.

So with that I leave you once again – if you are in the market to buy auto’d cards (or many other auto’d/non auto’d items) then go check them out.  I truly great and reliable resource out there for all collectors.

Catchup Thread #2 – Private Signings, Purchases and Trades

One of the big problems I am having as I am trying to make up for lost time here is that my record keeping sucks.  Well, it isn’t that bad but trying to figure out where I left off and what cards need to be shown here in this record is becoming a major pain in the ass.  I really should have done a little bit more over the last three months…duh.

So let’s start this return trip with a few (OK, more than a few) private signings.

If one were to go back to my original post when starting this project, one would find that I stated that I would not be purchasing any autos nor would I be paying any auto fees.  One may think that I am a liar – however, the end of that post also said that I was free to change the damn rules whenever I damn well please.  I guess that may make me a liar but we all know I am making this all up as I go along anyway so just role with it.

All Private Signings thus far have taken place through the members over at http://www.sportscollectors.net – I did have one member rip me and a few others off so I am out an additional $30 and I didn’t get my two Pedro Guerrero autos but life goes on.  Scumbags never come out ahead (please don’t check twitter, the news, facebook, etc as that comment may not be entirely accurate).

So – going back to the beginning of July – here are the Private Signings I have so far received back.  More are outstanding.

Mike LaValliere

Was able to knock three cards of the 1987 Topps project here in one signing and was able to get “Spanky” inscriptions on two of the cards.  Love the sharp autos and love the nickname inscription!

 

Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams

Can’t complain too much with this one.  Signature looks a bit quick and it is hard to make out the “Wild Thing” nickname in there but the auto itself is still far better than most of the autographs you will see on todays licensed trading cards.

 

Bill Doran

I think I may have written Doran three or four times.  Some folks would get their TTMs back while many, like me, would not.  Bummer – oh well.  I did get a couple nice sigs through the private signing but it was a bit more than I wanted to spend.  Life goes on and I am happy to add both cards.

 

Andres Thomas

I hadn’t seen returns for Thomas in quite some time, if ever – when this PS popped up I jumped at the chance to add these cards.  They turned out great and the price was very reasonable if not even a little low.

 

Ruben “El Caballo” Sierra

Another fairly cheap signing opportunity so I jumped in with both feet and got these five cards signed.  If you look closely, the 1987 Topps card is inscribed with his nickname “El Caballo” which means “The Horse” in English – if you remember Sierra hitting a baseball, it makes total sense.

 

One purchase from a member on SCN netted me these six cards as well – all needed for the 1987 Topps projects.  Mike Fitzgerald signature is on the Expos Leaders card.

 

And one trade over on SCN got me this beauty John Shelby card for the project – a very tough get so I was very happy to receive this one on a quick and easy deal.

 

That is all for now – I haven’t checked the mailbox today yet so hopefully I will have more to report on this afternoon.  Even if it is empty, there are many more cards that need to be shown.

Thanks for checking in.

It’s Been Too Long – My Feeble Attempt to Catch U

Which excuse would you like me to spout off first?

• Summer Travels?
• Kids Activities?
• Home Projects?
• Works Been Busy?

Well the reality is all of those have been 100% accurate however I still have shirked my duties here in my record keeping.  The good news is there is a ton of work to do here to catch up as there have been many additions to the TTM projects over the last couple of months.

Many requests still need to go out and I have not been fantastic about sending them out on a regular basis however I have managed to keep a fairly steady stream of requested headed out the door here which has meant that I have had a decent number of returns and have even managed to pick up a few more cards in my 1987 Topps and Topps Traded quest.  That journey marches forward along with a few others that have been building over the past few months as well.

I am sure there will continue to be a few gaps in my posts however I am going to do my best to go in over the next couple of weeks and post a few cards every day that I have picked up since last we spoke.

The last few weeks have been solid.  Returns are documented below.

Lets start with a baseline so we can see how things progress through the last quarter of 2017.  I do track 99% of my requests on SCN.  As we sit here today, 2016 looks as such…

 

I really don’t pay attention to others and their success ratios so I have no clue whether these numbers are good, bad, average or what.  Many requests do go to players with at least some history of returns however there are a fair number of “shot in the dark” requests in there as well.  So, nine months in to 2017 (almost) and 169 returns – not bad.  We shall see how many more we can get in there before the calendar flips over.

 

The main project remains the 1987 Topps and Traded sets.  Not sure what the technical #2 would be but I have also been working through 1988 Fleer, 1984 Topps, 1985 Topps and 1989 Topps – with a few 1981, ’83, ’91 and ’93 Topps as well as 1987 Fleer thrown in the mix, just for fun.  I have actively tracked 1987 but recently started 1984 Topps tracking as well.  I have avoided doing so on SCN as I really didn’t want to be contacted by people looking to help me with my giant want lists.

Quick over view of those sets is as follows:

Long way to go on the 1984 Topps set of course but further along that it would appear here as well.  I don’t attempt to get multiple signatures on one card however I do try to get an auto of everyone that is highlighted on said card.  1984 has a ton of League Leaders triple cards as well as Team Leaders dual cards – there is a lot to do just on those cards alone.

A few more than 300 to go on the 1987 Project – which means that I am currently over 600 cards picked up for that set.  Slow and steady, we keep scratching numbers off the list.  I believe that I am close to finishing the forth year of this project – what a blast!

So a couple weeks worth of returns.

Matt Young – 3/3 in 17 days

Always nice to add to the Mariners collection as well but these filled holes in both the 1984 Topps and 1991 Topps sets.  Always a reliable signer – much appreciated Mr. Young!

 

Lee Lacy – 4/4 in 11 days (with donation)

Quick turnaround from Mr Lacy – small donation but scratched four cards off of four major projects.  Very much appreciated for four nice signatures.

 

Bert Campaneris – 2/2 in 77 days

What a great player – I was shocked to see that there had been returns for Mr. Campaneris and I was more shocked the day I was able to open my envelope containing these two beauties.  Fantastic additions!

 

Oddibe McDowell – 2/2 in 77 days

There is so much I love about both of these cards.  The sharp blue autographs, the bible verse notations, the fact that he personalized both cards to me – but I can’t say enough about the 1985 Topps Olympic cards – I need to pick up more of these.  This was the fourth card from that subset that I have been able to acquire, I am happy with each and every one of them.

 

Floyd Youmans – 1/1 in almost year

In the meantime, I had picked up this card for the set.  Thankfully, I got to add that one to my traders list and replace it with one of my own successes (that looks much better as well!).  More and more 1987 Topps wants drop off the list.

 

That is all for now – I will be back online tomorrow to add more of the pickups over the last couple of months.  Hopefully there are a few cards in the mailbox to show off as well!

More Projects – More Requests – More Fun!

So that title is a bit lame, I know.  But there have been more and more conversations with similar minded collectors locally, on facebook groups and on twitter which has led to more and more momentum on the original 1987 Topps and Topps Traded projects.  Those have now blossomed (probably well too far for me to manage) and I now find myself sending out requests on 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989 and 1991 Topps along with 1987 and 1988 Fleer – along with anything else my little fluttering heart feels submission worthy at any given time.

There will certainly be a slow-down here over the next month as work is ramping up pretty hard but the submissions have headed out of here fast and furious for the last couple of weeks and I find myself putting together a quick letter whenever I have a spare five minutes of the course of the day or I am sitting on conference calls.  I expect there to be continued returns over the coming weeks…well I hope there are anyway.

A bit backwards today, posting starts from today’s returns and will work back toward my last post a week ago.

Bill Bene 1989 Topps #84 1/1 in 15 days – if my count is correct, and I believe that it is, Bene is the 85th return I have had for the ’89 Topps set.  Always nice to pick up the “unique” cards in any set so I love seeing the #1 Draft Pick in the corner here.

 

Rich Gedman 2/2 in 17 days with “2x AL All Star” inscription – there is a lot about this return that made me smile.  As a kid I was a huge BoSox fan (yeah, I know – but I was one of the kids who literally cried himself to sleep in ’86 – had to jump off the bandwagon after the two WS wins, fandom got a little out of hand) and Gedman was one of my favorites.  This is also the third attempt I have made to get his auto and failed on both of the other tries.  Try, try again as they say.  And I love the inscription here – I need more inscriptions – those things are addictive!  Thank you Mr Gedman!

 

1987 Topps #411 Darnell Coles and #251 Rob Wilfong – thank you for a great member on a facebook group for trading me these two needs.  I haven’t been very active on facebook and now realize that I need to spend some more time there.  I would post his name here as a thank you as well but he better give me permission first.  Hopefully we have a lot more trades moving forward (if you see this, I have sent out a number of your 88T needs!).  What a great community and gets back to my “Fun” comment in the title – it’s great to chat with folks with similar but different goals from all over the place.

 

Don August 2/2 in 8 days – absolutely love these 1985 Topps Team USA cards, I only wish there were more of them that actually signed.  Will have to see what I can do about acquiring more of those as well as the other Olympic cards that are out there (1988 Topps Traded for sure – probably others).

 

Shawon Dunston 3/2 in 14 days – as a kid in the midwest and before the lights at Wrigley, there were many an afternoon spent watching the Cubbies on WGN.  Awesome to watch them play and even better to listen to Harry Carey get hammered over the course of a broadcast, though we would have had not idea that was happening at the time.  The 1985 #1 Draft Pick is another one of those “subsets” that are really appealing and it’s always a nice surprise to get three cards back when you only send in two.  Thank you Mr Dunston!

 

Maury Wills 2/2 in 21 days – really, what can I say here.  “One of my favorites” is a line that gets used far too frequently over the course of this project but this one would certainly fall in that class as well.  Thought it was a bit of a pipe dream but wrote Mr Wills a letter and sent off a check, three weeks later and I have two fantastic TTM additions and a very classy note.  He will certainly be getting a thank you card back from me!

 

Doug Drabek 3/3 in 11 days with “My Best” inscription – I think this is my second return from Mr Drabek.  In my experience he has always been quick to respond and his signature always looks top notch – as you can see a couple of my secondary projects in 1988 Fleer, 1989 Topps and 1991 Topps.  Thank you Mr Drabek!

 

What follows is another lot purchase from DJ down at DJ Sportscards in Renton.  Always a good guy to chat with and fair with his pricing.  Ended up buying a 1984 Topps set as well so the mailbox has been stuffed with those things headed out of here over the last 48 hours or so.  My first ever set, excited to put some more time into that one!

 

1986 Topps Lot – mainly picked these up for traders but I do have an ’86 Topps set lying around here somewhere so who knows if that will find it’s way on the project list.  I just find that a lot of these cards are pretty dark and make seeing the auto pretty tough.

• #448 Herm Winningham
• #181 Al Nipper
• #192 Milt Wilcox
• #356 Mickey Hatcher
• #214 Randy Bush
• #226 Lee Lacy
• #681 Dick Williams (deceased)

 

• 1983 Topps #409 Marvis Foley (set side project)
• 1987 Donruss Opening Day #137 Ray Knight (did you know his middle name is Charles?  Ray Charles…Knight – I found that kind of funny)
• 1987 Donruss Opening Day #199 Steve Balboni
• 1989 Fleer #428 Darrin Jackson
• 1985 Donruss #62 Dave Parker
• 1988 Fleer #101 Matt Williams (set side project)

 

• 1991 Upper Deck #593 Omar Vizquel (Mariners project)
• 2012 Bowman DP&P #BDPP25 Mike Zunino (Mariners project)
• 1987 Donruss #610 Dave Valle (Mariners project)
• 1987 Topps #508 Jim Beattie (double – available)
• 1987 Topps #45 Jim Presley
• 1987 Topps #117 Scott Bankhead

 

Odometer for each set as follows:

• 1987 Topps and Topps Traded – 599 (who’s going to be #600?)
• 1983 Topps – 5 (just starting on this one)
• 1984 Topps – 53 (dozens have gone out over the last couple of days)
• 1985 Topps – 82
• 1987 Fleer – 8 (this one is still kind of an afterthought)
• 1988 Fleer – 119 (pretty good for always being a throw in)
• 1989 Topps – 85 (and a lot more to come here I am sure)
• 1991 Topps – 28

 

Thanks for checking in – hope you all have full mailboxes out there!

Couple LCS Pickups and a decent Mailbox

DJ Sportscards in Renton is the fairest sports card dealer I have likely ever dealt with.  A buddy of mine had a card shop when I lived in Billings, MT who will forever be my favorite but that card shop no longer exists and I no longer live there so my money now will always start with DJ.  Thank you for always being up front an honest with all of our dealings!

DJ is always getting in collections and always offers fair prices to those selling.  There are a few duds in the TTM/IP bunch from time to time (you will see below) but he is always honest about what he knows and prices accordingly.  As such, I took a swing and a miss at a couple but happy to do the research and dispose of the junk for the price of admission.

Pickups from the first batch earlier this week as follows:

1985 Topps Project – Glenn Hoffman, Scott McGregor, Dave Steib and Jaime Cocanower – leaving out the Reggie as it is a bit off and may be one that should be pitched.

1988 Fleer – Luis Polonia.  Added the Higuera as I know he is a tougher signer these days even though I am not working on this subset – good thing as this crappy forgery is headed for recycling.

1989 Topps – Luis Polonia – he does sign through PastPros and I will be sending some business his way but happy to scratch this one and the 1988 Fleer off the needs list.

 

Smaller Projects 1983 and 1984 Topps – Sharp looking Willie Upshaw and a double up with Mario Ramirez.

PC Stuff – Buhner gets added to the Mariners PC while I like the Crawford as it mimics the 1988 Fleer set.  Molitor is always a keeper – I’m a midwest guy so those tied to the Twins will always have a soft spot in my heard.  Bobby Bo – not sure why I like this one so much, hat the set and not a fan of the player but I don’t have one so happy to add it.

Traders – Glenn Davis is already on the way out and Ozzie Virgil.  Grabbed both as I know they are a bit tougher grabs these days and both are from fairly desirable sets.  Virgil can be had for a 1987 Topps Virgil for sure.

 

PC Stuff – Sexson had a few cups of coffee with the Mariners so I will likely hang onto that one.  Jack Morris had one of the best World Series games in history with the Twins, just wish it were at Twins card (or the 1987 Topps card), and Travis Hafner – one of North Dakota’s finest!

Traders – Carney Lansford is always a good addition as is Lloyd Moseby – took a swing on a 3-0 pitch with the Winfield but it appears I popped up on the infield.  A little more research needed but that one could be headed to the recycle bin as well.

 

Mailbox additions!

Billy Spiers 3/3 in 39 days – Billy has always been a great return and a guy with a sharp looking auto – really love it.  Three sets that I am actively working on so happy to get them – 1989 Topps, 1990 UD and 1991 Toops.

 

Bob Horner 3/3 in eight days – typical to my planning and organization skills, I picked up another 1987 Topps in a deal a few days before getting this.  Oh well, happy to add the 1984 Topps, the #1 Draft Pick from 1985 Topps and my own success from 1987 Topps anyway.  Small fee/donation was paid direct to Mr Horner.

 

Greg Mathews 0/3 – swing and a miss here.  I have gotten Mathews before but this one came back with all three cards unsigned.  Maybe I misspelled his name or he just didn’t like my letter – bummer.

 

Doug Jennings 1/1 in 20 days – 1989 Topps pickup.  Huge auto but it actually fits on the card quite well and doesn’t take anything away from the look – really like it.

 

Leon Roberts 2/2 in 14 days – just picked up another 1984 set at DJs.  I really need to start working on that one a bit more.  Probably my favorite set of all time.

 

Albert Hall 2/2 in nine days – another organizational mistake here as I already have the 1985.  Happy to add the 1989 but no sense in sending a great signer extra cards – my bad Mr Hall but it is appreciated!

 

Brooks Robinson 2/2 plus the HOF post card in ten days – he charges a ridiculously small fee for signing.  I sent him a little extra as I am know he is well worth it – signed two Topps Archives cards for me and included the HOF Postcard as well.  HOF 1983 inscription included – easily one of my favorites!  Here’s to you, Mr Robinson!

 

Steve Balboni 1/1 in 14 days – he only signs one per request but they always look great and he always turns them around quickly.  Again this 1984 set is looking great – love it!

 

Jimy Williams 2/2 in eight days – another fantastic signer and another beautiful looking signature.  Thank you Mr Williams!

 

John Kruk 0/2 – Phillies sent back both cards and my unused return envelope which was nice.  Got their little team package and a note stating they would not be passing along my request to Mr Kruk.  Bummer.

 

Jim Acker 3/3 in 12 days – got a RTS from him the week prior, repackaged and sent to new address and turned around quickly.  Great looking cards from three sets I am working on.  Beautiful!

 

Cliff Johnson 2/2 in 12 days – sent a small fee to Mr Johnson with my request, he turned around in under two weeks and they look great.  1985 Topps got smeared a bit at the end but nothing too bad – happy to slide it in the binder.

 

Doug Drabek 3/3 in 11 days – inscribed all three with “My Best!” and all three look great.  For some reason the 1989 didn’t hold the ink as well as it looks a little bit broken (card issue not signing issue) but very happy to get these three from Mr Drabek!

 

Jimmy Key 1/1 in 11 days – Mr Key only signs one card per request but they always look great.  I have sent him a couple times and do not bother with additional cards as the turnaround is fast and he seems to always take care in where/how he signs on the card.  Very much appreciate the effort Mr Key!

 

Few more pickups from a second trip to DJ’s but those will have to wait for my next post as they are not organized as of yet.  Also only a handful of cards away from 600 total in my 1987 Topps and Traded projects – binder is getting fuller and fuller.  Man that has been a lot of fun!

Thanks for looking and I’ll see you next time!

Slow Mail Monday – But a big Package to Open!

As you may know, or would notice in going through the archives of this documented history of my projects, there have been many starts and stops to my 1987 Topps TTM project.  It has also changed significantly since it’s birth but man has it been a lot of fun.

There have recently been a bunch of guys on twitter who have been actively sending and posting which has led to a renewed drive to get my own envelopes heading out a bit more frequently.

I must admit that I was a little disappointed to only find one return in the mailbox today as I have been pretty busy over the last couple of weeks and have sent out quite a few mailers.  Mondays are typically a big return day here for whatever reason (rarely anything other than recycling in the mail on Tuesdays and Thursdays) so maybe I just had my hopes up a little too high.

Oh well – hopefully that just means that the box will be full moving forward.

Only one return for me today and nothing from the main 1987 set.

Pete Stanicek 2/2 in 76 days – I really shouldn’t be disappointed as it’s always a good feeling to get a mailer back that is a couple months old.  Nice to add to my #2 (1988 Fleer) and #3 (1989 Topps) projects as well.  They look great!

 

The bigger excitement for the day though came when I hit the Post Office this morning and found a nice fat bubble mailer with an expected chuck of names/numbers to cross of the 1987 project.  A big shout out to @examinebaseball on twitter who reached out to me with some cards he was looking to move – a couple emails and a week later, I had a pile of cards to add to the collection!

• #94 Calvin Schiraldi (replacing my ballpoint pen)
• #135 Mike Easler (another ballpoint replacement)
• #164 Sammy Khalifa (you guessed it – another upgrade)
• #236 Tommy John
• #265 Darrell Evans
• #309 Mike Young
• #319 Greg Swindell
• #325 Garry Templeton
• #362 Luis Quinones

 

• #489 Bill Gullickson
• #490 Dale Murphy
• #660 Bob Horner (forgot that I sent him $5 so will probably get this one back at some point – oh well, traders)
• #736 Steve Bedrosian
• #738 Jorge Orta
• #24T David Cone
• #25T Chuck Crim
• #26T Storm Davis
• #34T Terry Francona

 

 

• #43T Mickey Hatcher
• #76T Kevin McReynolds
• #81T Kevin Mitchell
• #84T Gene Nelson
• #85T Graig Nettles
• #92T Dickie Noles
• #96T Luis Polonia
• #129T Matt Williams

 

All in all a pretty darn good day.  There are a few of these with outstanding requests but many of them are pretty fickle signers.  Should I get extras back then so be it – always nice to have a couple trade pieces.

Some updated stats are as follows:

1987 Topps and Topps Traded

• Success 358 (37.53%)
• Purchased/Traded 234 (24.53%)
• Pending 123 (12.89%)
• Failure 78 (8.18%)
• Total Signed autos in hand – 592 which is 62.05% of my need list

Other projects

• 1988 Fleer – 113 Total Autos
• 1984 Topps – 49 Autos
• 1985 Topps – 69 Autos
• 1989 Topps – 76 Autos
• 1991 Topps – 25 Autos

Thanks for stopping in – see you next time!

My Favorite Ballplayer – And I paid a few Guys

I am going to break down today’s post into a couple different threads as there has been a few different things happening here.  We spent last weekend in TriCities, Washington at my daughters softball tournament – first and foremost, I can’t tell you how much fun it is to watch my daughter go out there and compete.  She’s twelve and was a first year select player this year – plays on a pretty new team that struggles a bit but she started the year as a sub hitting toward the bottom of the lineup and finished the year as the teams starting shortstop hitting third – I am a proud poppa!

What a stud – she’s a far better player than her old man ever was – I can promise you that.

 

Alright – onto the TTM updates.

 

I have tried and failed with old Kruky a few times over the last couple of years.  Not even sure as to why I tried again as it’s always been a fairly random return but I can only assume I had a card in front of me and gave it a shot.  Was pumped to cross this one off the 1987 Topps list.

John Kruk 1/1 in 27 days – 1987 Topps #123

 

 

Earnest/Earnie Riles 2/2 via Private Signing on SCN

The price was reasonable so I decided to scratch a couple off the 1987 Topps and 1988 Fleer projects.  Took a little while for the signing to actually happen but the host was great and happy to get these back in and add them to the binder.

 

 

Joe Carter 3/3 in 10 days – tried him with no money and failed.  At $5 per, I think these are well worth the money.  Not sure why it took me so long to add them to the collection.  One of the first pro games I ever saw at the Metrodome in Minneapolis featured Carter rocking three bombs – these are three beauties and I will likely send him another package of cards here shortly.

Historical Note – Joe Carter was the second player in baseball history to end the World Series with a walkoff homerun.  Bill Mazeroski was the first in 1960.

 

 

Steve Buechele 2/2 in 72 days – nice when an older submission comes in and looks as good as these do.  A little ink rubbed off on the envelope on the 1989 Topps but overall pretty happy to add these ones to the collection.

 

 

Lou Whitaker 2/2 in 8 days – like Carter, Lou is another guy whom I tried and failed with no money.  I hesitated a bit to send as it was a little more than I wanted to spend but ended up adding in a little extra and asked for the “Sweet Lou” inscription – I honestly don’t think these could have come out any better and he turned them around in about a week.  Couple beauty additions for sure.

 

There will be another post coming after today’s mail (hopefully there is a full mailbox of cards!) and a sizable purchase of 1987 Topps and Topps Traded auto pickups.  Stats will be forthcoming as well.

Thanks for the look!

 

 

Light Week but a couple PastPros Hits

One of my slower weeks in awhile – sent out three PastPros requests awhile back and all three have now made it in.  Thankfully as the last week only had a couple other returns.  Here they are.

 

STEVE BALBONI 1/1 in 19 days – looks like he’s at one per request these days, fine by me but I have a few more I need to send him.  Started with this one as I had been going through the 1989 Topps Traded box and the pose rules.  Nothing like your favorite “The Thinker” look from the dugout.

 

 

RANDY KUTCHER 1/2 in 18 days – another one from the 1989 Topps Traded box.

 

 

And now a couple PastPros returns

 

JUNIOR ORTIZ 3/3 in about two weeks – scratched three big needs off the list on this pickup and the prices were reasonable.

 

CLAUDELL WASHINGTON 3/3 in about three weeks – not sure about the vertical signature but the crew at PP warned me that his returns were a bit spotty and that it may take awhile but he turned them around pretty quicky.

 

That’s all for now – sent out a couple more today and will hopefully have a little more time this week to fill the outbox.

Couple Weeks of Mail – COBRA-style

OK – that title makes absolutely no sense from the outside world.  Oh well, there are about three of you actually reading this thing and I’m guessing I could have left the title bar blank and you would have checked it out regardless.  You are all scholars and gentlemen through and through.

Enough blathering and on to the show.  Big mixed bag of stuff here – though I must admit that I need to start sending out more than just baseball – need to get that Hockey and Minnesota Viking collecting rolling a bit more.  Some day when I have more time on my hands.

Here are the cards that have hit the mailbox over the last couple of weeks – one RTS in the form of Jim Acker.  I guess I also tried Clint Hurdle at Spring Training as he was signing a bit and ended up getting the standard 3×5 preprint card as seen below as well.  Those are the two failures.

 

And on with the show, in the (relative) order in which they were received.

 

Jerry Reed 3/3 in 9 days – Mariner, sticks his tongue out pitching, sweet stache – all the way around I would call this a great return.  Thank you Mr Reed!

 

Stu Cliburn 1/3 in 27 days – well this one is probably on me for getting greedy.  Typed a letter instead of writing it and sent three cards instead of the one (1989 Topps) I would have really liked to have.  Live and learn – got one back anyway and Stu has a couple to hand out to kids.

 

Jody Davis 3/3 in 9 days – spent a lot of time as a kid watching these Cub teams on WGN (and of course I was listening to Harry Caray day drink) and Davis was one of my favorites. One of my favorites of the week for sure.

 

Willie Fraser 3/3 in 15 days – all nice autos on set needs.  Devon White has been doing (slowly) some signings so maybe I will send that Fleer in to get them both, maybe.

 

Juan Samuel 3/3 in 14 days – Juan has always been a great signer and continued through this request.  My favorite of the bunch is the ’85 Record Breaker – signature stands out well on the white jersey.

 

Bill Long 3/3 in 15 days – man those White Sox hats with Homer Simpson’s ear on the front sucked.  So bad.  Not many 1987s coming back anymore but got this from the Traded set, one more to scratch off.

 

Clay Parker 3/3 in 12 days – always good to pick up another Mariner!

 

Bill Buckner 2/2 in 11 days – got shut down the first time, sent money the second.  Quick turnaround and didn’t cost much.  Still loses a little bit of luster when you have to send in a check and it gets cashed before you get your cards.  Two iconic sets though.

 

Ken Phelps 1/2 in nine days – nice to get the Mariner card back.  I remember babysitting (yeah, I was a babysitter, so what) and watching the Holman bid for a perfect game when Phelps hit a two out bomb in the bottom of the ninth.  If I recall correctly, he said something like “I didn’t want to be looped for the rest of history as the last out of that perfect game” – plus the Mariners traded him away so I imagine there was a little extra ooomph going in that swing.

 

Dave Parker 3/3 in 11 days – yeah, I paid for these one too through Past Pros but he turned them around in under two weeks and gave me two with his nickname “COBRA” inscribed – really happy with how they came out.

 

Ed Romero 3/3 in 14 days – my second quick return from Mr Romero.

 

David Segui 3/3 in 41 days – happened to see his name as a return somewhere and started digging for a few cards.  It probably took me two hours to find one Mariner card to send but finally did and it turned out awesome.

 

That is all for now – hopefully more updates to share shortly.