Ken Tatum TTM Return

Ken Tatum was kind enough to sign his 1971 - 1973 Topps cards for my collection.  The 72 and 73 are upgrades for the request I sent him about 10 years ago when he returned them signed in faint black pen.  
Luckily, he signed them nicely in blue sharpie, which I did not include in my request, but saw his history on SCN showing a good chance he'd use one.

The 72 Topps is a high number card, so I'm glad to not have to buy another to try again.  I paid a little over $11 for this one.

Here is the 72 Topps I received back when I sent to him in 2015.

Tom House and Terry Hughes TTM Returns / Billy Martin and Robin Yount Purchases

Today I received a couple ttm returns after a quiet week. 

Tom House helped my finish two more of his 1972 Topps cards.  I posted two others completed by Rick Kester.  I think I have five or six of these cards completed now.  I either need to stop or get enough completed to fill up a 9-pocket page.  Just kidding, I have enough now.  

I recently completed four of these, because I sent two to Britton, didn't get them back, so sent two more, then got all four back.  So, I felt the need to get all four completed by the other two, and did so in two requests each, sending two cards each time.

Anyway, House also signed his 1969 Topps as well as the 1972 Topps Braves team.

Terry Hughes signed his 1974 and 1975 Topps.  My first attempt at this 1974 card got a little ruined by a bad pen used by Andre Thornton, but I finished it anyway.  I'll send this one off to John Knox next, who can be a little slow in returning his requests.  My last one took over 4 months.  But he is still reliable and generous.  Just a little slow sometimes.

Here's the previous attempt at this one.

I bought a slabbed 1971 Topps Billy Martin from an SCN member, and a 2013 A&G signed by Yount from Tom Orr's eBay sales.  I am still amazed I can buy these Ginter's signed by non-TTM-signing Hall of Famers for between $20 and $25.

Justin Morneau Bobbleheads

I got motivated enough to photograph the three Justin Morneau bobbleheads I got back from Fan HQ today.

One was an older Season Ticket, red base version, and the other two are the newer ones they put out to commemorate members of the Twins Hall of Fame.

I also bought another vintage bobblehead.  This time a Phillies Gold Round base version from 1967 to 1972.

Rick Kester, Dave Baldwin and Justin Morneau Fan HQ Signing Return

Today I received a very nice return from Rick Kester, despite having sent to him just a few weeks ago.  I ended up with several 1972 Topps Braves Rookie Stars when Jimmy Britton returned an old request I had given up on as well as a more current request.  Both requests had two 1972 Topps in them, so I ended up with four.

I split those four into two requests of two cards each to Kester and House.  House returned one request, and I sent those on to Kester.  I still have one request out to House to finish the other two.  Confused?  Yeah, me too.

Anyway, Mr. Kester was very generous and wrote me a nice note as well.  He also completed a 1971 Topps already signed by Ralph Garr.

I received a sad return from Dave Baldwin.  I sent three cards and received a note that he's been very ill and will be focusing on his health and no longer signing autographs.  However, one of my cards was signed, in a similar style that he has signed in the past, but much more fluid and legible.  I'm guessing a family member thought they were doing a fan a favor, but I would have preferred they not sign the card.

I can't imagine it was actually signed by him.  Here's his signature from a request I sent five years ago:

I received a lot of items back from Fan HQ that I sent in for a Justin Morneau signing.  I have three bobbleheads I haven't unpacked yet, but I did unpack and scan the cards.  I sent seven cards.  Unfortunately, one was smeared, but they are going to get it signed by him again soon.  They were kind enough to include the 2013 Archives for free.

The two 2010 Topps Heritage cards completed my Twins team set for that year.  Here are the other cards in that set.

I'll post the three bobbleheads once I get them unpacked and photographed.  Hopefully tomorrow.

Luis Arraez Mail-In Signing and Vern Law TTM Returns

Things are pretty slow because I just haven't sent out many requests.  Just a couple here and there.

Today I received a nice return from ever-reliable Vern (Vernon Law), who signed a 1962 Topps Pirates team card as well as a 1966 Topps on which he added a ton of inscriptions.  I included $20 with my request.

The team card was previously signed by Roy Face, Bobby Shantz, Bill Mazeroski and Bob Skinner.  All good players and all great ttm signers.

I also received a 2020 Allen & Ginter signed by Luis Arraez back from a Fan HQ signing.  I thought it was steep at $49, but I guess it's appropriate for a three-time batting champ, with a .354 average in 2023 and a decent .334 for the Twins in 2019.  It came with a Beckett Witness Authentication sticker at no extra charge.  

I was disappointed when the Twins traded him.  I wonder if they thought his hitting was a fluke and wanted to cash in on his "luck".  Carew was a big fan of his, and he's probably a decent judge of hitters.  Luis is barely 28 years old, so he could win a few more batting titles before he's done.

I never met Arraez in person at TwinsFest or any other event.  I have added some of his signed cards through purchases though.