Steve Carlton TTM and Mickey Rivers Mail-In Signing Returns

I sent three cards, including his 1965 Topps rookie card, to Steve Carlton via Game Winner Sports.  I included $40 per card but received a rather passive/aggressive note including the price list which lists his rookie card signing fee of $75.  Someone wrote "Look" with an arrow pointing to the $75 fee and even drew in little eyeballs in the o's of the word "look".  I guess I'll send them the $35, but couldn't they just have written, "the fee for rookie cards are $75" or something along those lines?  Anyway, it's apparently a charity so I'll be sure to send them another check.  I'll probably send him a Grand Slam print to sign, and I'll just add on the additional $35 I owe them.

I didn't remember that little vertical line over his shoulder before and at first thought it was an accidently pen mark.  But after looking at cards on eBay, realized it's part of the picture, and might be a flag or foul pole or something.  This was not a cheap card, despite the PSA grade of 2 and a couple wrinkles/creases on the right side.

Fritz Ackley passed away back in 2002, so this card is as complete as it's going to get.  I'm not sure if I would have him sign it anyway.  Maybe if he participated in a mail-in signing, but I wouldn't risk it ttm.

I also had him sign his 1972 Topps Traded and the 1972 Topps N.L. Pitching Leaders card already signed by Downing and Jenkins.  The leaders' card has turned out great, I think, with matching ink and signature placement by all three players.  If it were signed by Seaver, this would be an amazing card.

I also sent in a 1978 Topps A.L. Championship card for Mickey Rivers to sign, after having Frank White sign it.  I paid just a few dollars more for this signing than he charges ttm, but wanted to increase the chances that it was signed in blue sharpie and made its way back to me since his success rate on SCN is at about 75%.

I purchased another bunch of vintage bobbleheads.  I've gone too crazy on these this year and need to slow down and be more selective now that have a nice start to a collection.  I'll post a few when I receive them, including another Twins version.  I'll have about 75 vintage baseball bobbleheads, with only a few duplicates, after I receive this latest lot.

Kent Hrbek Bobbleheads From a Mail-In Signing and a Garry Roggenburk TTM Return

This Hrbek signing with Guy Puglia was originally supposed to take place last month, but Hrbek had to postpone.  I sent in three bobbleheads.  

I think the Legends of the Dome bobble with the red base, which was part of a set along with Puckett, was a season ticket holder giveaway.  I'm not 100% sure, but I have a green base version as well that I think was part of a Stadium Giveaway in 2011.  This red base version, along with the Puckett, came in a plain white box with a complicated styrofoam insert.  The little sign at the bottom is actually broken off, which happened prior to me sending it into this signing.  I just propped it up for the picture but will glue it later.

The one with his fist in the air is his Twins Hall of Fame version from 2020.

And the one along with Ron Gant was a 2011 Stadium Giveaway.  I suppose I'll try to get Gant to sign it as well.  He's a great signer ttm, but hasn't done a signing since 2021.  Maybe I'll send him a letter to see if he's willing to sign it if I send it to him and include some cash and all the supplies necessary to sign and return it.

I love collecting signed bobbleheads.  I have eight signed Hrbek bobbles now.  The downside is the amount of space it takes to display them all.  And, for every bobblehead that is displayed, there is an empty box sitting somewhere, that takes up even more room.

I have mostly been able to confine my collection to Twins bobbleheads, but I have strayed a bit with Brooks Robinson, Juan Marichal, Bill Mazeroski and one currently out to a Rollie Fingers signing.

I also received a ttm request return from former-Twin Garry Roggenburk.  He signed three of his cards and a couple Twins team cards for me. 

The team cards are the second versions of them since I lost the ones I was working on to a request to Al Worthington.  That 1966 card had Rich Rollins on it who has since passed away, along with six other signatures.

I included a medium blue Stadtler with my request, which he returned despite me telling him he could keep it.  I have sent to him several times in the past and he always signs in some black ballpoint or very fine marker.  They don't look terrible, but these are significant upgrades in my opinion.  Here are some of my previous returns on the same cards.

Since I sent five cards and the pen within a bubble mailer with a return bubble mailer, I included $20 despite him not having a set fee.

I usually limit my requests to four cards, as long as I see that they are willing to sign four in their history on SCN.  Some people think that's too many.  I like to feel I'm getting the most return for my investment of two envelopes and a couple of stamps :-), despite not having any intention to sell them.  I'll even throw in a card or two that I already have signed with my request because, why not?

I almost always send money along with requests of 5 or more, as well as when I make it more difficult to handle, like using the larger bubble envelopes, or if I've included a pen and a bunch of picky instructions.  Even if it's not a lot of money, I think it shows them that you realize they are doing you a favor that has some value and that you appreciate their time and effort.

International Signings Returns and Some 1962 Post TTM

I finally started to receive a few "regular" ttm returns.  These are from requests I sent directly to players without sending a pen and having to ship via Pirate Ship with bubble envelopes both ways.  

Don Schwall signed a 1962 Post nicely in blue ballpoint.  The ballpoint ink is unusually strong, making it look like a sharpie or Staedtler.  I can only tell it's ballpoint by the indentations on the card.

Jim Gentile signed two copies of his 1962 Post, one of which will go to my son for his birthday, along with the Schwall.  His birthday is in a couple weeks, so I have to start putting the cards I've gathered into a binder.  I included $20 with my request to Mr. Gentile.  He used to sign for free, but as he has gotten older, it was too hard to keep up with the volume of requests.  A year or two ago, a collector that frequents SCN spoke with Mr. Gentile and agreed to help him with a signing.  It was great, because at the same time, he helped him go through his outstanding requests and send them back unsigned.  I was really happy to get mine back, because I had sent some multi-signed team cards.  At least I got them back and was able to send them back to him for the signing.

Since the signing, Mr. Gentile has agreed to sign for $10 per card.  The fee is intended to reduce the volume of mail he receives while still allowing him to sign for fans.

I also received a couple signings back from players that live out of the country.  This promoter arranges multiple players to sign and then travels to their home country.  I'm not positive, but I think both of these were from Mexico.

These signings can take a long time to get done and returned.  Often, the signings get postponed, and the promoter's trip is extended.  He also waits until he returns to the U.S. to return the packages to avoid international shipping.  These signings were supposed to take place in late July and mid-August, so there wasn't too much of a delay this time.

I had Max (Maximino) Leon sign his 1975, 1976 and 1977 Topps.

And Enrique Romo signed his 1978, 1982 and 1983 Topps.

These signings are usually quite affordable, usually $10 - $12 per card, with small discounts for multiple cards.  These signings are a bargain for set collectors who want these players in their collections.  They typically don't sign ttm, and even if they did, the international shipping is a hassle.  They also don't do many signings in the U.S., so their signatures are hard to come by, although they may have been good signers during their playing days.

I am participating in a few more signings from this promoter, including Vicente Romo, Orlando Sanchez and Horacio Pina, for December signings with an expected return in mid-February, once he returns to the U.S.

Catching Up From a Week Away

I had my mail held at the post office last week since we spent some time on the North Shore of Lake Superior, primarily in Minnesota, but took a day trip into Wisconsin.

I didn't have a single ttm request delivered during the week, but that's because I have not sent many out.  I sent a handful out before I left so I may see some of those returned this week.

I did receive some purchases and mail-in signings returns though.

I received Grand Slam prints back from signings for a couple Twins.  The Rod Carew print looks nice.  I had it authenticated by Beckett on the back.

The Chuck Knoblauch print is quite strange.  His signature looks nothing like any I have in my collection or have seen.  His signature seems to get a little worse as the time goes on, and not worse because he's getting older and his handwriting is getting shaky.  Just worse in that it gets more abbreviated and less like the letters in his actual name.

This one, however, has a couple large spaces between some of the letters.  In the past, his signature has been one continuous string, without even a space between his first and last name.  I don't doubt that it is authentic and I'm guessing it's just another style he's using now.  I did not have an option for authentication for this signing.  I reached out to the promoter so see if all of his signatures looked like this from the signing, or if maybe mine was a fluke.  I have not yet heard back.

I added another card to my 1958 Topps set collection, which happens less and less frequently now that I only need about 80-85 cards to complete it. 

Mill Creek sold me this 1982 Topps Carl Yastrzemski slabbed by Beckett.  I paid much less for this than his signing fee, although I haven't seen a signing with him for quite a while.

Finally, I bought a 2004 Topps Heritage Johan Santana card on eBay.  This one would look nice slabbed, so I may submit it if I come across a cheap deal on authentication.  I have his 2000 Fleer Tradition rookie card in for authentication now and hope to get it back in the next month or so.

After being silent on my blog last week, I hope this week will be very busy.

Wade Boggs Grand Slam Print

Another TTM Grand Slam print showed up today.  Wade Boggs signed his nicely and added his HOF inscription without me having to ask.

The only other Grand Slam print I have out ttm is to Steve Garvey, who's had it a while.  Many other returns from him have been posted on SCN since.  Maybe the large bubble envelope got handled differently than a typical, smaller card request and it's sitting to the side somewhere.  Hopefully he gets to it soon.  Otherwise, I might have to send it to a signing and pay considerably more than the $20 in addition to losing the $20 I already sent.  I think he'll get to it eventually though.

I have five other Grand Slam prints out to paid signings.

Fergie Jenkins Grand Slam Print Return

I sent this print directly to Fergie Jenkins rather than through a promoter.  He does a great job, and you never have to worry about what pen he's going to use.  He also always includes his HOF inscription.

I'm up to 19 of these prints signed.  And 8-10 still out ttm and to signings.

Bret Saberhagen Grand Slam Print and Bill Mazeroski Return

I received two ttm returns today.

Bret Saberhagen signed a Grand Slam print for me.  I included a $25 donation to his charity.

I was lucky to get this return back from Bill Mazeroski.  It was a pretty typical request, with just two cards and a regular sase.  When I received my sase, one end was taped shut, but the other end was sliced neatly open.  Luckily, the cards were still inside.  I have no idea what happened or who taped up the other side, but I'm glad to get these back.

The 1980 Fleer Laughlin card was previously signed by Yankees Bobby Shantz and Bobby Richardson.  It's odd they chose to highlight the Yankees players on this card when the Pirates won the series.  Why not put Mazeroski on it?  Richardson won the WS MVP award, the only time someone from the losing team won it.  Rumor has it that the votes had to be in by the end of the game and the Yankees were winning until the late comeback, capped by Mazeroski's home run.

The MVP award came with a Corvette as the award.  Richardson once wrote me that Vern Law felt he should have won that award and always asked Richardson how "his" car was, thinking the car should have been his.

I purchased this team card with all of the signatures on it before sending it to Mazeroski.  Somehow, Bill Virdon signed it twice.

Jack Morris Grand Slam Print

I received a Grand Slam print back from a Jack Morris signing.  It is Tri-Star authenticated.

I also received a Dave Winfield bobblehead back from a signing, but its neck snapped on its way back to me.  I don't want to deal with it right now.

Ken McBride and Jim Nettles TTM Returns and a Couple Twins Topps Heritage Purchases

Both of my ttm returns were sent in bubble envelopes via PirateShip with blue Staedtler pens and similar return envelopes.  It's relatively expensive, but you can't send pens without the envelope being considered a package, since it is rigid.  I could use a regular sase to return the cards since I tell them to keep the pens, but I like the additional protection and tracking.

Ken McBride signed six cards for me, including his 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1965 Topps, as well as his 1964 Stand Up and the 1966 Topps Angels team card previously signed by four others.  It looks like the 63 got a little smeared a bit on the first letter, but it blends in pretty well with the blue of the card.  But that might be why he chose to also sign that card on the back?  I'm not really sure.  Despite him not having a fee or donation requirement, I included $20 with my request since it contained so many cards and due to the hassle of the bubble envelopes.  However, he returned the $20 back to me with my signed cards with no note or explanation.  I had asked a couple questions in my letter which were also unanswered.  I appreciate Mr. McBride's generosity.

I chose to send these cards with a pen because my five previous requests to him over the last 21 years were signed in ballpoint, and sometimes black ballpoint.  These are nice upgrades over the previous returns:

Jim Nettles signed a couple copies of his 1971 Topps for me.  One was previously signed by Pete Hamm nicely in blue Staedtler.  I wanted to have that signature matched, so I sent it along with a pen for him to use.  I'm not sure if I'll have Hamm sign this other copy of the card or not.  I've sent to Hamm several times over the last few months so I may let him be for a while before sending again.  I do have a couple copies of Hamm's 72 Topps out for authentication/slabbing and might do that with this completed 71 as well.

Again, despite him having no set fee and most people on SCN not sending any, I decided to enclose $10 for Mr. Nettles due to the hassle of the bubble envelopes.  I'm guessing he is getting a lot of these cards in the mail lately since Hamm started signing and is catching up on 20 years of requests

Finally, I purchased a couple Topps Heritage cards of Twins players to help towards my sets.  

Jose Miranda signed a copy of this 2022 for me ttm, but he used a black marker on that one.  This is a nice upgrade.  

The 2023 is my first Jovani Moran card and my 14th Twins card from the set, which I believe contains 21 cards.