Brooks Robinson - 1965 Topps

Today I received a 1965 Topps signed by Brooks Robinson. I sent it to an SCN contact who took the items to a signing at The Dugout Zone, where Robinson signs a couple of times a year.

I have several outstanding items sent to private signings, but not much out to regular ttm requests. Things might be slow for a while.

Brooks Robinson and Del Crandall

I got back my Brooks Robinson 2008 Goudey. A member of SCN took of bunch of requests to the dugoutzone.com signing. This makes 21 signed Goudeys in my collection. I'm not sure how many more I'm going to get. I forgot that I needed Brooks on a 1965 Topps too, so I'll have to get that next time.

I also got back a 1954 Topps signed by Del Crandall. I included $3 with my request.

Leo "Chico" Cardenas

Today I received a 1965 Topps signed by Leo "Chico" Cardenas. I included $5 with my request and he signed it in a very quick 6 days. His brings my 1965 Topps collection up to about 307. I need to take the time to go over the 1965 Topps checklist and mark off which ones I have and make an effort to send out to those remaining.






I've decided to really go after the retired players in the 2008 Goudey set. I purchased a few more for some upcoming signings including Mike Schmidt, Brooks Robinson and Whitey Ford. Speaking of Whitey, I'm still waiting for my 1965 Topps back from him.

Will Casey Blake Become a Twin (again)?

About the only interesting chatter I'm hearing from the Twins is the fact that they're showing some interest in Casey Blake. The Twins are one of 8 teams that are showing an interest in him, so if it becomes a bidding war, the Twins will surely lose. Casey signed this 2004 Topps Heritage for me through the mail during the 2005 season.

Blake is from Iowa, and I've read that he is interested in returning to the Twins organization. Blake was with the Twins before being released twice, once in 2001 and again in 2002. I actually don't remember him being with the Twins. According to his stats on mlb.com, he played in 29 games split between the 2000, 2001 and 2002 seasons.

Blake is 35 years old, so this seems like another attempt by the Twins to find an aging player to resurrect his career with the Twins, such as Brett Boone, Craig Monroe, Livan Hernandez, Eddie Guardado, etc, etc, etc.

I'd prefer to stick with Brian Buscher at third, even though he's a left-handed batter and I think the Twins want some more righties in the lineup. This picture is of Brian Buscher and my younger son, at a signing at the Twins Pro Shop in Apple Valley in July of 2008.

We'll see if this interest turns into any action. If Blake doesn't work out, maybe the Twins will call Mike Schmidt or Brooks Robinson.