Juan Marichal TTM Return and Mill Creek Sports Order

My two requests to Juan Marichal this year have taken longer to get back than in the past.  The return I received today was out for about two months, and the one I sent in April took three months.  I'm not complaining, just making an observation.  He might be swamped with requests, or perhaps his age is starting to impact the amount of mail he can answer.

Marichal was the 1965 All Star game MVP.  I came across this 2013 Topps Update card which commemorates that accomplishment and includes a nice little patch in the shape of Minnesota with the Minnie and Paul logo since the game was held here in Minnesota.

Mr. Marichal was kind enough to include his Hall of Fame inscription, probably because I included $20 instead of the usual $10.  I included extra just because the card is unusual, potentially difficult to sign in a small area, and was packaged in a way that might slow him down a bit.

I think it turned out very nicely.  These relic cards, like a few 2005 Donruss Diamond Kings I've sent, always end up with some stress lines around the window of the jersey/bat/seatback.  The only way to avoid that, I think, would be a full-on package shipment, between cardboard pieces, within top loaders, etc.  That would be fine if I'm sending it into a paid signing, but I hate to burden the players with inexpensive ttm fees.

I also received a very quickly shipped order form Mill Creek Sports.  I ordered four slabbed 1963 Topps and a slabbed 1951 Bowman for my set collections.  I had some credit card rewards points to help pay for the majority of this order.  I placed this order on Thursday, the 26th mid-day.  That's right: two days ago.  They processed and packaged the order within a couple of hours and shipped it via Priority Mail.  I received it in less than 48 hours from Washington State to Minnesota.  I've ordered from them several times in the last couple of months and placed my first order with them in the Fall of 2021.  I've never had a problem and have always been happy with my orders.  A few orders have taken a while to arrive, but that has been due to USPS issues, as Mill Creek has always shipped very promptly.

For the 1951 Bowman set, I have 208 cards left to acquire from the 324-card set.  I have 116 cards from the set signed, with about 10 duplicates.  Some of my favorites include Hank Bauer, Bob Feller, Joe Garagiola, Monte Irvin, George Kell, Don Newcombe, Billy Pierce, and Virgil Trucks.

I have 205 cards left to acquire in the 1963 Topps set.  There are 576 cards in the set, so I have about 371 cards in the set signed.  A quick look at the files on my web site leads me to believe I also have 64 duplicates signed.  A few of my favorites from this set include Rocky Colavito, Al Kaline, Tony Kubek, Bill Mazeroski, Tony Oliva (rookie), Gaylord Perry, Carl Yastrzemski, and the team cards,

 including this Twins card with eight signatures on it so far.

I've sent out 35 requests recently, with about a dozen of those going out ten days ago, so those may be coming back soon, assuming the USPS isn't backed up around here.  I have not seen nor heard of any big issues, so I'm hoping for a busy week logging returns next week.  I may have two or three mail-in signing returns coming as well.