Cardenas, Escobar and Fairly

Today I received two TTM returns and one purchase.

I sent a 1963 Topps to Leo Cardenas who signed it for his $5 fee.  I had previously sent one to a private signing but I wasn't happy with how his signature turned out.  It didn't match his others.  Perhaps he was tired after signing a lot.  Anyway, this one looks good to me.

Ron Fairly signed his 1971, 1973 and 1978 Topps and also included information about his book.

 

Finally, I received a 2017 Topps Heritage signed by Eduardo Escobar that I bought from a fellow SCN member.  I bought this prior to the Twins trading him away.  I guess I won't be seeing him at TwinsFest next year.

A Couple Returns - Groth and Law

I was away for the weekend and returned to a couple of returns in the mailbox.

Vern Law signed his 1956 Topps and added a couple inscriptions.

Johnny Groth signed his 1952 Red Man.  I really like these cards and regret not sending out more a long time ago.

Phil Rizzuto 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game

I always regretted not sending this card to Mr. Rizzuto for my set, and I'm not sure why I didn't.

I came across this authenticated card on Ebay for a reasonable price so I decided to add it to my collection.

I did send a few cards TTM, including his 1951 Bowman and his 1954 Topps.

Bob J. Miller

Today I received another vintage return: Bob J. Miller signed his 1957 and 1958 Topps cards in about two weeks.

There are three Bob Millers that played pro ball. Four if you count the one that played in the late 1800's.  This return is from Bob J. Miller.

Bob G. Miller played around the same time and has also signed a couple cards for me about 10 years ago.

The Bob Miller that played from the late 1950's into the 1970's passed away in 1993.

Wayne Granger Return

Another return from a former-Twin today.  Wayne Granger signed his 1971, 1972 and 1973 Topps in 9 days.

I previously had his 1972 Topps form a purchase I made, but decided I'd rather have one TTM.

I've got several more requests out and a few cards on their way from Ebay to send out more.

George Mitterwald Return

Last week I started sending out a handful of requests.  My first one came back today.  Hopefully I'll have a relatively steady stream of returns to report on in the next few weeks.  Longer, if I can keep up the habit of sending out more requests.

George Mitterwald signed his 1969, 1971, 1976 and 1978 Topps in 7 days.

Bert Blyleven Bat

I was browsing Ebay the other day and came across this bat being offered by a local seller.  The auction was close to being complete and the price was still very low so I bid on it and won.  Even with shipping, it was barely more than the price of the bat itself.  It has JSA authentication as well.

I'm not a huge fan of pitchers signing bats, but this seemed too good to pass up for a former Twin and Hall of Famer.

Garry Roggenburk - 1963 Western Oil Nicholas Volpe Print

I received a very quick return from Garry Roggenburk who signed his 1963 Western Oil Nicholas Volpe print in just 6 days.

This makes 13 signed prints that I've received from this set. There are 24 prints in the set, but I think there are only one or two players left that I don't have that haven't passed away.

I had to buy a set of about a dozen of these unsigned prints on Ebay just to get the Mr. Roggenburk's.  I kept the prints of the deceased players that I didn't have yet and am trying to sell the others individually on Ebay.  These are rather hard to come by in decent shape, and they are usually sold in groups rather than individually.

The 1964 set seems even harder to come by.  I only have seven of those signed so far.

A.J. Pierzynski Signed Bobblehead

I sent my A.J. Pierzynski bobblehead into a signing held by an SCN contact and received it back this weekend.

I still have a few SGA bobbleheads I need to get signed from back in the early 2000's including Guzman, Guardado, Gaetti, Aguilera and a bunch of Pucketts.  It shouldn't be too hard to get Guardado, Gaetti and Aguilera, but Guzman might be tough.  The Pucketts will be spendy if I can find them.

Al Kaline - 1956 Topps

The 1956 Topps set isn't always great for autographs but this Kaline card came out pretty nice I think.  I received this back today after sending to him just seven days ago.

I have a few other Hall of Famers in this set:

Mike Cubbage Return

Today I received three cards back from Mike Cubbage who signed his 1976, 1978 and 1979 Topps.

I remember buying packs in 1978 and hoping to get cars of Twins players.  I seemed to only get Mike Cubbage and Butch Wynegar cards, and had a bunch of each of them.

Once I discovered TTM autographs, Butch Wynegar was one of the first I sent to.  I also sent to Mr. Cubbage, but not his 1978 card for some reason.

Tommy Brown - 1952 Topps

90 year old Tommy Brown signed his 1952 Topps for me in a little over two weeks.

His signature is very nice for his age, and way better than most of the current players, who have unrecognizable signatures.

Ryne Sandberg - 2008 Goudey

Ryne Sandberg signed his 2008 Goudey for me in 10 days.

I really like this set, and have been trying to get some of the retired players from it.

I've been working on it for quite a while but hadn't gotten any signed lately.

I was fortunate enough to have Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew sign their cards in-person at TwinsFest in 2009.

Jim Kaat - 1964 Western Oil Nicholas Volpe Print

I don't know why I waited so long to send this out to Mr. Kaat, but he signed it nicely in just 11 days for his $25 fee.  He also included a nice handwritten note thanking me and letting me know that the donation would be used to support youth baseball and softball.

This is the seventh print I have signed from the 1964 set.  I also have 12 signed from the 1963 set.  All of the portraits in the 1963 set have black backgrounds, whereas the 1964 set has various colors.  I think I like the 1963 set a bit better, not because of the black backgrounds, but because they have a portrait as well as an action image of the player, whereas the 1964 set has two portraits. 

I had Mr. Kaat sign his 1963 portrait via a mail-in signing a few years ago.

I also have a 1970 John Wheeldon print that was a Super Valu giveaway signed by Mr. Kaat.  This was signed at an in-person signing in 2010.

Al Downing Finished Off The 1964 Young Aces Card

After getting Jim Bouton to sign the card a few weeks ago, I sent it off to Al Downing.  Mr. Downing signed and returned it in just under two weeks.

I missed watching the Twins over the weekend.  An unusually late snowstorm hit Minnesota, which postponed three of the four games against the White Sox.  I was mostly indoors over the weekend, except for snow blowing the driveway.  This was the view from my front door.

Another Bat Display Case

After a bit of a wait for the seller to get this back in stock, I bought another 5-bat display case for the wall.

I moved the other bat case to display right below it.

I normally hate to spend money on display items, as I'd rather buy more autographs!  But without these I have no good way to display my bats and they just sit in a corner gathering dust.  These cases are pretty affordable too, especially compared to other options I've seen.  I could use one or two more, but I don't have the wall space to put them.

Phil Garner Return

Today I received four cards back from Phil Garner in just nine days.  He was generous enough to sign his 1976, 1978 and 1979 Topps as well as his 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game.

I have a handful of requests still outstanding, so hopefully they'll come back soon.

Goodwill Find

I stopped in a Goodwill store today and came across a very used-looking baseball but decided to take a closer look.  It had a couple black sharpie autographs on it that I didn't recognize, but for 99 cents, I decided to take a chance. 

The ball isn't an official Rawlings Major League ball, but any leather-covered ball has to be worth 99 cents just as a baseball, right?

After looking online and trying to find players with the jersey numbers listed on the ball, I gave up and posted a picture of it on sportcollectors.net.  In just a few minutes, another member identified the signatures as Tommy Hanson and Jonny Venters, who played for the Atlanta Braves from about 2010 through 2012.

Unfortunately, Tommy Hanson passed away in 2015 due to issues with cocaine and alcohol.

I have no idea how an Atlanta Braves-signed ball made its way to Minnesota, but it made for an interesting find.

Jim Bouton Return

Today I received a couple cards back from Jim Bouton after about 12 days.

He signed his 1965 Topps Young Aces card, which I'll send off to Al Downing next.  He also signed his 1965 Topps World Series card.