MiLB Addresses Site

I got a note from Alex letting me know about a site he's maintaining with Minor League players' addresses for TTM requests.

I've added his site to the links on the left sidebar on this page.  Give it a shot and let him know how it goes.  His email address is listed on top of the page:

MiLB Addresses

Former-Twin Willie Norwood Return

Today's return keeps my daily-return-for-the-week goal alive.

Today I received a return from former-Twin Willie Norwood, who signed his 1978, 1979 and 1980 Topps, as well as the 1980 Topps Twins team card.

Next week I should start getting back a couple returns from private signings that I'm anxious to get.

Whitey Herzog - 1983 Topps

My hope of getting a return each day this week stays alive today, with a single return.

Whitey Herzog signed his 1983 Topps for his $5 fee.  I'm happy to add another Hall of Famer to my set.

Rocky Colavito and Darrell Evans

I'm hoping to get returns every day this week. So far, so good, with two returns today.

I finally broke down and sent this 1959 Sport Magazine to be signed by Rocky Colavito.  His fee is kind of expensive ($55), but when I was looking through my box of unsigned magazines, this one stood out.  It's in great shape with no label, the picture of him on the front is nice and it's not cluttered with other pictures or too much text. 

I included a blue sharpie with my request, and used sticky notes to indicate where I'd like it signed.  I don't normally request a specific location to be signed, especially if there is no fee.  But for $55, I felt like I was justified in making the request.  He signed it exactly as I asked, and in only 11 days.

This is the fourth magazine I've gotten signed this year.  My goal is five.

I also received a nice return from Darrell Evans, who signed his 1975, 1976, 1979 and 1983 Topps in a little under two months.

Dave Campbell and Sam McDowell

I started off the week with two returns.

Dave Campbell signed his 1978 and 1979 Topps for me.   There are two Dave Campbells that played in the 1970's.  This one, a pitcher, played in 1977 and 1978 for the Braves.

The other Dave Campbell, an infielder, played from 1967 to 1974 for a few teams including Detroit and San Diego.

I also received a return from Sam McDowell, who signed his 1971 Topps for his $5 fee.  I was getting a little worried as it has been about three months since I sent it.  I have a few more cards I'd like him to sign, but I'll wait a bit before sending them.

1961-1962 Minnesota Twins Mini Bobblehead

Almost five years ago, I bought a set of four vintage Twins bobbleheads from a a guy on Craigslist. (I posted about it here.) I was really happy to get those for a great price.  They are in great condition as well.

Since then, I have kept my eye out for the mini-version which was made with a magnet on the bottom so you could stick it on the dashboard of your car.  For those of you too young to remember, cars used to have metal dashboards.

I would imagine that the majority of these that were actually put on people's dashboards ending up flying off in quick-brake situations and got broken.

The prices on Ebay are usually outrageous for these, or the condition is poor.

A couple days ago, a friend of mine who sells at card shows, told me he bought a few bobbleheads from a customer at a card  show, including two of these mini-bobbleheads.  I told him to let me know when he was ready to sell them because I'd be interested at the right price.

He messaged me yesterday with some pictures and prices, and I bought the higher-condition one for a great price.  I didn't know if I would ever own one because I wasn't willing to pay Ebay prices, but this one was very reasonable and I appreciate him letting me buy it.

He had another that was in a little worse condition, but it had  a large chip out of the brim of the cap that was glaringly noticeable.  He had that one priced at half of what I paid for this one, which is an incredible deal, and if that was the only one he had, I would have bought it.

Here's a picture of it next to the regular-sized version that was sold between 1961 and 1963:

I am getting to the age where I start thinking that I might have to downsize my collection in case we downsize our house, or just to get rid of some of the collectibles that I can't take with me to the grave, and that I don't want my kids to have to deal with when we're gone.  This would include nearly 5000 comics, and a room full of Star Wars toys in addition to the thousands of autographed baseball cards, balls, photos and bobbleheads.

I would keep a few items, those that I like the most or that mean the most to me.  Probably just enough to fit in one or two display cases.  For example, I'd keep the ball and picture that Harmon Killebrew signed to me and my family in the 1970's at the local shopping mall.  This bobblehead, and the four other vintage bobbleheads I have, would also fall into that "save" category.

Former-Twin Bob Gorinski - 1978 Topps

I received one return today.  Bob Gorinski signed his 1978 Topps for me in about three weeks.

The 1978 Topps set is really the only set I collected as a kid when it came out  I bought wax packs at the drug store after church on Sundays.  I didn't follow baseball very closely then, but I was definitely familiar with the players.  I mainly wanted to get cards of Twins players from those packs, and it seemed like  every pack had either Mike Cubbage or Butch Wynegar in them.  I was happy to get these guys' cards, but how many do you really need?  Oddly, I don't remember Mr. Gorinski's card.

It might be because he didn't actually play in 1978, so I didn't recognize him from whatever games I might have caught on TV, and wouldn't have heard his name on TV.  He only played 54 games in 1977, which was the only year he played in the majors.

Dan Norman Return and Rocky Colavito Purchase

A few weeks ago I saw Juan Berenguer at a small card show and had him sign his 1979 Topps rookie card.  Then I sent it off to  Dwight Bernard, and finally to Dan Norman, who signed it nicely along with his 1980 and 1983 Topps cards.

I included a $5 donation and he wrote and signed a short note thanking me for the donation that he gives to his church.

I also received an Ebay purchase from a reputable autograph signing promoter.  I bought a 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game signed by Rocky Colavito, for much less than his usual $55 fee.

I really like this set for some reason and have been working on it for a long time.  I don't expect to complete it.  In fact, you can't really complete it because it includes players who were deceased before the set was released.  This set contains some certified cards, with a sort of mustard-colored border like this Bruce Sutter card:

The unsigned cards have a dark maroon-like color.  I really like the photos on these cards and the way the images sometimes overlay the border, like on this Bill Mazeroski card that I got signed in 2017:

The set is full of stars and Hall of Famers, and I've been fortunate to get some really nice returns through the mail.

The first card from the set I got signed was Bobby Doerr back in 2003, shortly after I started this hobby.

I was able to get Rod Carew to sign his card for free before a Rochester Red Wings game back in 2010,  when I was in Rochester, New York for work.

Hank Bauer was a great signer and I sent to him many times in the early 2000's, including this card in 2005.

I've got a few over 50 of these cards signed, not including the certified versions I own.

Wayne Gross and Bob Veale

I received two more returns today, from Wayne Gross and Bob Veale.

Wayne Gross signed his 1978, 1979 and 1985 Topps in about three months.

This return satisfied my goal of adding 50 signed 1978 Topps cards to my set for the year.  It was harder than I thought it would be, mostly because I didn't want to pay a lot in fees.

The return envelope from Bob Veale was in pretty rough shape.  Luckily, the cards inside were in nice condition.  I don't include any type of protection for the cards in my requests.  No top loaders, no index cards and no cardboard.  I've found that doing so causes more issues than just mailing the cards alone.  In this case, Mr. Veale kindly added a piece of styrofoam egg carton to help protect my cards.  I think the rigidity can cause the envelope to get caught and mangled in the USPS sorting machines.  Also, making the envelope rigid can cause the cost of mailing go up to package rates, if the USPS employee is picky enough.

That isn't to say that I never have any issues with cards getting damaged, but I think much less so than trying to prevent it by adding extra material.

I've sent out 23 requests this month, including 20 in just the last two days.  Hopefully, the returns will be pretty consistent for several weeks. I have also participated in some private signings that will occur later this month and I'm anxious to get those items back.

John Hale, Dave Heaverlo and Brooks Robinson

Today I received a couple returns with some late 70's cards and a nice return from a Hall of Famer.

John Hale signed his 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979 Topps.

Dave Heaverlo signed cards from the same years as John Hale.

And I received a return from Brooks Robinson, who signed his 1970 Topps All Star card as well as the 1971 Topps Orioles team card, showing the 1970 World Champions.

I was getting a little worried about this request.  Mr. Robinson is a great signer through the mail and usually responds in a week or two.  Shortly after I sent this request back in June, his returns seemed to stop.  I was worried that he may be having health issues, but his returns started again in the last week or so.

I  don't think I'll have anyone else sign the team card.

Carlos May - Early 70's Topps

The return in my Informed Delivery email this morning turned out to be from Carlos May.

Mr. May was kind enough to sign his 1971, 1972 and 1973 Topps for me in just 12 days.

I already had two signed copies of the 1972 Topps.  

I bought one a long time ago, signed in ballpoint.  The signature doesn't match up with my others.  Either it's a rushed, in-person signature, or perhaps it's an older signature that has changed over time, or perhaps it's not authentic.  It definitely doesn't appear to be someone copying his signature though, because it's quite different.  I saw a couple like this on Ebay, but they weren't authenticated.

The other 1972 card I already had was signed at a mail-in signing in March of 2017.  It matches up very closely to the ones I received today.

Mr. May only has 17 successes posted on sportscollectors.net (SCN) with 38 attempts dating back to 2002. He started signing about a year ago with a few quick responses, but many taking six months or more.  My 12-day return is the quickest posted on the site so far, with another at 14 days.

Identifying signing habits like these are what make SCN so valuable.  I can list the set I am working on, which I've marked to indicate which cards I still need signed, then order it by the most recent return.  This list can help identify players that don't sign much, but have started to recently for some reason.  I have tracked over 3,400 requests on the site.

If you're collecting autographs through the mail, you definitely need to use SCN.  It costs $14.99/year, which is what it cost when I started using it in 2003!

Jerry Snyder and Dick Stigman Returns

I haven't received my mail yet today.  According to my Informed Delivery email,  I should have one ttm return.  If that pans out, I'll post it later.

Yesterday I received a couple nice vintage returns.

Jerry Snyder signed his 1955 Bowman nicely in blue sharpie.  He also wrote a short note and signed that as well, in response to a couple questions I asked in my letter.

Also, former-Twin's pitcher Dick Stigman signed a 1959 Topps Buy Back card as well as the 1961 Topps Cleveland team card.  

Mr. Stigman still lives in the Twin Cities area.  I've seen him at TwinsFest in 2012 where he signed a 1964 Nicholas Volpe Western Oil print and at TwinsFest in 2013 where he signed the 1963 print.