Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Time for the Medal Ceremony

With the 2016 Paralympics set to begin September 7th and run through September 18th, but the winner of the contest decided, I thought you might like to see who won.

Blaster 1 athletes earned 73 medals and have 7 paralympian cards to earn more.

Blaster 2 athletes earned 57 medals with 6 paralympican cards remaining.

Blaster 3 athletes earned 61 medals with only 3 paralympian cards to go.

That means that Blaster 1 is our winner and since no one got close to the total, I’ll award the Gold, Silver and…Silver prizes right now.  That’s right, we had a tie for 2nd.

Tim B is your gold medal winner with a guess of 30 medals, with Night Owl and Fuji coming tying for the silver medal with guesses of 28 medals.  I’ll be working on prize packs for you guys.


Thanks for playing along!

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Olympic Contest - Final Packs

There are 75 base cards in the Olympic set.  I’m going to list the athletes that did not make the Olympic team so everyone will know.  There are 16 out of 75 that didn’t make the team, were injured, retired, or are former Olympians.

5 Candace Parker – Basketball
17 Holley Mangold – Weightlifting
21 Matt Grevers – Swimming
27 John Orozco – Gymnastics
30 Tyler Clary – Swimming
39 Natalie Coughlin – Swimming
40 Abby Wambach – Soccer
52 Cullen Jones – Swimming
58 Summer Ross – Beach Volleyball
59 Emily Day – Volleyball
61 Bob Beamon – T&F
62 Rulon Gardner – Wrestling
63 Jenny Thompson – Swimming
65 Carly Patterson – Gymnastics
66 Gary Hall Jr. – Swimming
72 Leo Manzano – T&F


Final packs coming up…standings will be posted once I reconcile the numbers. Then we wait for the Paralympics to start. 


Blaster 1 Pack 8



Carly Patterson - Gymnastics
Alana Nichols – Para-canoe
Jenny Thompson - Swimming
Lex Gillette – T&F
Cullen Jones - Swimming
Brad Snyder - Swimming
Conor Dwyer- Swimming
Nathan Schrimsher – Modern Pentathlon
Michael Phelps bronze - Swimming
Nathan Schrimsher silver – Modern Pentathlon

Blaster 2 Pack 8



Matt Stutzman bronze - Archery
Sue Bird silver - Basketball
Ryan Lochte RELIC - Swimming

I wish this was an orange swatch so I could pretend it's from the Brazilian prison uniform he'll get if he gets extradited down there.  Dumbass.  

Blaster 3 Pack 8



Emily Day – Beach Volleyball
Gary Hall Jr. - Swimming
Megan Rapinoe silver - Soccer
Brad Snyder bronze – Swimming
Adeline Gray  TEAM USA PATCH #48/99 - Wrestling

Like this one a lot.  Team USA Patch, numbered /99 and it's Adeline Gray.  What's not to like?



Good luck everyone and GO TEAM USA!

Friday, August 19, 2016

Olympic Contest - Rollin' 7s

There are 75 base cards in the Olympic set.  I’m going to list the athletes that did not make the Olympic team so everyone will know.  There are 16 out of 75 that didn’t make the team, were injured, retired, or are former Olympians.

5 Candace Parker – Basketball
17 Holley Mangold – Weightlifting
21 Matt Grevers – Swimming
27 John Orozco – Gymnastics
30 Tyler Clary – Swimming
39 Natalie Coughlin – Swimming
40 Abby Wambach – Soccer
52 Cullen Jones – Swimming
58 Summer Ross – Beach Volleyball
59 Emily Day – Volleyball
61 Bob Beamon – T&F
62 Rulon Gardner – Wrestling
63 Jenny Thompson – Swimming
65 Carly Patterson – Gymnastics
66 Gary Hall Jr. – Swimming
72 Leo Manzano – T&F


Time for Pack 7s.


Blaster 1 Pack 7



Courtney Mathewson – Water Polo
Galen Rupp – T&F
David Boudia - Diving
Merrill Moses – Water Polo
Brady Ellison - Archery
McLain Ward - Equestrian
Haley Anderson - Swimming
Margaux Isaksen – Modern Pentathlon
Aly Raisman silver - Gymnastics
Gabby Douglas Gold - Gymnastics

Blaster 2 Pack 7



Brittney Griner - Basketball
Perry Baker - Rugby
Kami Kraig – Water Polo
Gary Hall Jr. Swimming
Emily Day – Beach Volleyall
Casey Patterson  - Volleyball
Melissa Stockwell - Paratriathlon
Justin Gatlin – T&F
Kim Rhode bronze- Shooting
Kim Rhode insert – Shooting

Blaster 3 Pack 7



Michael Phelps silver - Swimming
Claressa Shields RELIC – Boxing
Nathan Schrimsher bronze – Modern Pentathlon

Not a bad relic.  She has a real shot at the Gold Medal.


Good luck everyone and GO TEAM USA!

Thursday, August 18, 2016

OIympic Contest - The 6 packs

There are 75 base cards in the Olympic set.  I’m going to list the athletes that did not make the Olympic team so everyone will know.  There are 16 out of 75 that didn’t make the team, were injured, retired, or are former Olympians.

5 Candace Parker – Basketball
17 Holley Mangold – Weightlifting
21 Matt Grevers – Swimming
27 John Orozco – Gymnastics
30 Tyler Clary – Swimming
39 Natalie Coughlin – Swimming
40 Abby Wambach – Soccer
52 Cullen Jones – Swimming
58 Summer Ross – Beach Volleyball
59 Emily Day – Volleyball
61 Bob Beamon – T&F
62 Rulon Gardner – Wrestling
63 Jenny Thompson – Swimming
65 Carly Patterson – Gymnastics
66 Gary Hall Jr. – Swimming
72 Leo Manzano – T&F


Here we are at pack 6…just like the Olympics, we near the end.


Blaster 1 Pack 6



Kim Rhode - Shooting
Danell Leyva - Gymnastics
Tatanya McFadden – T&F
Summer Ross – Beach Volleyball
Joe Kovacs – T&F
Ryan Lochte - Swimming
Jake Dalton - Gymnastics
Matt Stutzman - Archery
Megan Rapinoe bronze – Soccer
Conor Dwyer silver - Swimming

Blaster 2 Pack 6



Michael Phelps  - Swimming
Megan Rapinoe – Soccer
Maya Moore - Basketball
Leo Manzano – T&F
Jake Gibb – Beach Volleyall
LaShawn Merritt – T&F
Matt Stutzman - Archery
Aly Raisman - Gymnastics
Ryan Lochte bronze- Swimming
Mariel  Zagunis gold – Fencing

Blaster 3 Pack 6



Allison Schmitt - Swimming
Tyler Clary - Swimming
Jenny Arthur - Weightlifting
Tom Shields - Swimming
Phil Dalhausser – Beach Volleyball
Matt Grevers - Swimming
John Orozco - Gymnastics
Holly Mangold - Weightlifting
Cullen Jones bronze - Swimming
Natalie Coughlin insert - Swimming



Good luck everyone and GO TEAM USA!

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Olympic Contest - How about a round of 5's

There are 75 base cards in the Olympic set.  I’m going to list the athletes that did not make the Olympic team so everyone will know.  There are 16 out of 75 that didn’t make the team, were injured, retired, or are former Olympians.

5 Candace Parker – Basketball
17 Holley Mangold – Weightlifting
21 Matt Grevers – Swimming
27 John Orozco – Gymnastics
30 Tyler Clary – Swimming
39 Natalie Coughlin – Swimming
40 Abby Wambach – Soccer
52 Cullen Jones – Swimming
58 Summer Ross – Beach Volleyball
59 Emily Day – Volleyball
61 Bob Beamon – T&F
62 Rulon Gardner – Wrestling
63 Jenny Thompson – Swimming
65 Carly Patterson – Gymnastics
66 Gary Hall Jr. – Swimming
72 Leo Manzano – T&F


Let’s move on to the second half of these blasters. 


Blaster 1 Pack 5



Aly Raisman - Gymnastics
Maya Moore - Basketball
Rulon Gardner – Wrestling
Kayla Harrison – Judo
Diana Taurasi - Basketball
Simone Biles – Gymnastic
Missy Frankin - Swimming
Claressa Shields - Boxing
Missy Fanklin bronze – Swimming
Michael Phelps insert - Swimming

Blaster 2 Pack 5



Sue Bird - Basketball
Mariel Zagunis - Fencing
Jake Dalton - Gymnastics
Elena Delle Donne - Basketball
Ryan Lochte - Swimming
Carlin Isles – Rugby
Abby Wambach - Soccer
Missy Frankin - Swimming
Natalie Coughlin – Swimming
Jake Dalton gold – Gymnastics
Jake Dalton silver – Gymnastics  It’s a Jake Dalton hot pack…why not Aly Raisman?

Blaster 3 Pack 5



Justin Gatlin – T&F
Casey Patterson – Beach Volleyball
Melissa Stockwell - Paratriathlon
Elizabeth Beisel - Swimming
Sarah True - Triathlon
Katie Meili - Swimming
Tori Bowe – T&F
Connor Fields – Cycling BMX
Conor Dwyer bronze - Swimming
Rulon Gardner gold - Wrestling



Good luck everyone and GO TEAM USA!

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

OIympic contest: Halfway through with the 4th packs

There are 75 base cards in the Olympic set.  I’m going to list the athletes that did not make the Olympic team so everyone will know.  There are 16 out of 75 that didn’t make the team, were injured, retired, or are former Olympians.

5 Candace Parker – Basketball
17 Holley Mangold – Weightlifting
21 Matt Grevers – Swimming
27 John Orozco – Gymnastics
30 Tyler Clary – Swimming
39 Natalie Coughlin – Swimming
40 Abby Wambach – Soccer
52 Cullen Jones – Swimming
58 Summer Ross – Beach Volleyball
59 Emily Day – Volleyball
61 Bob Beamon – T&F
62 Rulon Gardner – Wrestling
63 Jenny Thompson – Swimming
65 Carly Patterson – Gymnastics
66 Gary Hall Jr. – Swimming
72 Leo Manzano – T&F


Sorry for the delay in posting.  Two huge projects due at work this week.  And I’m done with one of them.  So here we go.


Blaster 1 Pack 4



Sam Mikulak - Gymnastics
Sue Bird - Basketball
April Ross – Beach Volleyball
Michael Phelps - Swimming
Steve Lopez - Taekwondo
Nathan Adrian - Swimming
Mariel Zagunis - Fencing
Carlin Isle - Rugby
Abby Wambach bronze – Soccer
Brad Snyder silver - Swimming

Blaster 2 Pack 4



Nathan Adrian – Swimming
Steve Lopez - Taekwondo
Claressa Shields - Boxing
Paige Salenski – Field Hockey
Kayla Harrison - Judo
Simone Biles - Gymnastic
Rulon Gardner – Wrestiling
Natalie Coughlin – Swimming
Claressa Shields bronze - Boxing
Sam Mikulak insert - Gymnastics

Blaster 3 Pack 4



Leo Manzano – T&F
Matt Stutzman - Archery
Maya Moore - Basketball
JakeGibb – Beach Volleyball
Perry Baker - Rugby
Kami Craig – Water Polo
Brittney Griner - Basketball
LaShawn Merritt – T&F
Margaux Isaksen bronze – Modern Pentathlon
Claressa Shields insert - Boxing


Good luck everyone and GO TEAM USA!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Olympic contest: The third packs

There are 75 base cards in the Olympic set.  I’m going to list the athletes that did not make the Olympic team so everyone will know.  There are 16 out of 75 that didn’t make the team, were injured, retired, or are former Olympians.

5 Candace Parker – Basketball
17 Holley Mangold – Weightlifting
21 Matt Grevers – Swimming
27 John Orozco – Gymnastics
30 Tyler Clary – Swimming
39 Natalie Coughlin – Swimming
40 Abby Wambach – Soccer
52 Cullen Jones – Swimming
58 Summer Ross – Beach Volleyball
59 Emily Day – Volleyball
61 Bob Beamon – T&F
62 Rulon Gardner – Wrestling
63 Jenny Thompson – Swimming
65 Carly Patterson – Gymnastics
66 Gary Hall Jr. – Swimming
72 Leo Manzano – T&F


Here we go with round three.  I’m thinking that some of the medal count guesses were too low, especially if you have a bunch of swimmers in your blaster.


Blaster 1 Pack 3



Tom Shields – Swimming
Abby Wambach - Soccer
Candace Parker - Basketball
Gabby Douglas - Gymnastics
Elena Delle Donne - Basketball
Natalie Coughlin - Swimming
Megan Rapinoe - Soccer
Paige Selenski – Field Hockey
Carlin Isles bronze - Rugby
Abby Wambach silver - Soccer

Blaster 2 Pack 3



Bob Beamon – T&F
Adeline Gray - Wrestling
April Ross – Beach Volleyball
Gabby Douglas - Gymnastics
Sam Mikulak - Gymnastics
Diana Taurasi - Basketball
Candace Parker - Basketball
Madison Hughes - Rugby
Natalie Coughlin silver - Swimming
Missy Franklin bronze - Swimming

Blaster 3 Pack 2



Carlin Isles - Rugby
Abby Wambach - Soccer
Ryan Lochte - Swimming
Missy Gardner - Swimming
Ally Raisman - Gymnastics
Megan Rapinoe - Soccer
Michael Phelps - Swimming
Elena Delle Donne - Basketball
Ally Raisman silver - Gymnastics
Haley Anderson bronze - Swimming



Good luck everyone and GO TEAM USA!

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Olympic Contest - Pack 2

There are 75 base cards in the Olympic set.  I’m going to list the athletes that did not make the Olympic team so everyone will know.  There are 16 out of 75 that didn’t make the team, were injured, retired, or are former Olympians.

5 Candace Parker – Basketball
17 Holley Mangold – Weightlifting
21 Matt Grevers – Swimming
27 John Orozco – Gymnastics
30 Tyler Clary – Swimming
39 Natalie Coughlin – Swimming
40 Abby Wambach – Soccer
52 Cullen Jones – Swimming
58 Summer Ross – Beach Volleyball
59 Emily Day – Volleyball
61 Bob Beamon – T&F
62 Rulon Gardner – Wrestling
63 Jenny Thompson – Swimming
65 Carly Patterson – Gymnastics
66 Gary Hall Jr. – Swimming
72 Leo Manzano – T&F


Blaster 1 Pack 2



Allison Schmitt – Swimming – One Silver
Jenny Arthur - Weightlifting
Tyler Clary – Swimming
John Orozco - Gymnastics
Holley Mangold - Weightlifting
Phil Dalhausser – Beach Volleyball
Matt Grevers - Swimming
Ryan Lochte bronze - Swimming - One Gold
Margaux Isaksen silver – Modern Pentathlon
1992 Closing Ceremony insert

Blaster 2 Pack 2



Nathan Schrimsher – Modern Pentathlon
Cullen Jones - Swimming
Conor Dwyer – Swimming – One Gold, One Bronze
Brad Snyder - Swimming
Lex Gillette – T&F
Jenny Thompson - Swimming
Carly Patterson - Gymnastics
Alana Nichols- Para-Canoe
Simone Biles bronze – Gymnastics – One Gold
Carlin Isles gold - Rugby

Blaster 3 Pack 2



Paige Selenski – Field Hockey
Simone Biles – Gymnastics – One Gold
Kayla Harrison - Judo
Rulon Gardner - Wrestling
Mariel Zagunis - Fencing
Jake Dalton - Gymnastics
Sue Bird – Basketball
Natalie Coughlin - Swimming
McLain Ward bronze - Equestrian
Maya Moore gold - Basketball



Good luck everyone and GO TEAM USA!

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Olympic Contest - Pack 1 from each blaster

Let's get these packs busted (well, posted). 

I'll post the athlete, their sport, and whether they are on the team and in Rio.

Blaster 1 Pack 1



Melissa Stockwell – Paratriathlon - YES
Casey Patterson -  Beach Volleyball - YES
Connor Fields – Cycling BMX - YES
Elizabeth Beisel – Swimming - YES
Justin Gatlin – T&F - YES
Katie Meili – Swimming – has a bronze medal
Sarah True –Triatholon -  YES
Tori Bowie – T&F – YES
Elena Delle Donna bronze – Basketball – YES
Sarah True insert – Triathlon - Yes

Blaster 2 Pack 1



Haley Anderson – Swimming – YES (marathon swimming..wth?)
Margaux Isaksen – Modern Pentathlon - YES
McLain Ward – Equestrian - YES
Brady Ellison – Archery – Already has a silver medal
David Boudia – Diving – has a silver as well
Courtney Mathewson – Water Polo – Yes (this is where people legally try to drown other people)
Galen Rupp – T&F – YES
Diana Taurasi bronze – Basketball – YES
Mariel Zagunis silver – Fencing – YES


Blaster 3 Pack 1



Claressa Shields – Boxing - YES
Nathan Adrian – Swimming – Already has a gold medal
Steven Lopez – Taekwondo - YES
Diana Taurasi – Basketball - YES
April Ross – Beach Volleyball - YES
Gabby Douglas – Gymnastics - Yes
Candace Parker – Basketball - NO
Sam Mikulak – Gymnastics – YES
Brady Ellison bronze – Archery – has a silver
Missy Franklin – Swimming - YES



Good luck everyone and GO TEAM USA!

Monday, August 8, 2016

Olympic Contest is Underway

The Olympics Contest is underway of course.  Starting tomorrow, I will post pack 1 from each blaster.  I'll do this each day until the blasters are done.  I’ll score the blaster packs as I go, but of course those numbers will change as more events are completed.

Here are your blasters and the people who chose them, along with their predictions.

Blaster 1

CommishBob – 7
Billy Kingsley – 11
Fuji – 18, 24, 28
Jafronious – 22
B Man – 26
Nightowl - 28
Tim B – 30

Blaster 2

Captain Canuck – 8
Defgav – 10
Capt Kirk – 15
Greg Zakwin – 18
GCRL – 19
Arpsmith – 22
John Miller – 22


Blaster 3

Raz – 12
Bo – 14
Matthew Scott – 14
Lost Collector – 24
Wilson – 30,35, 40
Admin – 32
Jupiterhill – 34
Richard Nebe Jr. – 37



Good luck everyone and GO TEAM USA!

Friday, August 5, 2016

I'm back...with a contest

Guess who is still alive and kickin’?  That’s right.  It’s me.

I’m a big fan of the Olympics.  I love Team USA and currently, I’m spending more time and energy on that than baseball to be honest with you.  Not that those of you who even remember me haven’t realized I’m barely around.  I have a number of PWE’s that I need to send out, the top two on the stack being to GCRL and Night Owl. 

That’s not why we are here.  We are here for a contest.  An Olympic contest.




I literally just got back from Target where I went to buy a blaster of 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team Hopefuls.  As I was standing there, eyeballing the three blasters they had, something struck me.  No, I don’t have the Zika virus.  What struck me was 1) I haven’t posted anything on the blog in a long time and 2) I could buy all three blasters and have a contest.  Brilliant, right?  I know, I know. 

Here’s the deal.  This contest has two parts. 



First, I numbered the three blasters.  All you have to do is tell me which blaster will have the highest medal count for the 2016 Summer Games, both regular and paralympic.  Mind you, some of these people didn’t make the team.  That’s why they call it Team Hopefuls.

Second, pick a total number of medals for your blaster. 

It’s that easy.

Everyone who picks the correct blaster will be entered into a randomizer where the top 3 people will get a Gold, Silver and Bronze size package from me.  I haven’t traded in a while so I have some goodies to throw in. 

If anyone gets the total number of medals for their blaster correct, they will get the $20 blaster of their choice as a prize.  If more than one person does this, I’ll randomize the blaster, but reward the other person or persons something. 

So your guess will look something like this:

Blaster 3, 42 medals. 

Make sense.  Thanks and good luck.

By the way, if you feel like plugging this contest, I will allow you to have 2 additional guesses at the number of medals for your chosen blaster. 

GUESSES MUST BE IN BY MONDAY MORNING!  Then I'll start showing the packs.  


Good luck!

Friday, June 3, 2016

WTH? Number 2

So, that just happened.  Nearly 3 months between posts.  My dad was right.  The older you get, the faster time flies.  

Oh well, the past is definitely the past, so I can't worry about that.  How about we just move on to discuss the second in a new series I like to call WTH?



I would like someone, anyone, maybe even Al Leiter himself, to tell me WTH is going on here?  Is this a fashion shoot or a baseball card photo shoot?  I'm curious if that pose was the "in" thing back then because as embarrassing as it is to admit it, I have a photo of myself on a day off the sub in Australia (circa 1992) that looks eerily similar.

So how about a brief update on my doings since my last post on March 12th.

1.  I'm working on a new blog...I know, I know, but it's not for me.  I'm building it for someone else...a member of Team USA so I'm very excited about that.

2.  I'm still doing the TTM thing and will show my 2016 successes sometime in, oh I don't know, 2021 maybe.

3.  I'm still working on the 2012 Americana stuff...I have so much and still need so many more.

4.  I've had some health issues that aren't resolved.  Hoping to get that in check by July because...

5.  I'll be celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary in July and taking the family on an Alaskan cruise, my wife's dream vacation.  We'll see.

6.  There's the whole #Supertrader Wes started and I organized the contact info...hope Wes didn't mind me jumping in on that.

7.  And I have a backlog of packages to post, which is why I started this thing in the first place.

So there it is.  I hope you are all doing well.  If you sent me cards and are hoping to see them posted, I will try to get some of those up soon.

And Tony, I hope you like this post. Hahahaha! 

Thursday, June 2, 2016

So what if I haven't posted in a while...you could still win

A certain Tony from the Twitterverse inadvertently shamed me into wanting to do a post...and I'm working on it.

For now, you get this awesome reminder to join the awesome College World Series over at Autographed Cards.  But please turn in a sucky bracket so I can win the Pudge autographed picture. If you won't do it for me, do it for humanity.


Saturday, March 12, 2016

New Series: WTH?

So yea, the guy who hasn't done a real play at the plate post in a long, long, looooong time, is going to start a new post series.

And yea, he doesn't have a creative bone in his body so he's calling it WTH?  As in what the hell is going on on this card.

Let's see how it goes, shall we?

Every now and then you run across the card that just grabs your attention because of the action or the non-baseball stuff or maybe it's a prop or odd piece of non-baseball garb.  Maybe you're like me and you think WTH?  I'm not really a WTF kind of guy.

So here is the first card in what I'm sure will be a long lasting and well-received series of posts. Probably award winning even.  (Please read the two previous statements with just a hint of sarcasm.)





I was sorting cards last week and ran across this card.  At first glance it didn't hit me, but then I noticed something that made me say WTH?  Eric Karros appears to be getting into position for a possible ground ball.  So why is Tommy Lasorda behind him, preparing to throw the ball?  After doing a double-take, I figured it was just a pre-game warm-up and Tommy was taking a turn at first. I do like seeing him doing something other than sitting in a golf cart or on the bench.  I just wish UD would have given him his own card.

Maybe that's an idea for Topps.  Give Managers their own cards, but show them actually doing something like COACHING.  I'm not asking for action variations either, just a regular old base card where they are hitting fly balls or showing a player HOW to do something.

It's just a thought Topps.  

Friday, March 4, 2016

Worth the effort

I watched for years as other people posted their TTM returns and always thought, I could do that.  I just never did.  

Until last year. 

Due to my lack of posting last year, I didn't post these as I received them so I'm going to give you a recap of my 2015 successes...and failures.  

I'm a positive, optimistic person (haha) so this will just be the successes.  Between February 27th and April 29th of 2015, I mailed out 50 TTM requests to MLB players and managers.  Until I started this recap, I thought my returns were great.  Then I ran the numbers and I realized I had 14 good returns for a 28% success rate.  Honestly, I don't know how that compares to the rates of other people, but I'll take it.  Every time one of those envelopes comes back, it's a real buzz of excitement.  That's saying something for this old guy.

So let's see who was kind enough to send something back signed.




My first successful return was from Alex Gonzalez.  He even personalized it which was nice.

Return time: 10 days




I didn't really have much expectation of getting Adrian Beltre's cards back, but I sure was happy when these came back.




Allen and Ginter cards are great for TTMs because the card stock really takes the Sharpie well and the design, at least on the 2013 cards, works well for the signature.

Return time: 24 days




Colby Lewis has to be a fan favorite now.  He's been a workhorse for the Rangers and I'm very happy he'll be back with the team in 2016.

Return time: 10 days




I was coming back from Florida with the family and it's a long story, but I ended up on a different flight than them.  Four hours different.  Don't ask why, but I had taken some TTM supplies with me just in case I had some down time.  Lo and behold, some of the time at the airport was spent prepping the TTMs and it paid off.  John Gibbons was in a group of manager cards I had pulled.

Return time: 11 days




Terry Collins was in the airport batch as well and it came back the same day as Gibbons.

Return time: 11 days




Nelson Cruz, 50 game suspension aside, was one of my favorites when he was here because he game my kid a ball, then signed it.  Ok, truth be told, he threw the ball to my son, he missed it and it hit him in the stomach.




I don't know if Nelson is a good TTM signer, but he came through for me.

Return time: 31 days




I saw Mark Lowe was with the Mariners in Spring Training and the only card I could find was this 2013 Topps Mini.  Whatever works.

Return time: 33 days




The next two are more airport TTMs.  I know a certain Dodger fan that will love this Matt Williams.

Return time: 19 days




I sent this one because someone told me Buck was a good signer.  Good advice.

Return time: 22 days




Yovani Gallardo signed with the Rangers and I dug out a card to send it.  Little did I realize, I sent out two different cards at separate times.  I got them both back on the same day.

Return time: 77 days




This one really looks nice on the Ginter card.

Return time: 60 days




Neftali is no longer with the team, but he came through with a nice Heritage card.

Return time: 80 days




I was gathering David Murphy cards to send and since I had dupes of this Archives card so I sent two.  He signed each one with a different bible verse.




Ummmm...number two.




Again with the Ginter and it looks great.

Return time: 129 days




The last baseball TTM return of 2015 actually didn't show up until January 29, 2016.  While I still hope some more from last year come in, this is the last one so far.  I know Josh Hamilton is a good signer, but it does take time to get stuff back.

Return time: 276 days

TTM season is well under way for 2016 and I've gotten a couple of returns so far.  

I'll be back with a recap of my other 2015 TTM successes from outside the world of baseball.

If you're TTMing this year, good luck.  If you're not, try it.  It's worth the effort.


Thursday, March 3, 2016

Domo Arigato, Mr. Ryan-boto

Let's explore a little hypothetical situation.  That sounds like fun.

Say you decide to move to the other side of the world.  (Over 6,400 miles from me at least.)

Say you decide to move to the other side of the world AND teach.

Say you decide to move to the other side of the world AND teach AND keep blogging AND buying cards for people back on the ORIGINAL side of the world you came from.

Let's say you decide to do all that.

Well, I wouldn't.  I couldn't.  I'm too chickensh.....

Not Ryan.  He's adventurous.  He knows that life is too short to be ordinary.  He knows everyone needs some Japanese baseball cards in their life.

I sure am happy Ryan is that guy that I am not.




Ryan sent me a mess of Yu Darvish cards.  These things are sharp.  So what if I can't read them.




Now Ryan isn't stuck in a rut like me so he doesn't just send Yu Darvish cards.  No, not Ryan.  He sends Kara cards.  Cards of Kara if you will.  And cards of Kara are regular size and Yu Darvish cards are smaller.




Great googly moogly, Japanese plays at the plate!!!!!  Isn't this fun!





That looks painful.  And like someone was decapitated.  Yikes.



What an awful collision!  He soiled himself.  I sure hope he was safe!

Thanks for the amazing cards Ryan!