TTM Success: A Don Mattingly masterpiece

Over the past few days, I've seen some Don Mattingly TTM successes coming through from requests that were sent to the Marlins manager during spring training. I sent one as well, and was hoping mine would return like the others I was seeing.

It did.

For the life of me, I couldn't remember which card I sent to him. For some reason, I thought I either sent a 1987 Topps base or All-Star. While I do keep records of of my TTM requests, I rarely note which card I sent, only the quantity (e.g. 1 or 2 cards).

I was happy to open my envelope and remember I sent this:

OH YEAH! 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces!

I love these cards. From the simple design to the canvas-like texture, they are perfect for signatures. This is now the third Masterpiece I've gotten signed:

What a great looking card of Mattingly. I guess if I had one complaint it would be that I think blue Sharpie would have looked better, but I'm not someone who sends a pen with their cards, so beggers can't be choosers. I'm still thrilled with it and think it looks awesome.

What a great set. What a great player. What a great autograph.

Thanks, Donnie Baseball!

Loving the PWEs

I think I've previously stated, but it feels like PWEs find their way to me in bunches. I could go months without getting one, then three pop up in one week. That's why it's always fun to go to the mailbox.

Last week, Adam from Cardboard Clubhouse sent an awesome PWE. It definitely struck a really nice vintage chord, and are some big-name players!

 I love it! They were all in great condition too. I definitely didn't have that Jim Hunter, and the Murcer is a really special card given what we meant to Yankee fans.

I really liked this Ken Greer card from Star. I've gotten a lot of Star cards over the years, but I don't recall seeing the purple border. I kind of like it! Very different.

Tanaka time! Being that this is his fifth Yankees season, I need to start counting how many Tanaka I have. It's gotta be in the 50 or 60 range.

Adam, this was a most appreciated and unexpected surprise. Thank you!

Bob Bleepin' Walk

Bob Bleepin' Walk doesn't quite have the same ring to it as s Bucky Bleepin' Dent, does it? However, that didn't stop Matt of Bob Walk The Plank from sending me a few awesome cards in a recent trade...or maybe it was a swap...or maybe it was just a "here are some cards, send some back some time." The Dent was part of the swap, although it wasn't what started it. This was:

Nice! I thought at first I had this, but turns out I didn't have the diecut version. Ty Hensley doesn't have a ton of cards, so when a fellow collector finds one for me that I need, it's extra cool. It slotted into my growing Ty Hensley PC just perfectly.

The Dent came along with it. Matt is contemplating putting together this Donruss Signatures autograph set, which would be super cool. For what they are, I think they are exceptionally nice.

These gems filled out the rest of the package! Matt, it's always a pleasure trading with you.

JBF Epic Boxes: Pack 7

Let's show off another pack from the Jaybarkerfan Epic Boxes!

Let's start with two PC guys. I have both of these cards, but always love pulling cards of guys I collect. Two Topps flagship cards...can't so wrong.

I really like this Yogi! It's a photo I feel like I haven't many times, and the Noteworthy design is pretty cool.

A Brien Taylor Bowman gold foil RC! In the early '90s, this would have made me big bucks! I've mentioned it a few times as well, but I love these Denny's holograms. We have a family friend who used to always spoil me with a few packs of these every week.

This next card is awesome, although I'm sure at the time it wasn't quite as frowned upon as it might be now. The 60 HR Club. Will we ever see another player join it?

And the card of the pack?? A hit!! A Sterling Hitchcock jersey card, complete with a pinstripe (barely).

Total cards in pack: 35

Running total: 223

Top 5 TTMs of 2013

Admittedly, I don't love countdowns. I especially don't love year-end countdowns. I don't know why, just never have. Maybe it's because the Letterman Top 10 got so overblown and overdone. In high school or college, I'd listen to a presentation by a dean of "Top 10 Reasons to Stay out of Trouble" or something, and it was always so lame. Older people tended to use "Top 10 Reasons..." as a way to relate to young people and show how hip they were. It always bugged me.

Then, last week, I was in Maryland for the holidays, and the local guys were doing "Top 10 moments in DC sports for 2013." I just felt like the guys mailed it in because they didn't want to be working the day after Christmas. I don't blame them one bit. I care nothing about DC sports, so perhaps that's why it rubbed me the wrong way or just reaffirmed why I don't dig Top 10s.

Anyways, I'll be extremely hypocritical and do a Top 5 TTMs of the year post. I'm doing this because I'm lazy, but feel like I should do one more blog post this year. See? I'm mailing it in.

5. Eric Jagielo, Yankees Prospect

Eric Jagielo was the Yankees first round draft choice this year. A 3B out of Notre Dame, he was one of the draft's most polished hitters. He was assigned to short season Staten Island. I didn't have a Yankee card of him yet, but still wanted to try him TTM. I started sending these Yankee Stadium cards as a solution for that. I don't love the "signature" cards or an index cards, so I thought this was a cool solution.

4. Jerry Lumpe

Really, this card is on here because it's a 1958 Topps card. I love getting TTMs on vintage cards (eeek, or defacing them!), and I only got a few of them this year. Lumpe's signature looks great on the card, and his turnaround time was very fast. Just a really, really nice success.

3. Shane Spencer

Spencer, to me, really embodied those great Yankees teams of the 1990's. He came up and won a job on the magical 1998 team with a torrid September. I feel like many of the Yankees fringe OF prospects refuse to come up and win a job. Spencer played like he never wanted to go back to the minors. He was a key contributor in the playoffs as well, and was a very likable guy.

2. Bucky Dent

Memorable moment, on a fantastic card. Enough said.

1. Andy Pettitte

This is my first Pettitte autograph. I figured I'd never see this card again, so I sent a crappy Pacific card that I figured I'd never see again. Well, I did see it again, this time with Andy Pettitte's autograph on it. Damn! Regardless, I'm extremely thankful to add this to my TTM collection, as it's one of the best successes I've ever had.

There you have it, my best TTMs from 2013. I'll probably do this again in late December of 2014 because I love countdowns.

TTM Success: Bucky (Bleepin') Dent

Sorting through cards the other day, I came across this Upper Deck Masterpieces Bucky Dent card. I love Masterpieces, and how this captures a great moment in baseball history. These cards are just so damn tasteful, and I love the cardstock/canvas feel.

I had recently seen on forums a run on Bucky TTM successes. I had tried him a few years ago but without success. I shipped off this card, and about a week later it was returned signed. It looks awesome! I’m thrilled to add this to my list of TTM successes.