The Twelfth TTM Success the Year

The Second response from the Blogger Edition cards.

Night Owl is the Author of Night Owl Cards. He is a Dodger fan, but still a good guy. I think some of his most memorable blog post, to me, have been the following:

Cardboard Appreciation Vote-Off championship Series. Top post of the series: The Finale

Brush with greatness Series. Top post of the series: Craig Biggio

and

The glimps of the 10 year old Night Owl

I am sure I missed a number of great post worthy of that list. Let me know, which ones you would add.

If you want to print a card of the insomniac, below is the PDF print file.

Print File:

Check back soon for link


Thanks Night Owl.

The Eleventh TTM Success the Year

The first response from the Blogger Edition cards. I have actually had a lot to post lately but no time to do it. It is fitting that the first TTM success is the first custom card created for the set.

Alfredo "Wicked" Ortega is the Author of My Past Time... ... . I Love It!! According to his blog, "He's a lover not a fighter...but he's also a fighter so don't get any ideas." I think some of his most memorable blog post, to me, have been the following:

The Hobby box on the Dashboard photo's while driving back from the Card Shop.

The Attic find, 1 2 and 3.

The Virgil Trucks autos

and

The Auto Ball Wall

I am sure I missed a number of great post worthy of that list. Let me know, which ones you would add.

If you want to print a card of the 2009 Trader of the Year, below is the PDF print file.

Print File:

Click here for PDF Download.

Thanks Brian.

First in person signing, Soccer style.

My son and I had our first in person autograph experience. It was not baseball related, instead it came in the form of the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Los Angeles Galaxy are one of the two Major League Soccer (MLS) teams in Los Angeles, and one of the founding teams of the league.

When we signed up our son for his first Soccer season this year, the Galaxy offered a clinic with 4 of their starters packaged along with a home game. We got the package and saw the Galaxy take on the Union earlier this year. The clinic was yesterday.



Four of the Galaxy's starters took part in the clinic. From left to right in the above photo, they were;

• Goal Keeper Josh Saunders (USA)
• Midfielder Chris Birchall (England)
• Defender Alex Cazumba (Brazil)
• Defender Leonardo

I was not sure what to expect. My son has never really played any soccer yet, and I wasn't sure what the players would be like. Everything was fantastic. My son really surprised me. For a four year old who is unfamiliar with sports or soccer, he was very good at dribbling, and trapping the ball. The players were very warm and open with the kids. They were very patient, and the drills they had the kids doing were very age and skill appropriate.



Leonardo, and Alex Cazumba worked with my son's group. My father in law had lived in Brazil for a while and quickly hit it off with them.



After the clinic, the Pro's sat for a autograph session. They brought some postcard photos to sign, and they also signed my son's soccer ball.



First up was Mr. Birchall. He asked each child's name and spelling so that he could personalize each autograph. The other players all tried to sign their postcards ahead of each child to keep the line moving, but Chris would wait and sign when they got to him.





Next was Josh Saunders.







Josh was followed by Leonardo.



We had a fun interaction with Leonardo. My son was tired and a little confused as to all that was going on with the autograph session. After Leonardo signed his ball and handed my son his autographed photo, my son lingered a little bit. Leonardo started joking with him, pretending my son wasn't satisfied with simply one photo. "You want another one?" he handed my son a second autographed photo. My son took it and just looked at him. "Still not enough? OK, OK here is another one." He gave my son a third photo. He was very good with my son, he then tried to teach my son how to say thank you in Portuguese.







Alex Cazumba rounded out the session.







All in all it was a great experience. It did show me that my son may not be ready to attend any large autograph event. He doesn't have the patience for it, luckily this was a very small and private event. I am not sure how he would do if he had to wait in a huge line with players that he didn't have personal experience with.



I can't say enough about these players. They blew my expectations out of the water. Thanks guys.

Updated Need/Want List

2010 Ginter added, and 2008 Ginter updated.


2003 Upper Deck MVP

18, 49, 64, 80, 118, 140, 151, 162, 165, 189, 200


2003 Upper Deck MVP: "Talk of the Town"

tt1 ,tt3, tt6, tt7, tt8, tt10, tt13, tt14, tt15


2008 Allen & Ginter: Base

15, 20, 40, 72, 124, 131, 211, 235, 282


2008 Allen & Ginter: State

US2


2008 Allen & Ginter: "The World's Greatest Victories"

1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 19


1992 Denny's Grand Slam Set

2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 24


2009 Topps U&H: Base

9, 18, 24, 34, 39, 42, 84, 97, 100, 109, 111, 112, 120, 123, 134, 138, 159, 167, 174, 179, 180, 184, 190, 203, 212, 223, 230, 236, 256, 273, 279, 287, 298, 312, 313, 315, 318, 324

2009 Topps U&H: Propaganda Cards

PP3, PP4, PP5, PP17, PP19, PP25, PP26, PP27


2008 Topps Series 2: Campaign Cards


HCM-1800, HCM-1804, HCM-1808, HCM-1812, HCM-1816, HCM-1820, HCM-1824, HCM-1828, HCM-1832, HCM-1836, HCM-1840, HCM-1844, HCM-1848, HCM-1864, HCM-1876, HCM-1880, HCM-1884, HCM-1892, HCM-1896, HCM-1904, HCM-1908, HCM-1912, HCM-1916, HCM-1920, HCM-1924, HCM-1932, HCM-1936, HCM-1940, HCM-1944, HCM-1956, HCM-1960, HCM-1964, HCM-1968, HCM-1972, HCM-1976, HCM-1980, HCM-1984, HCM-1988, HCM-1992, HCM-1996, HCM-2004, HCM-2008D


2010 Topps Series 1: Million Card Giveaway

TMC-1, TMC-6, TMC-7, TMC-9, TMC-10


2010 Topps Series 1: Peak Performance

PP-1, PP-2, PP-4, PP-6, PP-7, PP-8, PP-9, PP-12, PP-13, PP-15, PP-16, PP-17, PP-23, PP-25, PP-27, PP-28, PP-29, PP-31, PP-32, PP-35, PP-36, PP-38, PP-40, PP-41, PP-43, PP-44, PP-45, PP-48, PP-49

2010 Allen & Ginter: Base

2, 16, 47, 64, 112, 121, 198, 215, 243, 281, 302, 307. 310, 312, 313, 324, 338, 350

2010 Allen & Ginter: This Day in History

TDH2

2010 Allen & Ginter: Baseball Sketches

AGH3, AGH4, AGH5, AGH9, AGH11



Individual Cards

1986 Donruss Rookies Will Clark Rookie
1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie

Thanks for looking

My first look at Topps 206

I had seen some cards from this set at A Pack to be Named Later. I really liked the look, so when I saw the retail packs at my local Target, I had to pick up a pack.

Chris Coghlan - 187

Nate McLouth - 3

Justin Verlander - 58

Historic Events - 1st Female Cop (Alice Stebbins Wells) - HE17

Gold Bordered - Jered Weaver - 211

Kevin Millwood - 102

I know it is probably because they are so new, but I really like this set. They would look fantastic signed I think they will replace the 2010 Chicle as my Ginters "wing-man" in my TTM attempts.

Sending Cards 2010 round 5

Here we go again. I got back a TTM success yesterday. It was non-baseball, you can see it here. Here are four more out going. Hopefully all of these attempts will make for a good month down the road.

Ben Sheets

I think this is my first attempt with a horizontal card. There is not a lot of successes posted online about Mr. Sheets, but there are some.

Clay Buccholz

Buccholz is another guy that is hard to get a handle on in terms of TTM success. There are a lot of mixed reviews as to if he signs. There are some claiming no response, others with successes.

Prince Fielder

This one is a shot in the dark. More often than not, Fielder is said to not sign TTM. There are some claimed success but they are older.

Steve Holm

Steve currently plays in for the Giants minor league in Modesto. Holm has a good TTM record. I look forward to his return, if he would be so kind

New unexpected autograph

Yesterday I was in the office of one of our Marketing Directors, and I noticed an autographed baseball off in the corner of his office. Our company often has celebrities and pro athletes stopping by for one reason or another, and all the "goodies" go through marketing. The first week I started I was given a ball with triple signatures from some Boston Red Sox players who has just stopped by.



I asked him who signed his ball, and when they had been in. I usually hide in my office and have no clue who comes or goes. He told me that he had no idea who it was, but that I should have the ball as it would mean more to me than to him. The Director has been in my office numerous times and knows that I am a huge baseball fan.



I happily agreed and thanked him. When I eventually got back to my office I researched the autograph and found that it was Tommy Hanson of the Atlanta Braves. I am still pretty excited at the random stroke of luck, and hope now that we have had this conversation that more autographed baseball items end up coming my way. I noticed in the hall that in addition to the Red Sox trio that came by, there are also memorabilia from Barry Bonds, and Andrew Jones. I don't think that was recent and he didn't have any extra from those meetings, but there is always tomorrow right?



A little information on the Red Sox ball. When I first got this ball, I was not told who had signed it either. After some research online I found out that the signatures are as follows in order of top to bottom;

Alex Cora
Jacoby Ellsbury
Craig Hansen

2010 Ginter blaster, Errors and Mayhem

The other day I went out on a limb and got another 2010 Allen and Ginter Blaster box. It seems that the blasters usually have a hit or something good, so I wanted to see what I could get. My son was with me so I let him pick the box, he has never steered me wrong yet. When it was all said and done, his record remains intact.

Looking at the numbers, the following is what I should expect from 8 packs.

4 Short Print (1:2)
0-1 Sketch card (1:10)
0-1 Mini Short Print (1:13)
1-2 Ginter Back Mini (1:5)
0-1 Black-Bordered Mini (1:10)
0-1 "Worlds biggest" Mini (1:12)
0-1 "Lords of Olympus" Mini (1:12)
0-1 "Monsters of the Mesozoic" Mini (1:12)
1 "National Animals" Mini (1:8)

I completely blew the odds away with the following haul

10 Short Prints (better than 1:1)
2 Sketch cards (1:4 box odds)
1 Mini Short Print (1:8 box odds)
2 Ginter Back Mini (1:4 box odds)
1 Black-Bordered Mini (1:8 box odds)
1 Olympus mini (1:8 box odds)
1 Monsters Mini (1:8 box odds)
1 Animals Mini (1:8 box odds)

Plus a Relic. It was an Ichiro. No, not a Jersey, it was a bat card.




Why is this notable? Because after a search online, I found out Topps didn't make an Ichiro Bat card. I checked the card again, and it does say that is a Jersey card, but the relic is obviously a bat.



I called Topps (I had some time on my hands) to check it out, and they were not much help. I can't expect the customer service representative to have a vast knowledge on what was or was not released, but their answer was that the print was the error. They said that it simply should have said "Bat" not "Jersey". This doesn't sound correct to me, since the vast amount of 2010 Allen & Ginter Ichiro Relic cards on the web are Jerseys it seems to me the error is the wood. Why does this matter to me? One it is interesting. Two, Who's bat is it? Oh, and of course the last question, how rare is this or does this happen a lot?

Other notable cards I got in the box were:

Black-border mini Jason Heyward Rookie
Protarchaeopteryx Mini
Poseidon Mini

Oh and the last thing about the box, the cards in the packs didn't hold the same order I have noticed in the regular retail packs. Usually, I find that the first three cards are base. The fourth card is a short print 50% of the time. That is followed by a mini and a "This day in history" card.

The short prints were not in this order. They were found in almost every place in the card order. In fact, one pack had a duplicate short print. The first card in the pack was #348 Betancourt, and the fourth card in the pack was also #348 Betancourt. The blaster actually yielded three Betancourt "short print" cards.

I am not complaining, I will take these odds any day of the week. Like I said before, just very interesting.

Another Custom Set

I don't know where this is coming from, but I have been zoned in on creating custom cards as of late. I am not sure if it is the "Blogger Edition" cards, or Beardy's cards. All I can say for sure is it is very enjoyable.

Like I mentioned when I introduced the idea for the "Blogger Edition" sub set, I really wanted to also create a set for TTM that honored our Military heroes. Ultimately I would like to honor current men and women, but I am not really sure how to find subjects. If anyone knows a serviceman or servicewoman who is or has served overseas that we can add to this set, let me know. Any theater, any time, and any country.

Bob Feller - 2008 Allen & Ginter "Heroes Edition" - #1

The first card to launch this set is of Bob Feller. Mr. Feller served in world war 2 as a navy gunner. He made the rank of Chief Petty Officer and actually was in a combat roll (his decision). I am not sure how many athletes that served in that time actually served in a combat roll, but anecdotally I want to say that it was more common for them not too.

Mr. Feller gave 4 years, and enlisted after pearl harbor. He had already played 4 years in the majors and had a no-hitter under his belt before he join the Navy. Thank Mr. Feller.

Please check out Baseball in Wartime. The article on Feller is found here.

Third "Blogger Edition" Card

I slipped this card into my last post, but it needs the same respect as the other Blogger Edition cards. Night Owl of Night Owl Cards owns the third spot in this custom sub set. If you have not read his blog yet, do your self a favor and check it out. Night Owl bring to the table a wealth of knowledge and personal experiences, both with Baseball and Baseball cards. He always has unique, well thought out, and substantial articles to post. Unlike my weak attempt at the English language, Night Owl produces easy to read entertaining and informative posts.

Night Owl- 2008 Allen & Ginter "Blogger Edition" - #3

Sending Cards 2010 round 4

I have been on a kick lately sending out cards. Yesterday I sent out a request to both Will Clark and Kevin Mitchell. I had sent to Mr. Clark before but I have yet to hear back. This time I am using the address from the book I just bought.

Last Friday I sent some cards but I didn't post them because I didn't want a blog full of "sending card" posts. I can probably get away with one now.

Last Friday I sent out:

Clayton Kershaw

I sent an attempt to Mr. Kershaw in spring training, but still no response. The overall success on the web shows that he is a quick signer, so I am going to try again.

Juan Pierre

Juan Pierre would be a great addition, not that they all are not. He fun to watch, and seems to be a pretty good guy.

Paul Konerko

Mr. Konerko also seems to be a good TTM signer. The response time varies, but always remains very reasonable.

Tomorrow I will try to get these cards printed and sent out.

The first one is another Blogger Edition card.

Night Owl

The famed Night Owl! This will be a great return. Being a nocturnal creature, in-person signings are said to be rare. I hope to be the first to receive a TTM success from this legendary blogger. Wish me luck. I will be using a Giants, and Yankees free envelope so that should help.

The last card I was going to send to a biographer, but I had a better idea.

Albert Einstein

The better idea that I had was to send this attempt to Jim Parsons, the actor who brilliantly brings Dr. Sheldon Cooper to life on The Big Bang Theory. Being the huge nerd/geek that I am, this show was made for me. I often catch myself wishing I could hang with the guys on that show. I then realize that even if they were real, I would not be smart enough.

I did realize too, that if I were lucky enough to get a response from Mr. Parsons, that I should get more than just an Einstein card signed. As AWESOME as that would be, I would have to explain why I don't have a Sheldon Cooper item signed instead. So I will also be sending the following custom card.

Dr. Sheldon Cooper

The Tenth TTM Success the Year

First response from the series of cards I have been sending out lately. Cardboardlegends had success sending to Mr. Barton through the Newark Bears. My success also came from there. Great response time of 11 days.

Thanks Brian.

Baseball conundrum.

To start off with, I feel obligated to mention that this question is not an issue I find pressing. It was something that I contemplated a lot this weekend, but on the serious-o-meter it is far from high ranking.

What is more important to pass down: Baseball or Fan-hood?

I planed a trip with my parents to see a baseball game with me and my son. We planned on seeing the Angels and Orioles next week. Although, after scheduling conflicts on both sides, we move the trip up a week. The week we were now planning on had the Angels out of town in Minnesota, and The Dodgers had a home stand against the Reds.



After I had purchased the tickets for the Dodger game, I started to think about planning out all of the logistics. With a four year old you have to think about all emergency averting necessities. I looked up Dodger stadiums rules for what I can carry in. I got routes and parking information. I prepped everyone on the time and date. I planned on leaving home 2 hours early.



Then I got to planning what I would dress him with. I scratched the baseball glove off the list, although it is essential that a child bring a glove to the park, I figured since he can't catch yet that it served no purpose. Then I thought about what hat he should wear. The three options were: Arizona Diamondbacks, Pixar's Cars, and Los Angeles Dodgers (it was a hand me down from is Cousin). The Arizona hat was cut, no reason to bring it. Then came the conundrum, do I put him in the hometown cap even though I despise the team? I couldn't care less about the Reds, and there is no team in the Majors that I hate more than the Dodgers. I asked around, and the same answer always came back. "Let him decide."



The day of the game I swallowed hard and entered his room with both hats (Cars and Dodgers) behind my back. It could easily go both ways I thought, Cars is his favorite hat, but the Dodgers hat is new to him. I showed him the pile of close on his bed and told him that he could dress himself (I usually do it, but he is getting better and better at it) and then I said, "..and which hat do you want to wear?" His choice, Dodger blue.



The game went really well. We all had a blast. My son downed two Dodger Dogs, and we got him a foam finger.

The question is something I pondered for a long while even after the game. When passing down the Joys of Baseball to your sons and/or daughters, what is more important? The game of baseball and the experiences that go with it, or your team?

Dodger fans out there, if you lived or were in San Fransisco and you took your little one to a Giants game where the visiting team meant nothing to you; would you bring them in a Giants hat (assuming it was available as in my case)?

Giants fans, Dodger caps. Yankees fans, Red Sox caps. Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, Mets. The list goes on, what would you do in my situation.

Ultimately I had a blast. I have never had a greater Baseball experience than when I go with my little one and share with him America's past time.

*Notes about my Dodger hatred*

I don't want to offend anyone. My strong dislike of the Dodgers is not is bad as it sounds. It is a very weird emotion that I fully do not understand but let me clarify.

• I was a Dodger/Giants fan growing up 1987 - 1992 ish
• My favorite players as a kid: Will Clark, and Orel Hershiser
• My favorite historical player: Jackie Robinson

so where does this negativity come in?

It comes mainly from people I have known from college and on that have been Dodger fans. That and the Dodgers always seem to give the Diamondbacks the most trouble. So I don't hate the organization as a whole, or players individually, but just the incarnation from 1998 on. If you don't follow me, don't worry neither do I.

Breaking number 42

In case any of you missed this piece over at Vin Scully is my Homeboy, I will pass this along to you.



Brian Birrer of New Jersey spent 900 hours creating a six foot tall wood statue of Jackie Robinson. The Hand-carved statue weighs 273 pounds and took nearly a year to complete. "Brian started working on this statue December, 2008 and finished October, 2009." (Vin Scully is My Homeboy, Aug 2010).





Brian Birrer's blog has more details on the painstaking work that went into creating such a beautiful piece.


On April 16, 2010 the statue had an appearance at the Washington Nationals Stadium. Mr. Birrer transported the statue from New Jersey at his own expense to make the "Jackie Robinson Day" showing.



At the end of the day the statue went home in pieces. Apparently the statue had been tackled, Mr. Birrer estimates the damages in the thousands. What was the Nationals response? They offered him a T-Shirt.



In an E-Mail to the Vin Scully is My Home Boy blog, Mr. Birrer recalled the event and aftermath

"The Nationals couldn't hustle me out the door fast enough!~ The Nationals official who turned up kept saying, "...people are taking pictures, get him out of here!" They offered me a t-shirt for my trouble of driving the statue down from NJ at my own expense and having several thousand dollars worth of damage done to it!

When I tried to contact their legal department about their blanket insurance policy possibly covering my damage, I was totally ignored, until I contacted Marla Lerner-Tannenbaum, who had to lean on her legal people to at least call me back. I've since given up trying to get them to do anything for me because they've made it painfully obvious that I will get nothing but the run-around. Needless to say, I will NEVER work with the Nationals again for any reason.

I would LOVE to have this statue get out to Chavez Ravine for the next Jackie Robinson Day! I was there in 2005 and saw Don Newcombe and Rachel Robinson do the ceremony and I would consider it just an amazing honor to have my statue somehow involved in the Dodger ceremony!"

After reading this story, I felt like it should be shared and passed on. I hope this artist gets his wish, and Jackie Robinson does get to visit Chavez Ravine.