EBay Addition: Jo-Jo Reyes

The last card from the EBay lot was Jo-Jo Reyes. Reyes in the 2008 set was a short print. Reyes is another player from the lot that is on the decline. He was DFA by the Blue Jays in 2011 and bounced around between the Orioles, Pirates and Angels. He currently is playing ball in South Korea.

EBay Addition: Jesse Carlson

The second card in the lot from EBay. Jesse it appears is already out of baseball after being released last year by the Red Sox.

EBay Addition: Dustin McGowan

I was meandering through EBay last week and found someone had posted a lot of new Signed 2008 Ginters. I contacted them and was able to get three of them combine with shipping for under 8.00. The first of which was Dustin McGowan. All three of them have nice signatures, I like the placement of this one and the add number.

TTM Return: John Lackey

The successes for the 2008 Allen and Ginter set has been slow lately. Mr. Lackey keeps the dream alive with this return. He also signed and returned a 2009 Ginter as well.

Thanks John!

TTM Return: Justin Masterson

It has been a while since I have been able to post any progress on the 2008 Ginter set. Lately I have been having more success moving my 2012 Olympic Hopefuls set forward. If you didn't know already, I am starting the Olympic set. I created a new blog for it for organizational reasons, take a look if your interested.

Is it just me, or does Justin look like the young version of Dr. Graham from Field of Dreams?

Thanks Justin!

TTM Return: Kevin Van Dam

Added another non-baseball card to our collection this weekend. Keven Van Dam, is another card I should have sent to a while back, he is known to be a good TTM signer.

Thanks Kevin!

TTM Return: Andrew "William Ocean" Litz

Yet another card that should have been sent a long time ago. Litz has a good record for TTM successes. I had to do a you tube search to really see what he is about, and I would recommend it. Pretty entertaining.

Thanks Andrew!

TTM Return: Mark Spitz

Here is another return that I should have attempted long ago. I have seen many signed Mark Spitz cards but never sent an attempt myself. There seems to be a couple cards like this that I need to jump on. Bruce Jenner was a good signer when I first started, but I think I missed that window as the address others have used is now coming up RTS.

I always enjoy getting the Olympic athletes in this set returned. Spitz seems to favor the vertical signature on these cards, and this is no exception. 

Thanks Mark!

EBay Addition: Andrew Miller

I wasn't going to post this until tomorrow, but a fellow blogger has requested more posts to read (Play at the Plate). Not my site specifically, but more posts by fellow bloggers in general. My blog is not substance heavy, but I will do what I can. Along with the Nyjer Morgan card, I also got Andrew Miller in the two card lot. I have seen a lot of Andrew Miller 2008 Ginter autos on EBay, this time I had to pull the trigger. When you can get two signed cards to add to your collection at a really reasonable price, you got to jump on it. As always, I am happy to be able to check another card off the list.

EBay Addition: Nyjer Morgan

I received two more cards through EBay recently. The first being Nyjer Morgan, AKA Tony Plush. I have gone back and forth on my opinion of Morgan. When he first came on my radar after the numerous fights he was involved in, he quickly became an annoying figure. I started to cool off on him thinking that his attitude, and quite frankly, his weird nature was simply an over the top act. This didn't last too long with me though, act or no act Morgan was simply too strange and prone to 'punk' behavior for my liking. This is all without mentioning his knockout blow to the Arizona Diamondbacks 2011 post season. I am glad to finally get this one off the list.

EBay Addition: Chris Young

Finally picked up Chris Young. Not the Chris Young that once played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, but the ex-Padre pitcher. What happened to this guy. He used to be such a feared member of the Padre pitching staff, right there with Jake Peavy and Maddox. The injury monster got to Mr. Young. He has been battling to get back from a 2009 surgery to repair his shoulder. I hope he can make it back to the Chris Young of old, and not suffer the fate of someone like Brandon Webb. It is sad when injuries cut fantastic players career's short.

TTM Return: Mark Teahen

Another return came in the same day as Bigfoot. This one comes from Mark Teahan. I have been finding some success recently, where earlier there wasn't any. Teahen falls under that arena, as well as some of the recent Rockies I picked up. How ever I am finding some doors that were open when I first started are not longer available.

Thanks Mark!

TTM Return: Bigfoot

I have seen returns from Bob Chandler and Bigfoot since I started this blog. I am surprised I had not sent to him before. I think I even remember writing a letter a couple years ago. Well at this point, I am glad I finally reached out to him and have this card returned.

Thanks Bob!

EBay Addition: Steve Holm

Adding yet another via EBay. EBay is not too exciting as a way to complete this set but it really helps. All of these pickups are very inexpensive. Great to have another card checked off the list. It looks like I set to Mr. Holms before with no luck.

TTM Return: Adam Kennedy

I am really excited to see this one come in. Mr. Kennedy seemed to be responding pretty well to TTM so I decided to send him a request.

When I moved from Arizona to southern California in 2002, the Diamondbacks were just coming off a World Series win and the Angels were heading to one. It was amazing being in two cities back to back experiencing World Series wins. Adam Kennedy was huge for the Angels in the post season. A particular 3 home run game comes to mind.

Thanks Adam!

EBay Addition: Brad Hawpe

Jumped into EBay pickups with both feet. I had been avoiding TTM the Rockies for a while because they always seem to respond with donation requests. No problem with that, just beyond my reach. Glad to add Brad Hawpe to the collection.

TTM Return: Ryan Church

Yesterday saw the return of another TTM. success. It has been really nice to get back into the swing of this project. I started a new job recently and the time that has been freed up has really be amazing.


I really like this card and the signature. It is very clean, positioned well, and the card design really makes it pop. In addition, I have always been a fan of the added jersey numbers.

Thanks Ryan!

EBay Addition: Jeff Francoeur

Yet another EBay pickup. I have quite a few TTM requests out standing, hopefully they can start out numbering the EBay additions. Still very happy to have this Jeff Francoeur.

EBay Addition: Eugenio Velez

This is the second EBay pickup that came in yesterday. I try to spread the posts out a little bit when I happen to have a couple items come in. However this is Friday and I doubt I will get to it this weekend, so here we go. This card was a little warped, not bad but more than any others I have. The signature is really nice and clean though.

EBay Addition: Bill Hall

I just picked up two more Signed 2008 Allen and Ginter's on Ebay. The first was Bill Hall, I had been watching this one a while before pulling the trigger. Another nice addition and another one crossed off the list.

TTM Return: Garrett Atkins

It is really nice to start getting responses coming in through the mail. The biggest change this time though is I don't open the envelopes. My 7 year old does now. He has sent a couple out and, not knowing whether it is his response or mine, he now gets to open and check. Still waiting for one of his to come back.

Mr Atkins was a very speedy response.

Thanks Garrett!

EBay Addition: Nick Blackburn

I picked this one up the same time as Ryan Garko. I really like this signature. It is crisp, nearly readable and well positioned. When these two came in, my son and I sat down and went through the binder. He is getting into this more and more. A couple weeks ago he sent out his first couple TTM requests. Neither were for his 2008 Ginter set, but he did send out his own cards. Both 2013 opening day cards, Daniel Hudson, and Paul Goldschmidt. It will be a blast to see his face if he gets a return.

EBay Addition: Ryan Garko

The EBay pick ups keep coming.  This Garko auto kinda fades into the image. When it was added to the binder it can almost go unnoticed. Nice to check another off the list

EBay Addition: Austin Kearns

Another pick up on Ebay. I am starting to do this more, I am resigning to the fact that I wont be getting a lot of these in person or the TTM. I still will be attempting that, but if I see cards I can get cheaply on Ebay I am going to pull the trigger.

TTM Return First of 2013

I noticed that Mr. Cameron has been responding to TTM's, and responding quickly. I sent out a request to him on the 13th of April and got it back 25 days later. The two things I remember the most about Mike is the four home run game, and the collision he had in the outfield. He also is very active in the community.

Glad to start getting successes again.

Thanks Mike!

EBay Addition: J.J. Putz

Quick pick up on Ebay. I am glad to start collecting again, and it is nice to start with a Diamondback. I just started a new job, one that has much less of a drain on my life so I don't know if this is a re-start of my blog but I hope so. Another great addition to the collection.