More TTM autographs received in 2020

I got the bug to put together autograph requests through the mail after writing exactly one TTM request in 2019 - to have a purpose I've tried to write to former Angels guys, whose unsigned cards I ended up with, but autographs I don't have in my collection.

It might be a little hard to account for everyone, but I'll make the best I can trying to add more names to my Angels all-time autograph collection - it is nice to get something back that goes into my regional collection, even if it is more autographs of rank-and-file types that played years before I was born.

Pictures of these successes were saved in my scan folder and I decided to use them in a blog post that maybe my last before going on a spring hiatus - not like this place has been is buzzing with traffic, but for the 1-3 dedicated readers I might have, this might be my last post for a while.

1976 Topps Dennis Eckersley RC #98

With the help of $10 and change in eBay Bucks, maybe picking up this graded [PSA-5] old-school rookie card was more palatable than going modern - I wanted a 2019 Topps Update Gold Keston Hiura #150, but the chance of getting one before spring training starts might be over.

I ended up settling for Eckersley since it was on my watch list, which may help guide me towards alternatives to think about - though a card added to ‘my list’ might not be available anymore or perhaps ‘my list’ may not reflect what I might want at the moment.

Eckersley wasn’t exactly ‘one of my guys’ or someone I seriously considered a ‘national star’ but I was vaguely familiar with Eck’s narrative - as a guy who battled substance abuse problems and was a floundering veteran starting pitcher before coming under Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan’s tutelage in Oakland during the mid 1980s.

While Eckersley was a goat a few times in postseason play [1988 World Series and 1992 American League Championship Series] - he was one of the GOATS for the run he had as a dominant, one-inning closer through the early 1990s and maybe Eckersley getting to the Hall of Fame made me take a second look at how he turned things around.

Long affiliated with the Boston Red Sox as their TV broadcasts color guy, Eckersley has had run-ins with Jackie Bradley Jr. and David Price because he doesn’t have a filter at times - I didn’t know Eckersley has a brother in prison and also an adopted daughter who is otherwise homeless.

TTM autograph received: Mickey Stanley

From a set of requests I sent out in April, I got a card signed in blue Sharpie by the career Detroit Tigers outfielder - who won Gold Gloves in 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1973.

The 30-Day Baseball Card Challenge - Day 11

"One of your favorite cards from the 1970s."

Without thinking too hard about it, I'd probably go with Kurt Bevacqua's 1976 Topps #564 Bubble Gum Blowing Champ card - I like it because it's an odd, quirky card from a flagship set.

As far as how the card came to be, The Fleer Sticker Project blog has done research in providing the context behind the card - featuring screen shots and footage from the actual event imbedded from YouTube.

2014 Topps Series II hobby jumbo pack

Not a great break for $12 - I pulled an old school buyback card that without the Topps 75th Anniversary stamp, would be the same as other vg-ex 1976 Topps commons collecting dust at my LCS.

#614 Moises Sierra
#432 Dillon Gee
#424 Jose Ramirez
#531 Dylan Bundy
#415 Andre Ethier
#514 Alcides Escobar
#638 Michael Cuddyer
#428 Skip Schumaker
#410 A.J. Griffin
#597 Mat Latos
#465 Justin Morneau
#652 Edinson Volquez
#336 Ben Zobrist
#455 Danny Espinosa
#656 Grant Balfour
#563 Colt Hynes
#528 Shelby Miller
#527 Travis Snider
#582 Desmond Jennings
#344 Kevin Siegrist
#606 Kenley Jansen
#651 Denard Span
#421 R.A. Dickey
#488 Brian Duensing
#364 Mike Trout
#425 Craig Kimbrel - Red Hot Foil parallel
#415 Andre Ethier - Gold parallel serial #'d 0962/2014
#FN-39 Kolten Wong - The Future is Now insert

1976 Topps #483 Mickey Stanley - 75th Anniversary foil stamped buyback; I thought the front of the card was in 'presentable condition,' but the centering on the back is pitiful.
#TM-53 Jose Canseco - 1989 Topps mini die-cut insert
#543 Bud Norris
#575 Josh Hamilton
#361 Edwin Jackson
#583 Ryan Ludwick
#431 Brett Anderson
#469 Jesse Crain
#435 Ryan Braun
#341 Mike Moustakas
#541 Phil Hughes
#609 Jonathan Pettibone
#481 Allen Craig
#600 David Wright
#374 Taylor Jordan
#555 Adam Eaton
#401 Felix Hernandez
#569 Michael Morse
#479 Ivan Nova
#371 Scott Kazmir
#389 Geovany Soto
#577 Steve Ames
MLB The Show 14 code card