TTM autographs received: Gregg Olson

The former big league reliever signed my cards in about three weeks back in August c/o Auburn University where he is a coach - I may have wrote on my request to Olson that he could keep the other cards if he wanted, but to at least sign the 1990 Leaf if he could.

However in my return, the only card he didn't end up signing was the one I wanted signed the most - I just had to chuckle at this apparent mishap [at least for me] and ended up grabbing a signed copy of the 1990 Leaf on eBay.

When borderline HOF guys get their call

It's refreshing to see Jack Morris and Alan Trammell, a pair of longtime teammates whose accomplishments seem more recent and tangible [they starred in the 1980s and played through the mid 1990s, not the 1880s] - get elected the Hall of Fame through 10-name Modern Baseball Era ballot.

I didn't think either Morris or Trammell were getting into the Hall of Fame any time soon but their candidacy was given second life after falling off the ballot - in particular, I guess something had to give in Morris' case.

While Morris' numbers was scrutinized by the sabermetric movement as inferior to retired star pitchers who aren't getting any serious consideration - there was enough push back [particularly among the people that put him in now] that Morris eventually was able to sneak into the HOF.

Trammell was destined to become the next Bert Blyleven or Tim Raines among sabermetric inclined baseball experts - Trammell was a guy who was part of a shortstop evolution, putting up strong offensive numbers that combined with everything else, were too hard to dismiss.

TTM autographs received: Devon Whyte

The former Angels outfielder signed my cards in black Sharpie in about three weeks c/o Buffalo Bisons - where he is the hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays AAA team.

I think he has intermittently coached with various MLB organizations over the years, but I haven't gotten the opportunity to actually see him in-person - on Instagram, I saw at least one TTM success posted this year and figured I might as well send off a letter to see if I could get ink on three of my random junk wax era cards.

As a player, I remember Whyte mostly as an all-world center fielder with the Toronto Blue Jays - in his prime, no one matched his prowess as a defender for the two World Series Championship Blue Jays teams in 1992 and 1993.

I really wanted to send him some Blue Jays cards, but he spent the first six years of his big league career with the Angels - looking back at his stats after his fine 1987 rookie season, I saw a star crossed player who bottomed out in 1990 and needed a change of scenery.

I wrote out his last name as 'Whyte' as that is how his last name is actually spelled - even though 'White' is the more common spelling of his last name.