A couple of random pick ups

I was inspired by a post on X to grab this 2024 Choice Portland Sea Dogs Team Set Tyler McDonough #11 for $2 - as far as I'm concerned, the McDonough ends up an instant headliner to a future all-time Top 100 cheap-azz keepers set.

I was inspired by another post on X to grab this 1999 Topps HD On the Cutting Edge Vladimir Guerrero #CE5 - a unique, die-cut Vladdy that ends up being a highlights towards a 'probable player themed curated set' sooner than never.

TTM autographs received: Al Oliver

This return is probably my success of 2022 just because I wasn't sure if it would make it back to me - after sending out a request last August, I kept waiting and wondering what had happened to my cards and the $20 I sent.

Because Oliver was a fee guy, I thought I would get a quicker response - but it wasn't until the end of December until I finally got my cards inked up.

Maybe it was kind of ironic that this was part of the mail held at the post office while I was out of the country - but it wasn't bundled with the other pieces of mail I got, but a straggler that might have been found a day or so later.

Card show pickups - Vladimir Guerrero

Digging through the quarter boxes at my local card show, I may have come across at least a half a brick of cards featuring the all-time fan favorite - as part of my rummage, I've tried to cherry pick most of the more interesting early career Montreal Expos era cards from the late 1990s.

These scattered cards are likely binder material for my Guerrero themed pages in my decade stars collection - I essently have these pages with Guerrero cards from the Expos and other teams [late in his MLB career] as well as pages with Guerrero cards specifically in my Angels binders.

I have set aside at least five Guerrero cards as more mini-collection material where they add some star power - Guerrero running the bases, Guerrero signing autographs [on the reverse image], Guerrero with his hat off, Guerrero with his hat off standing for the National Anthem and a 'game face' Guerrero taping up his bat [on the reverse image].

TTM autographs received: Mark Grudzielanek

The former big league infielder signed my cards in about a month back in April - I don't really think Grudzielanek was a player I paid attention to regularly, where he was more rank-and-file than a star outright, but his seemingly unique last name kept him relatively familiar.

Grudzielanek could hit for average and collected over 2040 base hits in his big league career - looking at his Baseball Reference page, maybe his numbers come off as more modest [.289 batting / .332 on-base / .393 slugging / 90 OPS+].

However, it might be a fun thing for me to break things down and see where Grudzielanek had a run of good, serviceable big league seasons - especially when he seemed more like a grinder from day one, rather than a guy who came into big leagues with any sort of pedigree as a top prospect.

TTM autographs received: Tom Walker

The former big league pitcher from the 1970s signed my two cards in three weeks - I wanted to send a request because of the 'beyond the glory' story he shared about nearly joining Roberto Clemente in the legend's fatal plane flight in December 1972.

There is a bloodlines tie where the elder Walker is the father of a former big leaguer [Neil], who played for 12 seasons through 2020 - I added an extra card of Neil to my request for Tom to keep.

Looking up his stats, it just happens he pitched in one game for the Angels back in 1977 - so he was a retired player I needed in my Angels all-time autograph collection.

TTM autographs received: Bill Lee

The former big league lefty signed my two cards in about a month - it looks like tried to mimic his facsimile autograph on the 1971 Topps.

He sent my letter back as well, writing that he just got a callus on his left index finger and as response to the 'I hope you are doing well' I add to the end of my requests - he wrote no he isn't doing well, "my left calf is [broken]."

TTM autographs received: Andy McGaffigan

The former big league reliever from the 1980s signed my cards in about 3 weeks - the priority was getting back the 1984 Donruss, though there really wasn't a light area of the card to sign over.

I don't remember where I got the 1989 Bowman, but maybe the odd size has always annoyed me - however, I was able to send the card out and maybe I like the 'challenge' of seeing something other than a regular sized trading card signed through the mail.

TTM autograph received: Balor Moore

The one-time Angel and first ever draft pick of the Montreal Expos signed my card in about four weeks - as it goes I have to face the idea I'm in a perpetual catch-up mode as far as trying to collect an autograph from as many different Angels players in team history.

I’m worried about not being able to reach all the one-time Angels I can, because there is always someone who’ve I’ve never gotten before, much less heard about - if it's a vintage / old-school guy I have no card (s) for, I worry about picking up unsigned cards up online on a whim, having to wait for the cards to arrive and then try to send them off.

Due to circumstances, there maybe harder to get and/or simply ‘impossible’ players’ autographs I need - but an option would be to purchase as many of the rank-and-file guys’ autographs either on cards or possibly on cuts like index cards just so I can add to what I already have outright.

On the other hand, I want to send TTM requests to the one-time guys that are still living and can sign - relying on purchases may not be as natural for me and in the quest to build up numbers, I may actually get ‘faked out’ more often than not.

TTM autographs received: Bill Virdon

I don’t know if Virdon was on my scratch the itch list, but I had a 1978 Topps [#279] buried under other cards, laying around loose for the longest time - I might as well send it out as long as the 89-year old [!] is still signing.

I may have gotten Virdon at least once before in the mail, though maybe not in-person - I vaguely remember being at the Pittsburgh Pirates team hotel when the team played an Interleague series in Anaheim in 2002 and saw him about to walk to the ballpark [maybe a mile or so away] instead of taking a shuttle.

It won’t be the case all the time, but I try to send at least a couple of cards out when putting together a through the mail request - so I figure to double up and send him a 1983 Topps [#516] as well.

TTM autographs received: Steve Renko

The longtime big league pitcher and one-time Angel signed my cards in about two weeks - the 1971 Topps and 1979 Topps were from a box of loose cards featuring one-time Angels [either pictured as Angels or in another team's uniform] I still need autographs of.

Just to get the TTM machine going, where I may have some mail to look forward to - I dug out cards from the misfit Angels box, to put together and send out some recent requests.

For my Angels all-time autograph collection, I prefer an Angels card, though that might not be the case as I try to go for quantity in tracking down any sort of autograph to count - I worried about not being able to send Renko an Angels card, but I pulled his 1983 Topps from a set I purchased and sent it with the two others.

1998 Topps Focal Point Vladimir Guerrero #FP14

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen these inserts before, but an eBay listing for a Ken Griffey Jr. caught my eye - I found a Guerrero that cost about $2, which works for me since Vladdy is apparently a favorite of card bloggers and is certainly one of ‘my guys’ too.

I realize this isn't any sort of rare late 1990s insert, but I’m focused more about the aesthetics - compared to simply being a UV coated glossy card, the surface might have a matte, textured finish that I anticipate being able to feel in time, hopefully sooner than never.

Maybe the cards don’t have that late 1990s insert ‘pop’ to them but to Topps' credit, they look pretty classy - while the typical Topps insert tended to be a little more juvenile, like they were designed to grab the attention of younger collectors [go figure], these cards look a little more understated.

Catching up with Topps image variations

Besides what I might pull, I don't think I've actively collected the various Topps image variations released over the years - I can't keep up with the flood of gimmicky cards that might be harder to find [not always the case] and may cost a premium [not always the case].

As it goes, unless super short printed and/or featuring hot players like Mike Trout or Ronald Acuña Jr. - the cards have gotten fairly common, so there might be an opportunity to grab a run of the unique image cards featuring Hall of Famers or retired stars to add to my own mini-collection subsets or my decade stars binders.

2019 Topps SP Greats variation Will Clark #428 - maybe this was peak 1980s Clark, getting fired up after recording an out with the base runner [Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith] out of luck.

2019 Topps SSP Greats variation Vladimir Guerrero #675 - this feels like such a pure image of presumably an early-career Guerrero inking it up.

1983 Fleer Joel Youngblood #641

Credit goes out to this blog for remembering Youngblood's odd feat - the fantasy card posted is nicer, but I settled for picking up a copy of the original issue card after I read the post.

Despite not knowing much about the player at all, Youngblood has been the inspiration for one of my personal offbeat terms [Youngblooding] - I use to describe sort of a long 'dual duty' day of any nature with the idea that not every day is straightforward and relatively speaking, sometimes I'm going to be stretched out to do a number of things.

The wallet card idea seems ancient history now but I might just put my Youngblood in a top loader of sorts, bag it in a team set bag and keep it - where I can grab it out of my pocket most of the time.

1975 Topps Gary Carter RC #620

I want to be greedy in adding traditional rookie cards of legends / icons from old school/vintage years when possible - there maybe tiers as far as rookie card wants go; a rule of thumb is cards have to be at least be 20 years old to make the list.

As a last minute purchase for 2017, I had to get this rookie card of a Hall of Fame catcher since it cost as much as a discounted blaster - I don’t think it’s too weird anymore but it maybe a little peculiar to commit to buy a baseball card, when I’m out in BFE somewhere in a daze, tagging along with my parents on a casino trip late at night.

Multiplayer rookie cards are ugly, especially if it becomes the RC of a Hall of Fame legend who has to share it with one or more marginal players - but it’s part of the quirkiness of old-school/vintage cards to squeeze multiple unproven players on a card.

Carter was a prime time star with the Montreal Expos from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s - however, I was only aware of Carter's playing days through the junk wax era cards he showed up on during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

TTM autographs received: Jeff Reardon

The former big league closer signed my cards in about three weeks - in the 1990s, I vaguely remember him going for some sort of save record, though in the time since, he has been lapped by other relievers.

TTM autographs received: Bryn Smith

The former Major League pitcher signed my cards in 7 days - though I've ended up with his junk wax era cards over the years, I've never had bothered to send him a TTM request until recently.

From what I've seen, Smith has always had a bold and legible autograph - so I wanted to check him off my TTM list of random guys who've generally been good signers.

2012 Playoff Prime Cuts Larry Walker

Walker was a good all-around player in the early 1990's before going to the Colorado Rockies where he put up monster numbers - Walker is a borderline Hall of Fame candidate [career .400 on-base / .565 slugging] though injuries prevented him from having overwhelming counting numbers while the Coors Field effect lingers when considering the merit of most prominent Rockies hitters past and present.

I picked up this card to put away, maybe hoping there is a strong push to get Walker to the Hall of Fame - even though Walker's autograph is not on card and there are better versions of this card as far as the swatches used, I do like how this non-MLB licensed card is put together.

Superficially Walker was one of a number the big hitting stars / fan favorites during the last 20 years - if nothing else, I have these two highlights to look back on:

Forgets the number of outs during a game

Faces the Big Unit during the 1997 All-Star game

1991 Upper Deck Otis Nixon #520

The image on the front is great, but I also like the second image on the back of the card where Nixon attempts to lay a bunt down - looks like he is made to dance by a pitch down by his feet.

Farewell Vladdy Daddy - a tribute to a great, imperfect ballplayer

Vladimir Guerrero who maybe my favorite player because of his ability to hit the crap out of the baseball with no supposed plate discipline - has apparently has officially retired, according to this news story in Spanish.

He put up fantastic numbers that makes him a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate - his accomplishments speak for themselves and I want to describe Guerrero as 100 percent ballplayer, zero percent BS like Bill James once noted about Don Mattingly.

Still there maybe there were issues left to be desired even with a great ballplayer like Guerrero - the Vlad for public consumption as a Major Leaguer seemed a little self-absorbed in his own world, where perhaps he was more laid back and loose when he came back home to the Dominican Republic.

Guerrero supposedly didn't want to speak English and the language barrier prevented Vlad from being a guy that can step in front of the camera and say some things without an interpreter - as an autograph collector, I found him cold and oblivious when approached unless he was at some paid public appearance.

He wouldn't normally sign autographs unless you were a two-bit autograph dealer paying off his driver at the ballpark - whether or not he signed autographs shouldn't matter, but if a guy isn't approachable under normal circumstances, it's kind of weird cheering him on or collecting his cards.

Did I mention he was a bit older than originally listed, has fathered at least 8 kids and played in the Steroid Era - who knows what he could have been taking, but to his credit, at no period of time has his numbers ever been scrutinized to be suspect.

Featured autograph - Tim Raines

Tim Raines - I got this autograph in-person as he signed a couple of cards for me as a Chicago White Sox coach back in 2005.

I don't think he is getting into the Hall of Fame anytime within the next few years but he's getting more support from the numbers guys and for Raines - it means he is getting another opportunity for baseball pundits to evaluate his playing career in a positive light and expose the similarities between his contemporaries [already in the Hall of Fame] like Rickey Henderson and to a certain extent, Tony Gwynn.