TTM autographs received: Bill Mazeroski

In early March, I sent out some TTM requests in anticipation they would be returned when I finally came home from some overseas travel - I was able to get the Hall of Fame second baseman to sign my cards for $20.

I picked this 2023 Panini Prizm Hot Box Purple Prizm for a dollar - I tried to prep the glossy surface as best as I could, so that the card would be easier to sign without any mess ups.

I fished out a 1963 Fleer from an assorted card show seller stack - it's probably easier said than done, but it's fun taking a well loved vintage card and turning into TTM fuel, where the result ends up being pretty good.

TTM autographs received: Ross Baumgarten

The former big league lefty signed my cards in about three weeks - for most part, it doesn't matter as long as I get a card inked up, but it is noticeable in-hand where sometimes an autograph signed on a card [1981 Donruss] ends up kind of bleeding into the darker or more cluttered image used.

Maybe the card was signed as it was, where there were no obvious blemishes or smears - but it just doesn't stand out.

TTM autographs received: Joe Redfield

I was able to round up some cards and get the one-time big leaguer to sign in about a couple of months - maybe I saw a success posted with Redfield on an autograph forum and by chance, looked him up.

I saw he had made his big league debut with the 1988 California Angels - that spanned all of two hitless at-bats and 1 game.

Maybe as a pro baseball player, he was strictly a 4A guy - but put up some decent numbers in the minors and as a reward, got a cup of coffee for two big league teams.

TTM autographs received: Bill Mazeroski

The Hall of Fame second baseman signed my cards in about three weeks for his current per card fee - while I don't like the idea of finding more random cards out of the bulk quarter boxes [in this case] to send out in a repeat TTM request, I couldn't resist.

TTM autographs received: Bill Mazeroski

The Hall of Fame second baseman and Fall Classic hero signed my cards for his fees in about 3 weeks - there was a dead period through the summer where I hadn't sent or received anything in the mail, but I'm looking to see if I can catch up a little on some TTM requests, so I have something to occasionally look forward to.

TTM autograph received: Bill Virdon

Off this card show trip, I found a 1961 Topps World Series subset card and sent it off to Virdon - I got a response within a week with my card signed.

I like the idea of 'salvaging' a lesser condition vintage card to a still living signer - though I saw the card itself as a mini-collection add featuring guys making plays in the outfield.

TTM autographs received: Bob Kipper and Doug Sisk

After going through a 3 week drought, two successes came in which was some sweet relief - what is the compulsion about getting something in the mail box, when the cheap thrills last for the shortest time, before I start worrying about what I haven’t gotten back?

Though not entirely a mystery, whenever I see any SASE returns, it is kind of a blind box deal - I take the time to open them up and good results reaffirms the order of being able to put in the work to send requests out and anticipating a surprise.

Kipper had the briefest of cameos as a California Angel at the start of his big league career before getting traded in a package for some veteran help - the lefty signed my cards in 7 days.

Sisk was a longtime relief pitcher through the 1980s and signed my cards in about 3 weeks, including a 1984 Donruss.

TTM autographs received: Roy Face

The longtime relief ace for the Pittsburgh Pirates signed my two cards in blue ink in about a couple of weeks - I don't know if I've ever gotten the 92-year old to sign something in the mail and it makes me wonder if I should have Face when he was still relatively younger, 15-20 years ago.

I had to whip up a letter and put together a request [with $5] - to see if I'd get back a positive result with my loose, straggler cards.

While I cannot believe a person who has lived as long as Face is still signing his 'fan mail,' I assume there is someone that helps him out [hopefully short of signing for him] - collecting all the requests sent, opening the mail and making it where Face takea a little bit of his precious time to sign items the easiest way possible.

TTM autographs received: Ed Ott

The former big league catcher and one-time Angel signed my cards in about a couple of weeks - the pair of 1981 Topps came 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 have an Angels card to send, I dug out another 1983 Topps card from the hand collated set I purchased several years ago - while I hope to keep the 1983 Topps set together, I look to pull the occasional card [that may be a little off-condition] to send out, while thinking about replacing the cards with 'upgrades' at some unspecified point.

TTM autographs received: Frank Thomas

The Original One [not the Nugenix guy] signed my two cards, sent an extra signed 'custom' card along with a 'business card' and a personalized form letter thanking me for my donation [$10] - he also wrote a response in the corner of the form letter regarding what I wrote to him about.

I had a couple of retro cards of Thomas in my A-Z archives that probably have been there for the past 10-15 years - on an autograph forum I belong to, I saw someone had a recent success with him and decided to dig the cards out so I can send them out.

1987 Fleer Bobby Bonilla RC #605

I might be dialing things back to ancient history, but I grabbed this card because it reminded me of a trading card magazine that touted Bonilla as the better card ‘investment’ over his Pittsburgh Pirates teammate, Barry Bonds - I want to say Sports Card Trader was the publication, which probably no one in the 21st century remembers, though I occasionally read it as a young collector in the early 1990s.

Bonilla had a productive career, though he’s mostly immortalized for Bobby Bonilla Day - my mother is the accountant in the family, but maybe how the deal works is if even if you end up paying a guy more over time, maybe the yearly amount almost ends up being spare change found in cushions [considering what the New York Mets were supposed to be making], rather than one lump sum being paid out.

I think it might be neat to build up micro-mini collection of these one-time stars and treat the cards like they were still hot commodities - putting them in top loaders and/or semi-rigids and hoarding them as snapshots of a re-imagined collect past for me.

Featured autograph - Steve Pearce

When Pearce was named the 2018 World Series MVP, I had to dig this card from somewhere and was glad to find it relatively quickly among a brick of cards I'd organized for players involved in transactions in a particular year - I may remember watching an at-bat of his once in-person when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates [in 2008 perhaps].

I thought he had a nice batting stance and perhaps the look of a guy who can put up some decent numbers - though didn't seem like a top prospect and hadn't really established himself at all in the major leagues.

He has bounced around in his big league career and I guess the best thing I could say before this postseason - was he was a role player who had some pop in his bat and performed well at times in a platoon situation.

I got this card from an autograph forum that once had these listings where you could use points you collected from commenting or otherwise helping someone out - the autograph [I assume it was from TTM request] isn't too bold and maybe exposure to the natural elements made it fade a bit faster.

Beyond the glory addition - Bob Moose

Rummaging through the old-school / vintage quarter box at my card shop, I picked a 1974 Topps card [#382] featuring a player with seemingly funny looking hair - go figure, I don't have a mini-collection devoted to hair styles, so maybe I could add this to my facial hair collection.

After finding out more about Moose through this Card Corner feature on the Baseball Hall of Fame Website, I decided to add his card to my beyond the glory mini-collection - there is kind of a cross over with my infamous mini-collection but my beyond the glory mini-collection is more inspired by professional athletes who may have had a narrative attached to their playing careers besides just making some mistakes and getting in the news for it.

A card of notable professional athlete who prematurely loses their life is added into this collection - maybe someone who passes while still being an active player or someone who passes in a somewhat of an odd set of circumstances.

I learned Moose threw the wild pitch that led to the series ending run in the 1972 National League Championship Series - a successful MLB pitcher otherwise, he passed away at 29 due to a car accident.

The 30-Day Baseball Card Challenge - Day 24

"A favorite oddball card from the 1960s."

1964 Topps Giants Roberto Clemente #11 - even though these cards apparently have never been hard to find, I like them because they feature bold images of players like Clemente on a larger sized card.

The card stock is thin, but are pretty clean as opposed to the dingy regular Topps cards of the era - the backs feature a second b/w image of the player featured with a write-up of highlights.

TTM autograph received: Steve Blass

Blass signed and returned my card in about a week or so - the former big league pitcher from the 1960s through early 1970s still has some notoriety attached to his career, usually mentioned whenever a pitcher [or even a position player] has apparently their ability to throw the ball.

2002 Topps Tribute Paul Waner #71

I looked for one more card to add to my stash before checking out my cards and found this shiny base card from a 15-year old high-end Topps set - Waner was the 1927 National League MVP with the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the first player in the team's history to be honored with the MVP award.

Dave Parker game-used material card

I've got some Parker cards in hand though not one picturing him in his prime with the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team he won the National League MVP with in 1978 - to fill a hole in my award winners collection, I picked up a Parker 2012 Panini Golden Age Museum Age Authentic Collection material card for $2.

I was really looking for an autograph card but couldn't decide on the cards available - the color of the material caught my eye and I'd like to make believe the swatch was taken from something Parker wore in a game when he was a Pirate.

Featured autograph - Gregory Polanco

I picked up a 2013 Bowman Inception certified autograph of the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder because he might be a future star - Polanco was slow to put things together in the first half of the season, hitting only .237 with a lowly on-base percentage [.315] and an equally subpar slugging percentage [.338].

While still a work in progress, Polanco started to finally put up numbers at the plate during the past two months [especially in August] - with still about a month in the 2015 MLB regular season left, hopefully Polanco can build upon the ups and downs of his year and be a better baseball player in 2016.

Pelotero recap

On YouTube, I stumbled upon the 2012 documentary about a couple of players from the Dominican Republic back in 2009 - the documentary follows the paths Miguel Sano and Jean Batista take leading up to to the July 2 international signing deadline.

There are a lot of issues at play in this documentary - but the focus is squarely on getting paid and the stakes involved as each player is scrutinized with regards to their abilities as well as their ages / identities.

It is strongly implied, no matter how great the potential - Major League Baseball will dick around and do what it takes to keep bonuses paid out to Dominican players from getting out of control since it's been that way since the first group of players were signed.

Still, young Dominican players each year have big, confident dreams as they are cultivated and showcased for MLB teams by trainers - whose livelihood depend getting a cut of the bonus they expect their players to get.

MLB teams are looking for the youngest players possible [16 is when players can officially sign with a MLB teams] - so players lie about their ages to appear heads and shoulders other players while supposedly still having potential to grow.

In response, if a MLB team is going to pay a player - they are going to make sure that the player isn't lying about his age and/or his identity.

Sano, who looks like he is on the way to the major leagues [despite not playing in 2014 due to injury], was the top international talent in the Dominican back in 2009 - but his family felt a prominent Pittsburgh Pirates scout [Rene Gayo] had a role in holding up the MLB investigation of his identity / age, so there was no bidding war and Gayo was essentially blackmailing the family to sign with the Pirates.

In the end, Sano signed a $3.15 million bonus with the Minnesota Twins - the movie shows his entire family's frustrations when they weren't sure things were ever going to get resolved.

While the doubt over Sano's age might have derailed the start of his pro career, there was no doubt he was a prodigious talent - but for Batista, the other pelotero, things got worse.

Instead of being considered a top talent, Batista got less money and became just another guy - his story maybe actually be more interesting, since we see the relationship with his trainer [Astin Jacobo Jr.] got worse.

When Jacobo Jr. finds out Batista and his mother lied about his age, it knocks the wind out of him - Jacobo Jr. felt betrayed and has some harsh words, because he put so much time into taking Batista under his wing, only to have his reputation smeared when the truth was found out.

Batista, who seemed determined and confident at the beginning of the documentary, looked deflated - he signed with the Houston Astros, but not for the millions he was anticipating to get from some MLB team.

Because Batista was found to be a year older, it meant he was suspended by MLB for a year - his last professional season in the Astros' system was in 2013 and after playing in the independent leagues this past year, is looking for another opportunity in affiliated baseball.

Jason Grilli

I thought Grilli was a journeyman who was out of baseball years ago - but he's actually pitched with the Pittsburgh Pirates for parts of the last four seasons until being traded to the Angels.

An All-Star last year, he struck out out 164 batters in 108.2 innings combined in 2012 and 2013 - hopefully he still has some juice in his right arm to help the Angels in the later innings whether as a set-up man or a guy that can close out some games.