2014 Panini EEE Jeff Hoffman auto serial #'d 098/399

I got this card in the mail from Panini after about six weeks or so after I put the redemption code on their Web site - it's not a bad looking card with an on-card autograph, though it's not the most exciting thing to look at.

I actually have one more pending EEE autograph redemption left on Panini's Web site, though that was from a 2013 EEE blaster break and my redemption has been in the system since early in 2014 - at this point, I don't know if I'll ever get that card.

Mail day - 2014 Topps Update Jorge Posada Strata auto serial #'d 14/25

I thought I'd have to wait for six months or more for this redemption to be fulfilled - but it must have only taken a couple of weeks after I entered the redemption code on the Topps Redemption Web site, when I realized I had a card coming from Topps since I'd missed a Fed-Ex delivery at home.

I checked eBay to see if any Posada Strata autographs were live [there was at least a couple of them] and checked the Topps Web site - sure enough, my redemption was marked as shipped.

I'd missed the Fed-Ex truck once more though and was waiting around impatiently, intent on making the third time the charm - my father, who came home to grab his wallet he'd forgotten, ended up meeting the Fed-Ex guy at the door to sign for my package.

It's a fairly neat card and Posada was the Core Four guy whose autograph I never had a chance to get - so it's actually a nice addition to my PC.

The card was really thick where the layers of other cards used to build up this one thick card was visible - the autograph was signed with a Staedtler Lumocolor pen [as the case for most certified autographs] and while it's not as bold as a Sharpie autograph, it's clean.

I thought there surface area where the autograph / player images would be would be sort of die-cut, serving as a window to the relic swatch - but the area of the swatch is solid and I can't actually feel the relic material.

Mike Trout pick up

Shows what I know, but I missed the boat on collecting his best cards when he was first drafted - now, I'm probably just picking up random cards of his that look cool, like this 2014 Topps framed rookie reprint serial #'d.

I wish I'd picked up a first-year autograph from 2009 when he was just another prospect before the 2010 season - though I have in-person autographs I've gotten over the years, as far as collecting cards, they just don't count.

Featured mail day - 1985 Fleer Roger Clemens rookie card

"354 wins did not overcome the controversy as this ex-Red Sox pitcher didn't make the Hall of Fame cut in 2013."

In the mail box - a 2013 Topps Heritage Minors set

I sorted the cards from the hand collated set by their MLB parent teams and grouped them together by their Arizona Fall League affiliations - so I have them as extras for my AFL trip in case a player with a 2013 Topps Heritage Minors card gets added.

I might have missed listing at least a player or two, but the first set of cards I'm looking to get autographed are those featuring players already on AFL rosters:

Jorge Soler 
Corey Seager 
Eddie Rosario 
Mike Freeman 
Adalberto Mejia 
Kyle Crick 
Joe Wendle 
Eduardo Rodriguez 
Jorge Alfaro 
Kyle Parker 
Byron Buxton 
Max Kepler 
Zach Jones 
Alex Meyer 
Micah Johnson 
Peter O' Brien 
Marcus Stroman 
James Ramsey 
Stephen Piscotty
Stephen Romero 
Tyler Austin 
Patrick Kivlehan 
Trevor May 

In the mail box - 2013 Topps Heritage Minors A.J. Jimenez SP #217

I thought I needed this card so I picked one up for about $4 - before the card could make it's way to me, I found out that he was hurt, so I can't get the card signed anytime soon.

The best I can do is hope Jimenez can reaches the Major Leagues in 2014 and actually travelling with the Toronto Blue Jays - just my luck, but I also pulled a Jimenez out of my recent break, so I guess I'm really out to corner the market for his 2013 Topps Heritage SP card.