TTM autographs received: Dave LaRoche

The longtime big league reliever from the 1970s and father of Adam and Andy signed my three cards in about a week or so - doing some digging around on the Night Owl Cards blog prompted me to pick up LaRoche's 1976 SSPC card among several other peculiar commons highlighted from the set.

I remember getting the elder LaRoche when he was a pitching coach with the Las Vegas 51s about 10 years ago - but getting the crooked hat LaRoche card in-hand was a trigger to send out a TTM request to him with a couple of other cards.

TTM autographs received: Terry Humphrey

The former big league catcher and one-time Angel signed my 1979 Topps cards in about a couple of weeks - these cards 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 continue the TTM machine going regardless of ongoing issues that pop up in the hobby, such as rank-and-file guys not signing anymore and/or suddenly charging - I hope to put together and send 5 or 6 requests a week, including at least 1 or 2 one-time Angels requests, so I can conceivably add to my all-time Angels collection, one more autograph at a time.

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.

TTM autograph received: Merv Rettenmund

The former big league outfielder and one-time Angel signed my 1979 Topps issue in about a week - this card 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 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.

I'm glad I sent to Rettenmund because he's one more subject counted towards my Angels all-time collection - but he also has nice penmanship and signed my Angels card cleanly.

Featured autograph - Danny Goodwin

For a guy who was selected No. 1 overall in the nation twice, Goodwin was a bust - he's been pretty much obscured by history, but the one-time Angel was named to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

I picked up a certified autograph of his and then ended up with this stamped Topps buyback - I find it funny that Goodwin is posing with a glove when the position listed on the card is 'DH.'

2016 Topps Archives blaster recap

I busted a blaster box of this year's Topps Archives and my thoughts [from a 2015 Topps Archives pack break] about the card stock sticks - I do realize these cards just have to be inspired by and do not have to be exactly like the original Topps cards from 1953, 1979 and 1991.

Maybe the cards from Topps Archives is what the finished product would look like - if the people putting together the original cards [whether in 1953, 1979 or even in 1991] would have been able to use current day photo editing software, print on cleaner card stock and in the case of 1953, print in the standard trading card size.

1953 Topps design - I see these as more of an extension of the 2002 Topps Heritage set, rather than the original 1953 Topps cards; maybe my favorite design because of the vintage Topps aesthetics, particularly for the guys that are playing right now.

1979 Topps design - I have an idea of the look and feel of late 1970s Topps cards and while 'old-school cool,' the original cards were a little grimy with the backs a little too drab.

1991 Topps design - I've collected my share of 1991 Topps and while I don't expect these cards to exactly mimic the originals, these remind me more of the cards from various mid 2000s Topps Fan Favorite products, than the junk wax era [some jazzy images, but low definition quality] originals.

Pack one
#105 Max Kepler
#70 David Robertson
#138 Curtis Granderson
#69 Collin McHugh
#142 Dellin Betances
#85 Joe Mauer
#172 Joey Votto
#269 Adrian Gonzalez
#292 Andrew Miller
#224 Hunter Pence

Pack two
#164 Jacob deGrom
#86 Alex Rodriguez

#187 Kole Calhoun
#21 Travis d’Arnaud

#161 Jose Fernandez
#17 Elvis Andrus
#85DP-RM Rick Monday - 1985 Topps #1 Draft Pick Set insert
#216 Rougned Odor
#207 Chris Davis
#232 David Peralta

Pack three
#182 Joe Morgan
#81 Ralph Kiner
#171 George Kell
#106 Oscar Gamble
#96 Duke Snider
#176 Willie McCovey

#69TS-LS Luis Severino - 1969 Topps Super insert
#296 Edgar Martinez
#284 Catfish Hunter
#246 Gary Carter

Pack four
#16 Tony Fernandez
#158 Gary Sheffield
#5 Richie Shaffer
#36 Hal Newhouser
#173 Billy Williams
#10 Billy Hamilton

#FS-FF Tito / Terry Francona - 1985 Father-Son Recreate insert
#217 Hector Olivera
#241 Rob Refsnyder
#234 Jake Arrieta

Pack five

#97 Randal Grichuk
#116 Stephen Vogt
#18 Chris Sale
#156 Yasiel Puig
#46 Gio Gonzalez
#151 Frank Thomas

#69TS-DG Dee Gordon - 1969 Topps Super insert
#268 Carl Edwards Jr.
#251 Bobby Doerr
#238 Rod Carew

Pack six
#107 Corey Kluber
#64 Brad Ziegler
#170 Brandon Belt
#56 Brian Johnson
#198 Adam Wainwright
#33 Bucky Dent

#90 Carl Yastrzemski - Blue border parallel serial #’d 100/199
#201 Jackie Robinson
#264 Luke Jackson
#299 Hector Rondon

Pack seven
#60 Stephen Strasburg
#174 Tom Murphy
#53 Greg Bird

#110 Jose Canseco
#3 Doc Gooden
#197 Reggie Jackson
#55 Fergie Jenkins
#204 Miguel Cabrera
#257 Giancarlo Stanton
#229 Billy Butler

Pack eight
#123 Luis Severino
#45 John Smoltz

#192 Vladimir Guerrero
#115 Early Wynn
#48 Brooks Robinson
#112 Roberto Alomar
#BD-J Jimmy - Bull Durham insert
#266 Hisashi Iwakuma
#221 Cole Hamels
#293 Craig Kimbrel

Dug into the quarter boxes at my LCS

1979 Topps Don Hood #667 - I like the perfectly coiffed stache.

1993 Pinnacle Luis Polonia #31 - I randomly leafed through some Angels cards and realized Polonia is wearing a retro uniform.

1995 Upper Deck SP Championship Series Chili Davis #133 - I like him grimacing as I could only imagine the pitch he thought was a ball, was actually called a strike.
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Shelby Miller #29
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Taijuan Walker #64
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Matt Adams #79
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Matt Carpenter #123
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Mark McGwire #147
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Bryce Harper #148
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Julio Teheran #229
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter J.D. Martinez #236
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Trevor Rosenthal #277
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Adam Wainwright #324 - SP

2013-14 Upper Deck Hockey Steve Ott #61 - maybe captured in a subtle, candid moment, blowing a bubble.

2013-14 Upper Deck Hockey Evander Kane #143 - I'm not sure the sign is the most creative but it makes the card look more amusing than it should be.

2013-14 Upper Deck Hockey Ryan Smyth #163 - inking it up

Featured autograph - Bobby Valentine

I got embattled Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine to sign two of my cards when the Boston Red Sox played the Angels at Angel Stadium a couple of weeks ago - he hasn't done himself any favors with his seemingly contrarian and abrasive demeanor but he's been turned into a scapegoat by the Boston Red Sox players, the media, the fans and maybe the people who hired him.

Featured autograph - Ozzie Smith

I ended up with an 1979 Topps Ozzie Smith rookie card when I was at a card shop [probably some time in 2005 - can't seem that long ago...] and picked up one of their 'grab bags,' which consisted of a lunchbag for $2.

I thought I'd be getting an assortment of loose cards, but instead I got a pack of 1979 Topps - I ended up pulling the Smith and was thrilled by the pull, but not the centering of the card.

I kind of suspect the pack was resealed and an off-condition Smith card was placed in the pack as sort of a 'bonus' to people who don't know any better - but it is hard to complain about pulling a rookie card of Hall of Famer from a 'grab bag' sort of deal.

I decided to get the card signed since it wasn't in the greatest condition and some autograph collectors like signed rookie cards - I got card signed by Smith in-person three years later at a golf tournament.

Topps Million Card Giveaway - the Card Buzz collection #7

1979 Topps Brian Downing #77

Brian Downing was an Angels mainstay throughout the 1980s and while I want to say this card means a little more, than the other cards I had delivered from the Topps Million Card Giveway - I think I've leafed through my share of Downing cards, particularly from the junk wax era [1986-1992], so I had this card delivered just because I want to say I had an Angel card delivered.

I think I ended up trading a 1978 Topps Don Baylor #48 for the Downing - another former Angels star who was otherwise a common / minor star at best when it came to baseball cards.