COMC order #3 - Michael Jordan

1992-93 Topps Archives Michael Jordan #52 - I picked a copy of this card up after regretting skipping past one during a card show rummage three years ago.

While the card sat in COMC account - I got another copy from a card show rummage, which was added to my first all-time Top 100 keepers collection.

Maybe it would have been nicer if Topps had tried to mimic an original back for the Topps Archives cards - where the front matches the back as far as mimicking the 1984 Topps [baseball] set design.

1994 Classic Minor League All Star Edition - Michael Jordan #1 - I have had at least three or four Jordan baseball cards in my collections, but may have seen this posted on another card blog [Dime Boxes?] one time, so I was inspired to hunt for a copy to make a keeper.

Jordan's dalliance in pro baseball in 1994 was peculiar where he hit .202, which was right at the Mendoza line. - but it's kind of an impressive feat to have the season he did, for a guy who never played baseball past high school and had to learn some basic things about being a pro ball player.

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: Greg Luzinski

The former big league slugger from the 1970s through the mid 1980s signed my cards in about three weeks for $20 - for the longest time I thought I had a 1984 Donruss card of Luzinski to send out, but I got the probably got the card from a card show repack back in 1996 and I don't know what ever happened to it.

To finally be able to send out a fee request to Luzinski, I needed to send a copy of the 1984 Donruss - so I ended up picking another copy from an online card outlet, look for the card to arrive in the mail and eventually send it back out, with at least another card I picked up in-person.

TTM autographs received: Floyd Bannister

The former big league lefty signed my cards in about three weeks - there are guys who 'sign' autographs and there are guys who 'pen' signatures and Bannister's fits in the among the rarer pro athletes who really makes the effort to scribble out something easy to read.

Bannister maybe the type of big leaguer who gets obscured by history once their careers are over, but it's fun for me to give these guys a second look - despite a losing W-L record, the one-time Angel pitched more than 200 innings in 6 of his 15 years in the Major Leagues and had a double digits wins in 8 of those 15 years.

TTM autograph received: J.C. Martin

I sent the 1960 Topps Gary Peters uncorrected error to the player [Martin] pictured on the main image and my card was signed and returned in about three weeks - I don't know if I really like how the card turned out, but it becomes one of those novelties in my collection where a 63-year old card ends up being dual signed because of a mistake.

TTM autograph received: Gary Peters

I sent a 1960 Topps card to Peters and he signed my card in about three weeks - only after I'd sent the card did I realize there might not be an ideal place for an autograph with the dark area on the main player image and the design elements i.e. name plate cluttering things up.

When I got the card back, the autograph was signed on the inset photo, which really clinched how trying to get this card signed wasn't such a great idea - I looked at similar cards online to see if there were others signed like mine and go figure, I wouldn't have realized the dominant image on the card features another player [J.C. Martin] and what I had in hand was an uncorrected error.

A card show trip recap - feat. Tim Raines

Went to a card show and it was sort of a blur with all the foot traffic and commerce going on - I nearly had an anxiety attack because the room was packed and it was getting stuffy, especially spending too much time at one table trying to conjure up the right combination of cheap-o cards making up the bulk my '3 for $1' and '6 for $1' finds.

I stumbled upon one last table with some boxes of various odds and ends [autos / relics / otherwise 'hit' cards] - maybe a couple of other collectors were going through the other [non-baseball] boxes and giving the seller cards they had flagged.

The seller was literally pricing cards out and telling them to come back in an hour [to presumably finish their purchase] - maybe I'd stop at a table, grab the cards I wanted and see about paying for them right there and then.

Though it may be standard operating procedure, I find the concept of stacking cards for later somewhat odd - maybe I need to actually get to know the seller first before having a relationship where I can pull cards to reserve them.

The seller was looking on dealing for a handful of cards from this one guy [$500-$600 range] and I don't even know if I would be interested in anything - I found a Tim Raines certified autograph for $20 sticker and while Raines isn't quite that popular Hall of Fame legend, it maybe a no brainer picking up a HOF auto on a acetate card printed to be a little more unique.

Besides finishing his big deal, the seller was looking briefly at other cards that some flippers were showing him - he also finished up another deal where he was looked up a card on eBay and charged another collector $3 for a random card pulled from one of the boxes.

When I finally showed the Raines to the seller, he might have looked at for a moment and asked $15 for it - I relented to dig out the required cash out of my wallet and pay up, being able to take this card home for less than a blaster.

1953 Topps Minnie Minoso #66 find

At a show I went to, I ended up leafing through this seller's bargain bin boxes sitting off to the side - I've seen the person wandering around at other shows and while he seems to do a lot of wheeling and dealing, he seems to be more of a private collector where he might not have a physical shop. 

Maybe his off-condition vintage boxes piqued my interest, despite the idea I didn't know if I was willing to spend anything - I spotted this card of Minoso for $5 and while the condition isn't great, it's a 60-year old card of a 'new' Hall of Famer. 

I might have had other things in my mind however, but as I ended up going through a $3 or '2 for $5' box at another table - I gave up where I couldn't pair up a couple of cards together.

I took a breather outside and thought I should circle back to the table with the playing era Minoso - where it might be a no brainer keeper compared a different combination of cheap-o cards.

I let things be where I might have lingered other tables while seeing another person going through the boxes - when I finally got to coming back around, was able to find the Minoso card again. 

However, the seller was in middle of a big time deal / trade where he might have been getting back a few cards and the other person was getting back a whole box collection of assorted slabs and other various cards - here I am waiting my turn to show the seller the card I wanted and once he was done, I was finally able to get his attention for a moment to make my purchase.

Featured autograph - Minnie Minoso

I don't think Minoso registered for me other than a MLB fan favorite who had the feat of appearing in five different decades - I picked up this 8x10 photo from the 2006 National for about $20 [or less] just because it represented a little bit of diversity out of the autograph photo choices from a dealer's table.

With his election to the Hall of Fame along with other greats like Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva - it might be time to give them a second look.

Featured autograph - Harold Baines

Maybe purchases are answers to my droughts TTM - to give me something to look at when there isn't always going to be an incoming return from autographs requests I've sent out.

It's different beast however, especially when it comes to expecting a SASE or two to come back on a random day - it’s not as big of a thrill when results in the mail end up being someone else’s envelope.

My request to Baines last year was returned in my SASE with my money [$10] back and card unsigned - I ended up picking up this uncertified autograph card off a Facebook listing.

I assume the seller got the autograph TTM when Baines was generally less picky about taking people’s money to sign - the autograph is on a copy of the 2019 Topps Allen and Ginter I sent out, so with Baines hit or miss, I figured to grab it to knock off a card for my ongoing, perpetual set projects.

Featured autograph - Gordon Beckham

From a f/s listing in a Facebook group I belong to, this was 1 of 3 IP/TTM autograph cards I picked up for $2 each - while I made sure to get a certified autograph of Beckham early in his pro career, he did not seem like he was an easy player to get an autograph from IP/TTM.

Coming out of college, I thought Beckham was going to be a big league star, but despite sticking around for 12 years - he was more of an up-and-down disappointment than a player to build around.

TTM autographs received: Dan Pasqua

The former big leaguer from the mid 1980s through early 1990s signed a couple of my cards, responded briefly to the what I'd written him and returned my other two cards unsigned - Pasqua played through the junk wax era as more of a rank-and-file player, who didn't put up the sexiest numbers as a hitter, but had some pop in his bat.

Flipping through his early 1990s cards, the bespectacled Pasqua didn’t look like any sort of athlete - while his MLB career petered out after turning 30, to cherry pick a run of years where he was most successful, Pasqua put up a decent slash line [.251 / .337 / .455, including a 118 OPS+] through his 20s.

TTM autographs received: Nancy Faust

The longtime Chicago White Sox organist signed my three cards in ballpoint pen and send back a letter with response to what I'd written her - it doesn't happen much, but once in a while I've sent out 'oddball' non-player requests just to see what response I might get.

I found some actual cards of Faust but may not have had immediate luck in finding a mailing address for her - until someone reported a success [with an actual mailing address listed] in an autograph group I belonged to.

I mailed out [to an Illinois address], hoping for my own success and I got a response within a couple of weeks - in addition to responding to my letter, she also wrote my request was forwarded to Arizona and she would have had some extra photos to send if she was back in Illinois.

TTM autograph received: Bill Melton

The former big league slugger from the early 1970s signed my cards in about a couple of weeks - a card I wanted to pick up and get signed for my own was the 1972 Topps Boyhood Photos of the Stars subset; I like the novelty of the one-time Angel player pictured in an Angels' uniform, though as a kid from his Little League days in Southern California.

Melton would mostly star for the Chicago White Sox, though past his prime, eventually spent a season with the Angels - I had the 1976 Topps Traded to send him with an airbrushed Angels cap, so it may not be an actual Angels card, but he is depicted and identified as such, so that will be the card to go into my all-time Angels autograph collection.

The 1972 Topps In Action card looks like a nice horizontal image of Melton - though it really captures him swinging awkwardly at a ball instead of a more 'natural' follow through.

TTM autograph received: Eddie Robinson

Robinson took about a week to sign my card in black ink - in the 'here and now,' I couldn't imagine actually writing an autograph request to someone born in 1920, but did some digging around to find a 1952 Topps reprint card to send off with the $10 Robinson usually requires.

Another collector posting on a forum I belong to worried about his request being MIA, but that wasn't the case for me and I'm glad my card was actually signed - for better or for worse, I didn't get any extra messages or notes added like I've seen with other posted returns.

TTM autographs received: Marvis Foley

Foley falls into a group of rank-and-file players I wouldn't have a reason to be particularly familiar with, but I ended up with three of his cards filed away among my Colorado Rockies cards - in case I ran into him at some point during spring training or maybe if he randomly helped out with the Rockies' California League team.

As is it goes, my in-person autograph coverage has always been limited [pandemic or not], so there might not have been a realistic chance of seeing the baseball lifer - I saw Foley signed through the mail, so I sent the cards I had, including a 1981 Topps card I pulled from a pack break and they were finally signed in about a couple of weeks.

A fun Angels related factoid was Foley ended up the last batter Mike Witt faced when he threw a perfect game against the Texas Rangers in 1984 - Foley grounded out to the second baseman to complete the feat for the mid 1980s Angels pitching ace.

When more borderline HOF guys get their call

As a baseball fan, I'd probably be more of a big hall kind of guy - but I thought it was a joke when I found out through scrolling through a social media post that apparently Smith and Baines were elected to the Hall of Fame through the 2019 Today's Game Era Ballot.

Baines' election to the Hall of Fame will probably cause just about every numbers oriented analysts' heads to explode - I won't begrudge or bemoan his induction to the Hall since there are too many writers messing around with someone's actual accomplishments in the guise of being objective.

Personally, I consider Baines in the middle of the pack as far as a Hall of Very Good guy, but in a roundabout way - Baines probably got some extra consideration for the 134 hits he didn't get towards that 3,000th hit club he missed out on.

The last card I touched featuring Baines was his 1991 Upper Deck [#562] - it went in my awesome action collection as a game face card; I like the image of him on the on-deck circle, about to swing while doing his high leg kick.

As far as Smith, though he once held the all-time saves record, I've always thought of him as mostly a junk wax era journeyman reliever - however, with Trevor Hoffman getting into the Hall of Fame recently and with Mariano Rivera on the way, someone had to fit Smith in-between the two in order to have a little run of modern era closers.

Maybe an obvious non-Rivera candidate in the next several years will likely be Billy Wagner - depending on who is on the ballot.

My favorite Smith card was his 1996 Upper Deck card [#266] because while it obviously shows him with the Angels - it was also a seemingly more elaborate image setup compared to a typical baseball card picture.

1991 Upper Deck Charlie Hough #792

I listed this card as an awesome action 'want' because it brings to mind the image of a crafty [knuckleball] pitcher working on his game during a spring training situation perhaps - even going as far throwing batting practice to teammates.

I don’t know if it puts things in any sort of perspective but for a professional baseball player, Hough has always looked like a grandfather - he’s only 43 on this card, but probably looks like he's 20 years older and it’s just hard for me to imagine looking as old as Hough does in five years.

$1 Michael Jordan baseball card finds x2

Jordan is the iconic professional athlete of my time and while his dalliance with professional baseball seemed to be a novelty - Upper Deck tried to ensure a little crossover appeal [not that he needed it] for the sporting icon, inserting an MJ batting practice card [SP1] into 1991 Upper Deck packs.

Jordan would step away from the NBA to play one season of minor league baseball in 1994 and while there were other licensed Jordan minor league cards - his Upper Deck baseball cards always looked the best, even as the one time Chicago White Sox farmhand hit only .202 with 3 home runs in 436 official at-bats.

Featured autograph - Blake Rutherford

Rutherford is the centerpiece player among a trio of prospects [Ian Clarkin and Tito Polo are the other two] - sent to the Chicago White Sox by the New York Yankees in exchange for Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle.

I was able to get Rutherford to sign a couple of cards c/o the Yankees training complex last fall when he was in the instructional league - I assume he must have taken his mail home to California, where he's probably gotten help from his mom answering fan mail.

Rutherford's mom probably added the extra signed card [pictured] - while writing a small note acknowledging my requests.