TTM autograph received: Jim Palmer

It might have been sometime in February when my buddy decided to make a card show run and took me along to make a day of it - the first stop was at a card shop I go to with a card show that runs twice a week.

I browsed through the old-school and vintage showcase when I saw a 1966 Topps Jim Palmer rookie card #126 - I figured for $25, the card was an impulse buy that might end up as TTM fuel.

I sent off the card with $10 in a TTM request to the Hall of Fame pitcher a week or so before I left for some overseas travel - but unlike the other requests I'd sent off, I anticipated getting a response from Palmer back quickly.

Things might not have worked out as far as the timing goes, where I would have to wait a couple of months more to see whether I had a good or bad result - but did get my rookie card back signed the last day I could go to the mail box before leaving the country.

A couple of card show single pick ups

So at the card show where the last two posts worth of cards came from, I went back to table with what I term the dollar boxes of doom - through 2021, I was all about raiding those bargain boxes when I could get to them, but perhaps the relative quality had dwindled.

I didn't think I'd see the day where the dollar cards were now $0.50 each, but maybe the seller was preoccupied by other things - however my interests have shifted where I'd rather look for impulse purchases out of the scattered singles [$5-$20] boxes.

As is who knows if I can count on seeing cards I may have flagged in months and months ago - being generally in the same place, whether displayed in one of the showcases or in a box.

I plucked an MLB rookie year Derek Jeter insert and an Ichiro rookie year card, though I wasn't enthused about what I was finding - I thought this seller would have all these boxes of 'interesting' cards, but maybe it just depends on collections the person purchases, what maybe left and what he decides to put out.

I found a 1992 Bowman Mike Piazza RC #461 and while I really wanted a graded copy as part of my scratch the itch list - a loose, unslabbed card was in my wheelhouse as a notable single pick up where I'd rather have the card that not.

I still remember buying loose jumbo packs of 1992 Bowman for $12 each at least a few times off a random seller at the show that still runs at least a couple of times a week - after the fact, I don't think I pulled one notable player or rookie so maybe there was a sequence where pulling cards of note was a no-go.

I found several copies of the Carlos Beltran certified autograph card and while he has a Hall of Fame case with the career numbers that merit eventual induction - he may never avoid questions about his role in the Houston cheating scandal in 2017 and his firing as a New York Mets manager, before he even got to manage in a game.

As I considered making my singles purchases, I was absentmindedly digging through the $0.50 boxes - where I was trying to think about the combination of singles I'd relent to pick up, I just grabbed the Piazza and a Beltran for $20 to have a couple keepers beside all the other bulk cards I picked up.

2011 Topps Update J.D. Martinez RC #US186

I picked up a loose 2011 Topps Update J.D. Martinez RC #US186 [$10] off a card show table and while he started too late to be a serious Hall of Fame case - Martinez has been a slugging star with a rookie that comes from 2011 Topps Update set.

After 11 years there might be some 'pedigree' that trickle down to notable cards from the set because it features Mike Trout's rookie card - the values doesn't confirm any extra allure however, where copies of the Martinez actually goes for about $2-$5 on eBay, which makes the card I grabbed a peculiar overpay after the fact.

Martinez may symbolize the definition of ironically picking up a single of a player I'm 'iffy' about otherwise - go figure the same day I got my card in my grubby paws, he hit a grand slam in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, so that was a nice pick to click.

2002 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Alex Rios #252

I was searching for some random cards on eBay and this popped up - if nothing else I bought this card for some early 2000s nostalgia and the idea it's still a pretty card, regardless of player.

I want to say the card stood out in one of those late season releases as Rios’ only rookie card when he was breaking out as a toolsy top prospect - this may have been in-demand for just a little bit, something that maybe pictured on a hot list of cards.

As is, while Rios never became that all-around superstar, he was a 2-time All-Star - who was part of a World Series championship team with the Kansas City Royals in 2015.

Maybe it’s odd but I can probably point to a little run of Toronto Blue Jays purchases over the past year - I've picked up a Bo Bichette rookie card parallel, a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. rookie SP, a Tom Henke uncertified autograph card, a Derek Bell uncertified autograph card, a Duane Ward uncertified autograph card [for the set], a Dave Stieb uncertified autographed rookie card and now this card.

There was also a Joe Carter TTM success but that was for the set - on a 1984 Donruss rookie card that pictured him with the Chicago Cubs.

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.

1976 Topps Dennis Eckersley RC #98

With the help of $10 and change in eBay Bucks, maybe picking up this graded [PSA-5] old-school rookie card was more palatable than going modern - I wanted a 2019 Topps Update Gold Keston Hiura #150, but the chance of getting one before spring training starts might be over.

I ended up settling for Eckersley since it was on my watch list, which may help guide me towards alternatives to think about - though a card added to ‘my list’ might not be available anymore or perhaps ‘my list’ may not reflect what I might want at the moment.

Eckersley wasn’t exactly ‘one of my guys’ or someone I seriously considered a ‘national star’ but I was vaguely familiar with Eck’s narrative - as a guy who battled substance abuse problems and was a floundering veteran starting pitcher before coming under Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan’s tutelage in Oakland during the mid 1980s.

While Eckersley was a goat a few times in postseason play [1988 World Series and 1992 American League Championship Series] - he was one of the GOATS for the run he had as a dominant, one-inning closer through the early 1990s and maybe Eckersley getting to the Hall of Fame made me take a second look at how he turned things around.

Long affiliated with the Boston Red Sox as their TV broadcasts color guy, Eckersley has had run-ins with Jackie Bradley Jr. and David Price because he doesn’t have a filter at times - I didn’t know Eckersley has a brother in prison and also an adopted daughter who is otherwise homeless.

1993 Topps Traded Todd Helton RC #19T

As a non-geographic fan of the player, I liked the idea of Helton being a pure hitter, even if he played half of his home games at Coors Field and his power numbers actually dipped mid-career - maybe it got boring searching eBay listings of his first card, so to finally scratch the itch, I grabbed a copy.

I don't see Helton as an outright Hall of Famer, but with the idea of the nerds rejiggering the advanced stats of retired players - there are more ways to view Helton's playing numbers, where he at least has a case to be a borderline HOF guy.

Helton's one or two DUI issues doesn't make the one-team, face of a franchise fan favorite for the Colorado Rockies look good - but for the right players, their off-the-field missteps may not be enough for any particular writers not to give them a Hall of Fame vote.

1993 Bowman Andy Pettitte RC #103

I'm trying to pick and choose to add certain scratch the itch rookie cards - many of the rookies I'd like to add to my PC come from the junk wax era years through the UV coated era years of the mid 1990s, so while I want to add a card here and there, I don't want to go 'all-in' on a big shopping spree outright.

I picked up Pettitte's rookie, because the lefthander is considered one of the Yankees' all-time greats as part of the Core Four [Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Pettitte and Jorge Posada] - there might be a case to be made for Pettitte to get into the Hall of Fame, even if was a PED guy with one-time pal Roger Clemens.

I've always thought Pettitte was a No. 3 or No. 4 starter who was ultimately more serviceable than dominant for a New York Yankees dynasty through the late 1990s - he was an innings eater, who pitched in important games during the Yankees' postseason runs through October.

On the other hand, while things weren't always in Pettitte's control - he gave up too many hits and his ERA always seemed inflated.

1986 Donruss Jose Canseco RC #39

If nothing else, this pickup allows me to have a copy of one the best rookies in the hobby, circa 1991 - I think about building up a collection of the hottest cards whose values have come and gone, but I'd be once proud to show off as young collector.

In real life, my youth is ancient history and I don’t know if can find others anywhere who might care - when I dig around and look for occasional baseball card 'war' stories on social media, forums or blogs mentioning this card in particular, I’ll pat myself on the back for having a nostalgic status symbol from way back when.’

As it stands, Canseco is a buffoon, a shyster and a Twitter troll - maybe long declared irrelevant, I did enjoy parts from his two books where [regardless of where one stands as far as Canseco 'ratting out' his old teammates, friends and frenemies] he exposed how the raw the Steroid Era was.

He said he wouldn’t have made the big leagues without PEDs but he had some staying power - maybe for three or four years, he might have been Mike Trout with ‘bite,’ a 5-tool player with power and speed as his prominent attributes.

Canseco was always the bad boy jock, but had he cultivated a little more of a clean cut image and a bit more discreet about his indiscretions - he might be a borderline HOFer with his numbers.

Because they were valuable commodities, I don’t know if I seriously chased after any one particular Canseco rookie era card - I still remember the friend whose house I used to go to having the 1986 Donruss Rookies as a likely centerpiece card of his collection.

Maybe in one of the first times, I splurged on a handful of singles at a card shop, I picked up Canseco's 1987 Topps - in the mid 1990s, I might have had a couple of Canseco's cards from the 1986 Donruss Highlights boxed set.

It maybe a little weird looking back, but a 1991 Score Dream Team Canseco was a card I wanted badly - I don’t think it ever was as popular as the Bo Jackson Dream Team subset card from 1990, but for a while, it was a notable card on its own.

Canseco was the ‘it’ player in MLB and he was posed swinging a bat topless by a notable fashion photographer - probably through means I’m not proud of, I might remember pulling the card off loose packs from the local supermarket.

Years later, I remember getting autographs at the ballpark in 1999 and Canseco came out of the front after a game - I must have been going batty when I spotted him and rushed to have him sign a couple of the Beckett magazines I must have bought at a card show.

He scribbled on them dismissively, but here I was seeing one the biggest stars of my childhood in the flesh - I tried asking him for a photo and he said, 'no' but I may still have it somewhere where I got the worst picture of me and him 'together' as he's walking.

1973 Topps Dwight Evans RC #614

Rookie cards of the hall of very good or guys with borderline cases, who end up getting jumped into the Hall of Fame - maybe the new market inefficiency in collecting cardboard.

I've never thought much about Evans except as an older veteran guy pictured on junk wax era cards through the early 1990s - as is, I picked up his multiplayer rookie card because with Harold Baines getting into the Hall of Fame, it might reopen the door for a better all-around player like Evans.

Evans was a longtime star for the Boston Red Sox, but not a national superstar in terms of sentiment - as the story goes, through the first part of his playing career, Evans was a good defensive right fielder with a competent bat, but his year-to-year numbers as a hitter didn't quite 'pop' until he was in his 30s.

Evans fell off the HOF ballot 20 years ago, but there would have been a campaign to get him in the Hall of Fame like a Bert Blyleven or Tim Raines - instigated by a generation of writers / bloggers more inclined to look not just at the counting numbers, but also the advanced stats to push through their personal pet projects.

If Evans' career was quite unfamiliar to me past his junk wax era cards, I can kind of see where picturing him like Tim Salmon would make sense - Salmon [for my 'home team' Angels of the early 1990s] wasn't quite a true franchise quality player, but as a hard hitting outfielder / DH, he was the heart and soul for the Angels for his career.

#CARDCORNER: 1991 Topps Dwight Evans

1997 Bowman’s Best Adrian Beltre RC #117

I wanted a Beltre rookie card and grabbed this as an impulsive purchase to squirrel away - the 1997 Bowman Chrome RC #182 is the one to have, but maybe I’ll wait a little bit before seeking that one out.

This maybe a condition sensitive card as chrome cards from the 1990s tend to ‘hulk’ when exposed to the weather conditions - the copy of the card I picked up doesn’t appear to be discolored, though I have to account for when it happens.

Admittedly for the longest time, up through when the retiring Beltre was gunning for his 3,000th hit - I didn’t think much of him as having the numbers to merit any sort of serious consideration for the Hall of Fame.

I’ve always thought he was a minor star at best who lucked into a flukish season in 2004 - after collecting his 3,000 hits in 2017 and passing Rod Carew in 2018 as the all-time Latin American hits leader, Beltre's baseball playing accomplishments have the substance as he looks to become a first ballot Hall of Famer in five years.

Accounting for his all-world defense, the hitting numbers and the quirkiness he’s occasionally exhibited, Beltre has become a fan favorite to be goofed on in good fun - he didn't he like his head touched by his teammates and he had one of the most exaggerated follow throughs on his swing.

He and Texas Rangers teammate Elvis Andrus never get tired of messing around with each other - Andrus seems to be Beltre’s best friend on the field, but also his main antangonist.

1995 Topps Traded Carlos Beltran RC #18T

This rookie card was on my ‘holes to fill’ list and I randomly decided to finally pick a copy up for my PC - even though Beltran’s rookie card is messed up because it isn't his picture on the card.

The card pictures Juan LeBron, who was the Kansas City Royals' first round pick [19th overall] in 1995, but failed to reach the major leagues - Beltran, who was the Royals’ second round pick [49th overall] from the same draft class is pictured on LeBron’s card, though the card listed with Beltran’s name / bio should still be the one that commands any interest [regardless of the goof].

After a player retires like Beltran did in 2017, there maybe an extended period of time where you are just out of sight, out of mind - though as a borderline Hall of Fame player, Beltran may gain support for his eventual induction in Cooperstown.

1978 Topps Paul Molitor / Alan Trammell RC #707

Centering on this copy is off a bit and maybe the edges on the back show some imperfections, but this card was a scratch the itch add to my PC - maybe the card will look different once in-hand, but maybe the most important consideration is the yellow space above the red bottom border looks fairly clean without smudging.

As a manager, Molitor just got fired by the Minnesota Twins - but I’m trying to find a narrative as far as my recollections of him as an active player.

Seeing a loose junk wax era card of his, I might have thought 'The Ignitor' was a minor star at best, winding down his playing career with the Milwaukee Brewers through the end of the 1980s - he had a 39-game hitting streak in 1987, but there wasn’t as much attachment to him as any kind of ‘real star’ when I first started collecting.

With no particularly feelings attached to any particular player - I look at his numbers, how good he was, how many home runs hit, how high the batting average was and how many runners were driven in.

I thought there might have been a pronounced decline of some sort in his 30s, but Molitor was quite productive - looking at his stats from 1988-1992, he was putting up ‘Paul Molitor numbers’ and played in over 150 games in all but one of those seasons for the Brewers.

I noticed how he might have been a great player after all, because he was a hitting machine for the Toronto Blue Jays in the mid 1990s - the perennially contending Blue Jays finally won a championship in 1992 and in the organization’s defense of a World Series title, Molitor was another quality veteran added for repeat World Series championship run in 1993 [he was named MVP of the 1993 World Series].

After waiting for quite a while, Trammell was finally inducted the Hall of Fame this past year - he played through 1996 but his last hurrah as a star player probably ended through the 1980s.

As is, he was pretty familiar as a junk wax era guy - maybe it doesn’t mean anything at all but he was also pretty accommodating about signing, the times I’ve gotten him as a retired player, so he gets a thumbs up in my book.

2001 Upper Deck Albert Pujols #295

I don't think I actually saw many Pujols rookie cards in his rookie year, so after all these years, I guess I'd like to add at least a couple to my PC - the 2001 Upper Deck and 2001 Bowman [#264] were the most 'widely' available rookie cards from Pujols' rookie year even though all his cards were in demand all season long.

While Pujols rookie card and rookie year issues were pumped out in mid through late season products, but I never had a chance to own but maybe two or three - including a factory set rookie year card from the 2001 Fleer Tradition, maybe an ugly Team Leaders subset card [#435] from 2001 Fleer Platinum RC Edition, a 2001 Topps Traded Pujols / Ichiro subset card [T99] and a 2001 Topps rookie card I bought at a card shop for a quarter maybe in 2002.

I remember finding the Topps Pujols in the particular card shop, when the quarter boxes were color coded with tabs - because the store owner was selling certain rows of cards on consignment.

The Topps rookie had a soft corner and I'd foolishly sent it to Pujols as a TTM autograph request - of course after 17 years, it never came back, even as a failure.

In recent years, the 38-year old Pujols hasn't been as relevant and still has at least 3 years left to go to play out his Angels contract [on the field] - however, Pujols' baseball accomplishments [short of a PED scandal] can't be taken away by what he has done away from St. Louis.

2018 Topps Stadium Club Shohei Ohtani #138

I picked this card up to see if I could add some pack pulled rookie year cards of Ohtani on the down low - I want to see him back on the mound at some point, but that maybe in 2019 or even in 2020.

Considering what he has accomplished in his MLB season, even if he never steps on the mound again and is merely an 'OK' hitter, I'll probably keep any of his cards I find or pull - he can be a designated pinch runner or a peanut vendor in the stands at this point, but he's on my all-time list as a regional fan favorite.

At the very least one half of Ohtani is actually playing at the moment, though it's hard to say if Ohtani the hitter can trend upward - I try to catch his at-bats and with the swings he has taken, looks crossed up more often than not.

It looks like he's been exposed by opposing pitchers and the number of strikeouts look to pile up in bunches - on other hand, I believe Ohtani's talent and aptitude with play out over any rough stretches.

Rafael Palmeiro - 1987 Donruss #43

If Palmeiro can continue to suit up to play independent baseball for at least the next few years - it can show he's still plugging away with his timeless swing and isn't completely removed from professional baseball, even though a failed steroid test derailed his induction into the Hall of Fame.

Right now, he gets to be a teammate of his son Patrick and while his stint with a team called the Cleburn Railroaders probably doesn't lead anywhere - maybe the occasional highlight helps him get back in the news where the 53-year old gets a second look, even if it's for cheap thrills, a novelty.

1960 Topps Willie McCovey RC #316

With 10% eBay Bucks promo looming over my head, I added this McCovey card to beef up my personal collection - I remember pulling McCovey's autograph out of a 2001 Upper Deck Minor League Centennial pack and thought it would be nice to have a rookie to pair up with the relatively new [has it really been 17 years?] certified autograph card.

It maybe difficult to go back and forth, between modern and vintage, especially I’m can't throw serious money towards either genre - as a card collector, there is something about changing things up about any particular finds.

At times, the ‘latest and greatest’ takes precedence, but when I’m mindful enough or get inspired - there maybe an attempt to pick up a vintage card, as a nod to something old-school, a relic from an era that maybe foreign to what I've known, but something intriguing.

The picture of the picture isn't mine at all, but it's pretty neat - shows how the shift was on for McCovey during a game back in the late 1960s.

1965 Topps Steve Carlton RC #477

I wish there was a narrative, a 'true chase' behind the card - but at times, my collecting need to feed the beast works impulsively on a whim, 'OK, it would be nice to see if I pick up a 53-year old rookie card of a legendary Hall of Fame pitcher - I need hold up on thinking about the 'latest and greatest' at the moment and see if I can get some old-timey card action in my personal collection.'

I've probably settled into looking for very good-excellent vintage rookie cards - so this copy isn't one of those high-end examples serious collectors or auction houses may showcase.

Still I'd like to think there is more value in any particular purchase involving sometimes notable old cards - regardless of apparent quality.

Carlton was one of the greatest MLB pitchers of all time - yet it's more interesting to me to discover he may be some sort of kook with some unique, if radical views about the world.

1988 Fleer Dennis Rodman #43

I was searching for a few Rodman videos on YouTube and was inspired to pick up his rookie card - which is probably realistically valued, but I would have thought would be worth $50 instead of $10 or whatever.

Rodman is just an old depraved man now who likes to get DUIs while taking vacations in North Korea - but back in the mid 1990s, Rodman made collecting rebounds his thing on the court.

He also showed up at his book signings in drag, had an outsized personality with a made for TV movie about his life, was an ‘it’ guy to sign autographs at card shows - everyone kind of wanted a piece of him and he ate it all up at one point.

Baseball became my sport to watch and to collect, but when it came to looking over to other spectator sports - maybe an obvious thing was to gravitate to the personalities, the pros who made the news away from the court.

1986 Donruss Fred McGriff RC #28

This may not be a significant purchase because there are too many of them - but for my Top 50 common PC, I wanted a rookie of McGriff to group with two certified autograph cards I've picked up over the years.

Here is Sports Illustrated's in-depth look at McGriff's career - the movement for once borderline HOF guys like Bert Blyleven and Tim Raines were championed by numbers guys, but because McGriff falls quite short of the advanced metrics standards for first baseman, he isn't getting the same 'after the fact' support.

While the numbers don't lie, I do think it’s time McGriff gets a serious bump for induction into the Hall of Fame - unlike other sluggers, McGriff numbers never really experienced a power surge through the mid 1990s, yet he still hit 493 home runs as a consistent, metronomic slugger.