TTM autographs received: Jim Walewander

The former big leaguer signed my cards in about three weeks and included a signed two-sided custom card he added an inscription on - I have nothing cool to add about Walewander that hasn't been mentioned somewhere else, though I was aware of his story as a pro ballplayer who was a little offbeat and marched to the beat of his own drummer.

A fun fact was Walewander actually had a 12-game stint with the Angels in 1993, which wasn't on my mind as I put together a request for him - now, I can count one of his cards I got back as part of my Angels all-time autograph collection.

TTM autographs received: Storm Davis

I didn’t know if I would get back a good response from Davis after sending him a letter meant for someone else - I had written out several TTM letters, folded them up to fit a business sized envelope and left them loose overnight.

The next day, I was putting together my request for Davis and even took a picture of what I was sending - however in the rush to jam everything into an outgoing envelope to place in my mail box, things got mixed up and only after the fact did I realize I still had my handwritten letter to Davis.

I was sweating out this request, wondering if I'd be scolded for sending a letter to the wrong guy - what if I just didn't get my stuff back?

However, after four weeks, my cards came back signed and there was no note or anything - I was almost disappointed that I didn't get a reaction, though my best assumptions are the guys who have signed regularly for decades don’t particularly read their mail and / or have seen it all.

Maybe someone presumably helping Davis go through his mail, saw and pointed out my goof - but I did send Davis his cards and not another former player, so the intent was there to show my request was for him otherwise.

TTM autographs received: Bill Krueger

The former big league lefty and longtime Seattle sports analyst signed my cards in about three weeks - his assorted cards may have been in my Seattle Mariners IP box for the longest time, in case I ever ran into him at some point during spring training or at some point in the regular MLB season.

With MLB in-person autographs not really a serious thing for me the past 5 or 6 years, along with COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 - I wanted to see if I can track down former MLB players from the junk wax years [1986-92], who've ended up being scratch the itch curiosities for me.

TTM autographs received: San Diego Chicken

The longtime mascot signed my three cards and sent a note back in about a week or so - maybe the plan was to pick up some of the nicer base cards / parallels Panini released 3-4 years ago or even his old-school his early 1980s Donruss cards.

After not knowing where they went and doing an extensive loose card dig, I felt like I might as well send out the cards I had originally put together a couple of years ago - including a 2016 Donruss [#151] and a couple of 1992 Upper Deck Cecil Fielder [#255] cards where the SDC makes a cameo.

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.

2020 Topps Archives blaster recaps

Originally anticipating not being able to find anything at a big box store - I ordered 2 blaster boxes online that was MIA for about three weeks.

While the shipment was out of the seller's hands, it remained idle with the UPS somewhere - until tracking started to pick up again and a package finally showed up at my doorstep.

Box one

1964 Topps Giants pack

#64O-FTJ Fernando Tatis - the back seems off-center and/or miscut

Pack one

#79 Matt Chapman

#42 Jeff McNeil

#8 Kyle Schwarber

#142 Cal Ripken Jr.

#136 Ty Cobb

#60AR-SO Shohei Ohtani

#208 Chris Sale

#216 Robel Garcia

Pack two

#64 Joey Votto

#87 Juan Soto

#27 Mookie Betts

#186 Willie McCovey

#177 Hyun-Jim Ryu

#152 Corey Kluber

#259 Anthony Santander

#219 Rollie Fingers

Pack three

#37 Kyle Lewis

#73 Ryne Sandberg

#60 Carl Yastrzemski 

#180 Gleyber Torres

#133 Tony Gonsolin

#308 David Ortiz - Big Papi

#281 Lou Gehrig

#226 David Wright 

Pack four

#52 Catfish Hunter

#91 Jordan Yamamoto

#156 Clayton Kershaw

#108 Mike Piazza

#121 Frank Robinson

#76TT-320 C.C. Sabathia

#273 Adrian Morejon

#248 Christian Yelich

Pack five

#24 Xander Bogaerts

#57 Ozzie Albies

#109 Randy Johnson

#172 Zac Gallen

#199 Giancarlo Stanton

#60CC-SM Just Dingers - feat. Will Smith and Max Muncy

#271 Jose Ramirez

#265 Ryan McMahon

Pack six

#54 Max Muncy

#93 Mallex Smith

#4 Nick Senzel

#158 Brooks Robinson

#194 Christian Walker

#69AR-GT Gleyber Torres

#270 Jose Abreu

#284 Wil Myers

Pack seven

#92 Matt Carpenter

#48 J.D. Martinez

#197 Danny Jansen

#174 Trey Mancini

#132 Buster Posey

#B55-8 A.J. Puk

#292 Yu Chang

#247 Craig Biggio

Box two

1964 Topps Giants pack
#64O-NH Nico Hoerner - this was bent coming out of a blaster, probably due to my boxes bouncing around different places.

I don't know what to make of it besides trying to store the odd-sized card in an 8x10 top loader and hope the applied pressure flattens the card out eventually - even if it takes a couple of years.

Pack one

#77 Paul DeJong

#23 Francisco Lindor

#163 Max Scherzer

#138 Blake Snell

#112 Stephen Piscotty

#60CC-YH Master & Apprentice - feat. Yelich and Hiura

#258 Roger Clemens

#244 Brendan McKay

Pack two

#7 Shohei Ohtani

#82 Luis Aparicio

#29 Robin Yount

#170 Rowdy Tellez

#143 Brandon Crawford

#307 Chris Sale - The Conductor

#300 Freddie Freeman

#277 Joe Morgan

Pack three

#95 A.J. Puk

#51 Brock Burke 

#3 Charlie Blackmon

#120 Carlos Correa

#127 Roberto Alomar 

#237 Trevor Hoffman - Purple parallel serial #’d 043/175

#254 Rougned Odor

#253 Aaron Nola

Pack four

#26 Keston Hiura

#33 Will Smith

#25 Jackie Robinson

#122 Sandy Koufax

#107 Kerry Wood

#60AR- EJ Eloy Jimenez

#236 Bryce Harper 

#295 Kyle Seager

Pack five

#80 Ramon Laureano

#40 Sam Hilliard

#149 Roberto Clemente

#184 Trent Grisham

#200 Marco Gonzalez

#76TT-316 Randy Johnson

#241 Ronald Acuña Jr.

#246 Kole Calhoun

Pack six

#34 Brusdar Graterol

#75 Mike Mussina

#14 Harmon Killebrew

#146 Ketel Marte

#131 Eric Hosmer

#309 Noah Syndergaard - Thor

#207 Carter Kieboom

#202 Anthony Kay

Pack seven 

#53 Lou Boudreau

#31 Alex Bregman

#113 Hunter Dozier

#134 Jon Lester

#129 D.J. LeMahieu

#B55-23 Logan Allen

#293 Anthony Rendon

#220 Chipper Jones

A couple of new 2020 pack breaks

2020 Topps Fire value pack

It maybe a case where even one lousy pack of Topps Fire is enough for the year - but I should appreciate the idea these cards are supposed to be a little funky looking, rather than a little more conventional.

#98 Aristides Aquino
#100 Luis Castillo
#155 Luis Robert
#131 Cole Tucker
#116 Andrew McCutchen - Green parallel serial #171/199
#FIU-12 Mookie Betts - Fired Up insert
#SS-1 Pete Alonso - Shattering Stats insert
#40 Danny Mendick - Blue Chip parallel
#12 Eric Hosmer
#62 Kolten Wong
#104 Alex Verdugo
#27 Clayton Kershaw

2020 Topps Archives value pack
#210 Ralph Kiner
#217 Cody Bellinger
#294 Elvis Andrus
#245 Yuli Gurriel
#287 Jonathan Villar
#33 Will Smith
#25 Jackie Robinson
#80 Ramon Laureano
#40 Sam Hilliard
#34 Brusdar Graterol
#B55-20 Luis Robert 

#301 Pete Alonso - Polar Bear
#60AR-SO Shohei Ohtani
#186 Willie McCovey
#177 Hyun-Jin Ryu
#152 Corey Kluber
#180 Gleyber Torres
#133 Tony Gonsolin

A taste of some actual retail therapy

Whenever I go into Target, I always 'fly by' the card section, but most of the time in 2020, I've come to expect nothing - I was headed to the card section for another fruitless check, when I saw a dolly [near the games section, closer to the toy aisles, where other non-sport gaming cards are located] holding a box with a MJ Holding logo, which I know as one of the companies [there is more than one?] that puts trading cards on the shelves for Target.

I was hoping that was a good omen for the actual card section that matters and sure enough, the shelves that usually resembled a Cold War era Soviet supermarket had been replenished with some actual baseball cards - there were no retail flippers looking to pounce at the seemingly fresh setup, so I was all alone by myself to take things in for at least a couple of minutes.

Maybe what sort of caught my eye were the supplies - since Ultra Pro makes their products in China, I'm not sure if there is still an obstacle to getting new batches of supplies through a pandemic.

However, the various things that hold and protect cards should be as important to the average card collector - there was a 5-pack of Ultra Pro magnetic holders [too bad they were 130-pt and not the 55-pot I usually like to use], a 4-pack package of penny sleeves and an 'odder' toploader combo.

Maybe these retail offerings were repacked from older, inferior stock - but for the moment, I was glad to see them in-hand.

As for actual baseball cards, I'm not sure if 'Topps Fire,' 'Topps Archives' or 'Topps Stadium Club' will ever be sought after 'for value' like the Bowman Mega Boxes, Topps Series 2 or Topps Chrome I've whiffed on - but after a long drought, the former are baseball cards to me just the same [TSC is always a 'fan favorite' in my book] and tried to see what combination I could pick up.

I don't expect to see this card section to be as fruitful in my next visit, but like a good boy scout, I only grabbed what seemed reasonable to me at the moment - a couple of blasters of 2020 Topps Stadium Club, a hanger pack of 2020 Topps Archives [I have a couple of blasters I'd ordered online that are still MIA after three weeks] and a hanger pack of 2020 Topps Fire.

I ripped through my little haul and go figure after finding an IP autograph card I got signed from 2019 spring training maybe the day before - I pulled cards of hot rookie du jour Luis Robert in both hangers and one of the two blasters I ripped.

TTM autographs received: Tim McCarver

I think I may have gotten McCarver's autograph once [or not] when he sort of made me follow him after a national TV broadcast [day game] at Angel Stadium about 20 years ago - he said he was running late [to catch his ride out of the ballpark to get to the airport] and then just didn't sign for me [I don't think I would have anything on me like a blank baseball or his actual cards].

Over the years, I have ended up with a couple of straggler cards of his, though it maybe harder to run into him in-persona dn I'm not really sure if he even responded to through the mail requests - the cards may have been pulled from my St. Louis Cardinals IP box to stay loose as I wondered about sending to him.

I have seen some sporadic successes posted on a forum or two, though I'm not sure if they are new or can always be trusted - as it goes, I took my chance and wrote him a letter with my cards [along with $20].

I think the correct distinction is while McCarver is not a Hall of Famer, he is honored by the National Baseball HOF in their broadcaster wing - I thought I had to sweat things out where I might not see my cards for a while and/or my money back at all, but my cards were signed and returned in about 10 days.

TTM autograph received: Rudy Meoli

After being out for a couple of weeks, my first request to Meoli was sent back to me as 'return to sender,' which usually means I used an outdated or incorrect address - in some cases, an 'RTS' may mean my request was refused by the intended recipient, though that did not seem to be the case here.

I did some 'quick research' to find a presumably updated address and sent my request back into the wild - I finally got my card signed in about a week or so.

Topps Project 2020 Mike Trout #142

I got this card in-hand the same day Trout broke the Angels franchise record for home runs, hitting his 300th to pass Tim Salmon - oddly, as much as Trout has been anointed the best player in the game, once in a while, I still tend to think of him as a boy wonder who first came into the league.

Though speculating can be a waste of time, it will be interesting to see if Trout can hit another 300-400 home runs and beyond - where he puts himself position to challenge the all-time home run record.

As far as Topps Project 2020, the values of individual cards have mostly settled below what they initially have sold for on Topps.com - I have two more Trouts [Naturel and Grotesk] I'm waiting on from purchases made at least a couple of months ago and decided to actually pass on picking up the last two Trouts released [Vides and Efdot].

TTM autograph received: Al Neiger

The one time big league pitcher signed my card in about 10 days - I found the straggler vintage card rummaging through the old-school / vintage boxes at my old LCS and picked it on a whim.

While I've had the card for at least five or six years, I never thought about getting it signed until this year - I don't have many, if any vintage cards to round up, but it may be a novelty to send out a 60-year old card to someone still alive to sign.

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.

TTM autographs received: Rafael Palmeiro

The former big leaguer signed my two 500 home run 8x10 photos in exactly a week - I mailed my request off to Palmeiro on a Monday and by Friday, I checked the tracking status on my self-addressed photo mailer and it was already out of Palmeiro's hands.

I was anticipating my results and hoping there were not any complications - because it’s a couple of 8x10s I sent and not just loose cards for his current TTM fee of $20.

The afternoon my photo mailer was to arrive, I hoped to meet the mail man as he drove by to deliver the mail [these COVID-19 pandemic adventures are getting too crazy] - but maybe it was too hot and I was thinking of something else in the small window of time when the mail man had stopped by.

I waited around and when I checked my mail, I found my photo mailer was crammed in the mail box - I had to fish my mailer out out delicately and while the thick cardboard envelope a little bent out of shape, my 8x10 photos survived enclosed a photo sleeve / backing board.

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 autograph received: Tommy Helms

The former big league infielder sign my 1970 Topps card in about a couple of weeks - after being honored with the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1966, he went onto to have a 14-year big league career earning 2 Gold Glove awards while being also being a 2-time all-star.

I thought one-time big leaguer Wes Helms was his son, but it turns out only his nephew - I can add this autograph card to my bloodlines collection, though the more likely fit is in my award winners collection.

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 autograph received: Billy Cowan

I dug this card out from my Angels frankenset and sent it to Cowan to sign - it took about a couple of weeks before my card came back signed in blue Sharpie.

While Cowan's 1972 Topps card is a quirky 'cult favorite,' it maybe one 'fun card' I really haven't dwelled on too much - while the card will definitely be listed in my all-time Angels autograph collection, the actual card may also go back in my frankenset.

2017 Topps Series 2 First Pitch Alex Curry #FP-36

I think saw a signed version [from an organized, paid signing] of this card posted in thread that was eventually nuked on Blowout forums last month- I didn't realize a card of the Angels sideline reporter existed and after browsing around on eBay for a little bit, I snagged a couple of copies for a dollar each.

I guess like most applicable Angels fans, I think she’s eye-candy and while things change where she moves onto other things - Miss Curry's cards have found their way into my Angels PC somewhere.

TTM autographs received: Albie Pearson

I got my first success with Pearson back in 2014, but still had a couple of loose straggler cards I probably should send out sooner than never - I added $5 to my request and got my cards inscribed [rookie of the year and all-star] and signed about a week.

It seems kind of odd that he used two different pens - but I do like how he signed the vintage Topps card in a darker blue ink while he inked up the old-school retro 1978 TCMA The 1960's with a lighter ballpoint pen.

Featured autograph - Cal Ripken Jr. and Tim Salmon

Both of these guys are baseball 'heroes' and coincidentally they share the same birthday, 8 years apart - while it may sound a little corny, over the past 30 years, they were among the pros I considered larger than life.

Though Salmon was never the national baseball icon Ripken Jr. was as the latter chased The Streak - Salmon may have reason I was paying closer attention to Angels games during his first full season as a rookie in 1993.

TTM autographs received: Sam McDowell

The former 1960s - early 1970s Cleveland Indians pitching ace signed my three retro cards from my A-Z archives in about a month - while the cards aren't vintage Topps issues, I thought it might be neat to get the cards inked up for McDowell's unofficial fee of $5 each.

I wasn’t sure whether he was still signing but I saw some sporadic successes digging around on a forum and took my chance to put together a request - go figure, I found a couple of more unsigned cards [1993 Upper Deck B.A.T. Triple-Folders] of McDowell's I might be tempted to send out at some point.

The Angels, In Order freebies

An opportunity to pick out some cards for free is always fun- even cards that are mostly forgotten, like stuff from the junk wax era.

Tom, at The Angels, In Order had a free card giveaway and I chose five random cards - just to anticipate getting something in the mail.

2-1 2005 Upper Deck Classics Ray Dandridge #79 - picked a card of a Negro Leaguer who never got to the big leagues because of segregation and institutionalized racism, but was good enough to eventually get to the Hall of Fame.

3-8 1992 Topps Stadium Club Jose Canseco #370 - not the most notable, but a card that may take me back to my peak collecting years of the early 1990s, even for a moment.

3-5 1993 Fleer Ultra All-Stars Gary Sheffield #5 of 20 - not the most notable, but a card that may take me back to my peak collecting years of the early 1990s, even for a moment.

5-4 1988 Fleer Baseball MVP Dave Winfield #43 - while junk wax era boxed sets are still way too common to ever be worth anything, I liked the different looking cards to compare to the flagship set design released within the same year.

5-9 1993 Donruss Diamond Kings Pat Listach #DK-29 - I was surprised when this showed up because I thought I'd selected another card, but I goofed on listing the correct slot number.

Listach wasn’t built to last though he was American League Rookie of the Year in 1992 - I still may have my original copy of the insert somewhere, where I got it signed in-person back in 1996.

TTM autograph received: Jeff Russell

I got Russell to finish off my 1990 Fleer Superstar Specials subset card already signed by Mark Gubicza - a few months ago, I saw a success posted with Russell on a forum I belong to and by coincidence, I found the Fleer card in a small loose stack of cards I’d set aside featuring partially completed multiplayer cards.

On those rare occasions when it does happen - it feels good to get a iP / TTM autograph card signed by the two or more players pictured.

I must have gotten Gubicza 20 years ago while he was still writing out ‘Mark’ compared to recent years - when he really shortened up his autograph to basically initials.

I decided to send my card to Russell with $5 since it might have been implied he actually charges a fee - I crossed my fingers I would get an eventual success and about three weeks later, a SASE was returned with my card signed.

TTM autographs received: Jeff Shaw

The former big league closer signed my cards in about three weeks - including a 2001 Fleer Tradition, a set I'm still trying to get as many cards signed from, even after all these years.

TTM autographs received: Jason Gurka

I don’t usually write off requests, particularly within a calendar year, but I sent to Gurka in January and while I realize real life happened - I wondered why my request didn't come in the time I was stuck overseas from February through the middle of June.

However a straggler SASE made it back to my mailbox and finally got my two cards signed in black Sharpie - to count one for my all-time Angels autograph collection.

Gurka has pitched professionally for the past 11 seasons and recorded two outs in three appearances for the Angels in 2017 - I’ve probably wouldn't have his cards otherwise, but picked them up for the Arizona Fall League in 2013 and I've held onto them for the past 6-7 years after they didn't get any ink on them.

TTM autographs received: Kent Hrbek

Hrbek signed my cards in about four weeks with his unofficial fee being $5 an item - Hrbek was a hulking, slugging first baseman who starred for the Minnesota Twins from the early 1980s through the early 1990s.

Though compared to teammate Kirby Puckett, I considered Hrbek more of a regional, team star - I was familiar with Hrbek for the junk wax era cards I might have seen or had in-hand picturing him.

He played on Twins World Series championship teams in 1987 and 1991 - where he engaged in some chicanery, pulling Ron Gant off the bag in Game 2.

A glitch in the Matrix

I saw a thread on Twitter about repaging a set numerically and rolled my eyes since I’m not really a set guy at this point - even if I was a set collector, it seems simple enough to where I can certainly make sure to have all the cards in order when putting them in plastic sheets.

Go figure I was digging out a 1983 Topps Don Robinson [#44] I couldn't find, where it wasn't where I assumed it was in my 1983 Topps set binder - I was wondering if the numbering was wrong or I was looking up a card that belonged to a different year of Topps cards.

Turns out card #44 was stuck behind card #43 and the Robinson basically was never placed in its own pocket - so for the work I did to put the set in pages, the order is actually out of whack.

I’m going to say I have a problem in hand, but I’m not going to worry about trying to correct things - it’s probably going to be the case where now I'm pulling cards from the book to include in TTM requests, so there is already a little uncertainty about keeping the set together.

I guess I'm not perfect and probably should live with this glitch - as long as I know what I’m dealing with when looking for a particular card.

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.

TTM autographs received: Billy Ashley

The former big leaguer signed my cards in about a couple of weeks - the thick Sharpie Ashley used was good enough and bold enough for the cards I sent him, including the 1993 Upper Deck where teammate Eric Karros makes a cameo.

Ashley had big time power potential, but unlike some of the early 1990s era Los Angeles Dodgers prospects who would have big league success - Ashley never was able to put things together in parts of 6 seasons with the Dodgers.

He was a random guy for me to send to, but I needed to scratch that itch and not have to worry about my cards unsigned - if and when all or some of the cards I sent made it back to me.

I want to say he lives in the So. Cal area, where he has showed up for Dodgers alumni events / signings over the past decade - I set his cards aside a couple of years ago but held off on mailing them out.

TTM autographs received: Bill Virdon

I don’t know if Virdon was on my scratch the itch list, but I had a 1978 Topps [#279] buried under other cards, laying around loose for the longest time - I might as well send it out as long as the 89-year old [!] is still signing.

I may have gotten Virdon at least once before in the mail, though maybe not in-person - I vaguely remember being at the Pittsburgh Pirates team hotel when the team played an Interleague series in Anaheim in 2002 and saw him about to walk to the ballpark [maybe a mile or so away] instead of taking a shuttle.

It won’t be the case all the time, but I try to send at least a couple of cards out when putting together a through the mail request - so I figure to double up and send him a 1983 Topps [#516] as well.

Topps Project 2020 Mike Trout #187

I’ve got to keep up with my Trout run of Project 2020 cards [minus two cards so far], though since the hype around the Topps Project 2020 cards have been sucked out - I’ve tended to make myself wait before committing to an eventual purchase featuring Trout.

Through the early part of the abbreviated MLB season, the new father and birthday boy is still a consistently great player with a great all-around approach - I guess it feels good to buy a little piece of someone who is legit, particularly after a big home run night against the Seattle Mariners the other night.

Father time always wins but watching Trout evolve from a 'kid' to a full grown man and bonafide big leaguer, it should be fun watching him entering his 30s [starting in 2021] - to see if his great all-around approach remains where he has a fighting chance to fend off a decline phase and might actually get a little better.

TTM autograph received: Max Alvis

The former big league third baseman signed my card in about a couple of weeks - due to lack of familiarity, I'm not going to attempt to write to older, retired players unless I have their cards or they played through the junk wax era.

However, it might be fun to find straggler cards i.e. vintage / old-school or even retro cards [from the junk wax era to present] to send off to guys still living and presumably signing - though I've sent out through the mail requests for the past 25 years, I'm not like these 'TTM pros' who have a cache of old timers' cards and jump on any possible opportunity to mail stuff out.

TTM autographs received: Dave Schmidt

Schmidt was an effective big league reliever, doing some double duty in the starting rotation for several seasons, starting 49 games for the Baltimore Orioles from 1987-1989 - he signed my cards in blue Sharpie in about three weeks, including a 1984 Fleer card I actually sought out and picked up earlier in the year.

TTM autographs received: Scott Livingstone

Livingstone was a useful rank-and-file guy who could hit a little bit through the mid 1990s, though I have no recollection of him past his early junk wax era years with the Detroit Tigers - he signed my cards in blue Sharpie in about three weeks, but the pen was dying, so the autographs are didn't quite come out as bold.

Results are likely to vary when sending off cards TTM, but maybe it adds to the charm and quaintness to see something - signed in another color Sharpie besides blue or black or a glossy card signed in ballpoint pen or some other odd pen.

For the most part I want things in blue Sharpie or blue ink - but I'm reminded of going through my friend's book of autograph cards 20 years ago, where he would get stuff back in all sorts of colors and pen types.

1996 Pinnacle Bob Hamelin #289

I was worried for a little bit I couldn't find this one lousy common because of a little cult notoriety - where this particular card it has been goofed on the web for the past 10 years.

I was digging around and jumped on a listing for the card, spending about $1 to land a copy of this all-time beauty - finally getting the card in-hand, it does feel a little weird, where the surface isn’t that regular 1996 Pinnacle glossy finish that is prone to brick up over the past 25 years.

The stock is a little thinner and for a moment, I wondered if I have a fake card in-hand [seriously?] - doing some research, most sites referencing the card uses ‘foil’ to identify the card.

What I definitely have is a more of a ‘foil’ like card, though I wouldn't remember if 1996 Pinnacle had such a parallel - I wonder if Hamelin has a regular base card which is what I originally wanted in the first place [if it actually existed].

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: Roger Repoz

The former big league outfielder and one-time Angel signed my 1968 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.

Repoz was a serviceable player who was just a little above league average as a hitter [105 OPS+] despite a .224 batting average in 9 MLB seasons - though it wasn't in the major leagues, Repoz had a 5-year run as a slugger [122 home runs /.512 slugging] in Japan through the mid 1970s.

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.

2020 Topps Now Dr. Anthony Fauci Throws First Pitch #2

"As much as people inappropriately, I think, make me somewhat of a hero — and I'm not a hero, I'm just doing my job — there are people who get really angry at thinking I'm interfering with their life because I'm pushing a public-health agenda."

I haven’t bought a Topps Now card in a while, but decided to get a single copy last minute - as a card collector, this is my passive way of recognizing someone real in these hard times.

Dr. Fauci symbolizes the COVID-19 pandemic and how politicized things have gotten where he has been put through the ringer - where he and his family have gotten their lives threatened because he isn’t willing to be a puppet of the current administration.