Long Weekend

I was on vacation this weekend, so here are my returns in short order.

Kevin Slowey c/o Minnesota Twins 24 days. I believe he is hurt and out for the season.

Ken Oberkfell c/o Buffalo Bisons 12 days. He is an automatic signer.

Koji Uehara c/o Baltimore Orioles 25 days. Uehara is out with shoulder tendinitis and may be back by the end of the season.

Dolph Schayes sent to P.O. Box 156, Syracuse, NY, 13214 11 days. 12 time NBA All-Star, HOF '73, NBA Champion 1955, 1966 NBA Coach of the Year.

Jim Loscutoff

I just learned that Jungle Jim signs TTM. I mailed my request and 7 days later I have his autograph. He is a 7 time NBA champion and a nasty defender. As a huge Boston fan I am psyched to add this to my collection. I can't wait to see my Bill Sharman come back!

Dale Sveum. Not a big story behind this one. I wasn't sure it was worth the stamps, but it is just fun to open the mail. Request was sent c/o Milwaukee Brewers and returned in 5 days.

Weekend Update

Lonnie Chisenhall. This guy is a prospect in the Cleveland Indians organization and he can really hit. I think he was accused of stealing a big-screen TV or something like that. Anyway, I have come to the conclusion that signers are more likely to keep a photo than a baseball card. I sent 2 4x6s to Chisenhall and he only signed and returned one. He always signs multiple items. This has happened to me quite a few times with the 4x6s. I think they see the same baseball cards all the time, so when they get something original and different they keep it. I am not complaining it is just an observation. Request sent c/o Kinston Indians, P.O. Box 3542, Kinston, NC 28502 and was returned in 16 days.

Chris Iannetta is a super consistent signer and is going to be a damn good catcher. You have to respect the guys that take the time to open and sign their mail. Request was sent c/o Colorado Rockies, 2001 Blake St, Denver, CO 80205-2008, and returned in 15 days.

Surprise!

For some reason I did not think I was going to get Kila Ka'aihue back. He is a consistent signer, but I just had a feeling I wasn't going to see the card again. Ka'aihue is a decent slugger sporting a .862 OPS for the Omaha Royals. However, he may be a Quad A player. The request was sent c/o Omaha Royals and returned in 56 days.

Rene Tosoni. You probably haven't heard of this guy, but he can rake. At 23 years old his aggressive style at the dish has him striking out a bit too much, but with time he will become more patient. 2 4x6s were sent c/o New Britain Rock Cats and returned in 15 days.

Cha-Ching!

Had a good mail day yesterday. Starting off with Andy LaRoche. I get these two brothers confused all the time. I thought I had got Adam who just got traded to the Red Sox (my favorite team), so needless to say I was more excited than I should have been. ANDY signed a 2009 Topps Heritage #373 c/o Pittsburgh Pirates in 13 days. This guy still has a lot of upside if he can stay healthy. He is a pretty consistent signer.

Next up is Kyle Drabek. He is a top pitching prospect in the Phillies organization and the son of Doug Drabek. He can bring it with 97mph heat and make be up with the Phils in September. I need to get Doug's auto for a father/son combo. Kyle signed 2 4x6s c/o Reading Phillies-AA in 14 days. I like the looks of his autograph.

Zach Moore. I know nothing about this guy. I got the card in the first pack of Bowman I opened in 2009 and decided to send it out. Moore signed a 2009 Bowman #BP85 c/o Jamestown Jammers in 28 days.

Lou Marson. Another Phils prospect, but I know nothing about him. I just send to all the minor league guys I can get cards for, in the hopes they make it big. I am not holding my breath with Lou.

2009 Progress

The mailbox was empty yesterday, but I am starting to send out requests more frequently, so hopefully things pick up. Just wanted to share an Adam Jones spring training autograph. It was sent on 3/12/09 c/o Baltimore Orioles, 1301 NW 55th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 and was received 4/6/09. I was pleased to get this back. Adam Jones is one hell of a ballplayer, and it looks like he is only signing during spring training.

I have sent out 249 baseball autograph requests this year, and I have received 129 back. Thats is a 51.81% success rate. Not too bad, but I hope my success rate goes up when the season concludes. I am 7 for 7 for basketball, and 1 for 1 football in 2009.

Preparing Cards

I got this back on 7/20/09 and it was sent out on 7/10/09 c/o Oakland A's. 10 days! A quick return considering I live all the way across the country. I know that the gloss on Upper Deck cards does not hold autos very well, but I take extra care in preparing the cards so I was suprised the auto didn't hold very well. First, I rub the card with my bare thumb, and after that I rub on baby powder. I have never had good luck with erasers. Ziegler is a great signer, so get your cards out to him today!