Dano's TTM Autographs

Long Weekend

2009-08-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-31T05:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-27T05:10:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-24T06:11:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

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!

Weekend Strikeout!

2009-07-20T05:17:00.000-07:00

Nada this weekend. Just a bunch of bills and catalogs, but I thought I would share my Aaron Poreda autograph. I sent 2 4x6s on 4/23/09 and received them back on 5/15/09. My request was sent to the Birmingham Barons-AA, P.O. Box 360007, Birmingham, AL 35236. He is Baseball America's 63rd ranked prospect out of the White Sox organization. Poreda debuted in the bigs on 6/12/09 and has been a solid contributor. He has a 97mph heater and a filthy slider. He projects as a reliever, but I think he could make the rotation if given the opportunity.

Scott Lewis

2009-07-17T06:02:00.000-07:00

I don't even remember sending this card out, but after checking my spreadsheet, sure enough, it was sent c/o Cleveland Indians, 2401 Ontario St, Cleveland, OH 44115. The card was sent on 4/18/09 and returned 6/16/09, 89 days. Lewis signs about 73% of the time. He is hurt right now and it looks like his Tommy John may not be holding up. Due back mid-August. Lets hope he can get healthy and come back strong.

I am expecting a dry spell coming up soon. I haven't had the time to send out the number of requests I'd like to. Work keeps getting int the way! Stay tuned......

Brain Matusz and Jeremy Sowers

2009-07-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Alright...my first legitimate post. I got home from my softball game last night to two envelops. I was excited to get back Brian Matusz. He is an excellent pitching prospect in the Baltimore Orioles system. He will probably be called up this year. I sent two 4x6s to the Bowie Baysox-AA at 4101 NE Crain Highway, Bowie, MD 20716. It only took 7 days to get this request back. Matusz is a great signer. I now have most of the Orioles big time pitching prospects - Brandon Erbe, Jake Arrieta, Chris Tillman, and Matusz.

The other envlope had Jeremy Sowers in it. I like to try and get all the guys that are consistent signers during the season. The request was sent to Cleveland Indians at 2401 Ontario St, Cleveland, OH 44115-4003 and took 20 days to get back. He signed a 2009 Topps Heritage #14. Let's hope Mr. Sowers pitches a no-hitter or perfect game because his chances of making the HOF are about nil.

TTM Autographs

2009-07-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

So.....this is my first post. I didn't get any mail yesterday, but hopefully my mailbox is full today. Just for fun here is an autograph of Dominique Wilkins I was surprised to get back. It took over 275 days. The request was sent on 9/24/08 and returned on 6/26/09. The success rate for Dominique is only about 19%. His autograph is absolutely illegible. If it wasn't on his card I would have no idea who it was. It was kind of cool to get the authentication letter back with it. The card is a 1987 Fleer Sticker 7 of 11. The request was sent to: Centennial Tower, 101 Marietta St NW, Suite 1900, Atlanta, GA 30303