East Coast National Card Show Trade!

Hey guys, Drew back here! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted, especially since I told you I'd have something to share. I still do, but it's been pushed aside because I'm now in my second week of college! It's been an enormous transition for me, but so far everything has worked out relatively well, and my classes don't seem to be too over demanding for my first semester. I'm studying Sport Management here at my school, so that one day I may have a role in a professional organization (that's the goal)!

A few weekends ago, my Dad and I spent a day at the White Plains "East Coast National" meeting players and buying all sorts of things for my collection! I mostly added some supplies, and I bought a few cards that I don't have scans of on my laptop, but it was nothing overly notable. But, I did make a big move. If any of my long time readers may recall, way back at one of my first card shows I won a signed and framed Tom Seaver photo, and ever since I've had it framed in my closet. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for Mr. Seaver, but the piece had never quite fit into my collection. I said in the blog post over 4 years ago that I'd be keeping thepiece for a "lllllllonggggggg time!" I think 4 years would be considered a long time, and I finally realized I could get something I'd prefer in exchange for the piece.. and I did just that. But I got two great pieces for the price of one!

My dad and I have worked out a lot of deals with a man named Joe at the shows in the past. Joe is a big collector around our area, and actually doesn't live far from us, but he deals at the White Plains shows and even the Cooperstown show we went to last year with the Regenthal clan! He made me a great offer, and was able to trade me these two signed baseballs for the Seaver photo:

First off, he filled in an enormous hole in my collection with this Goose Gossage signed baseball! I have a bunch of items signed by Goose, but for some reason I never thought of adding a ball to my PC! He has a beautiful signature, and the HOF 2008 inscription is the icing on the cake!

I also got this sweet "Lousiana Lightning" Ron Guidry autographed baseball in the exchange! Guidry inscribed "Yankee Captain 1986-88" below his signature, and it looks really good despite his sloppy handwriting! Getting these two baseballs saved me a lot of money I'd wind up spending to meet them in the future, and I can now focus on getting them on other items (I really need Guidry on my Mantle photo)! 

Thank you so much Joe for being such a great business partner and friend over the years, and I hope the Seaver photo has served you well! I'll have more to report on this show in the near future, but for now, See Ya (college edition)!

HOF Weekend: Meeting Johnny Bench!

Hey guys, Drew back here! It was just past noon last Saturday and it was already one of the best days of the year. I mean, seriously, how many days in your life do you get to say you shook hands with 2 All Time record holders in Major League Baseball history? Rose and Rickey made Day 1 incredibly successful, but it wasn't even over yet. I also got to meet one of the best (Yogi beats him in my opinion) catchers ever!

Johnny Bench was also signing at the same hotel Henderson signed at. The signing was held by MAB Celebrity Services at the Tunnicliffe Inn, which just so happened to be the very inn I stayed at when I went to Cooperstown for the first time 4 years ago. It was empty when I was there as a 12 year old, however this go round the likes of Eddie Murray, Rickey Henderson, Orlando Cepeda, Wade Boggs, Joe Morgan, Roberto Alomar, and Bench (among many others) were all seated signing autographs! 

Johnny Bench. Wow. 14 time All Star. 10 time Gold Glove recipient. And some may say he was the best catcher in the history of the sport. A few years ago he actually gave a speech at my mom's hospital about some sort of Hip Replacement, and my mom's boss was able to get his autograph for me there! Now, several years later, I finally got to shake his hand. He was very personable with all of the fans, but as always, I really didn't have much to say. I had a bad case of being starstruck most of that day, so could you blame me? Unfortunately, the picture I got with Mr. Bench the first time through came out horribly due to the back lighting of the window. I noticed that before we left, and I asked his handler if we could take one more picture.

And I'm so very glad I did that. Bench was fine with it although it obviously wasn't what either of us wanted to do. But it was for the best and I'm so glad I went back to re-do it.

I got his autograph on a baseball, with the Hall of Fame inscription and everything! It wasn't very cheap, but I'd like to say it was worth every penny.

Thanks so much Mr. Bench! See Ya!

TTM #107- HOF Running Back!

Hey guys, Drew back here! I've had an extremely successful week in the hobby, and I was able to cap it off on a really high note this morning. Before I get to one of my recent through the mail successes; I'd like to share what happened this morning. 

Yesterday, my dad ran into a group of women and a 6 year old boy from England who happened to be staying in the area. Although he was only 6, this kid walked around with a binder filled with cards, and my Dad told him about my collection. Later, he told me about the boy, and I gathered a huge box filled with cards to give to him the next day. I've been meaning to clear up some space in my basement, so moving the box would be a win-win in this case. After I left my friend's house this morning, Dad and I met up with them in our town, and I gave the boy the box. It's safe to say I made his weekend; judging by the excitement in his voice and the look on his face. This, my friends, is what the hobby is all about. It felt really good to do this, and I highly recommend to all of you reading that instead of trying to make a profit on everything, to save a little bit in case of a situation like this. Like I said, it really is a win-win.

Anyway, the other day I received my 107th TTM success, that being of former Chicago Bears Pro Bowl running back Gale Sayers! Sayers, known as "The Kansas Comet", had a relatively short career, however his dominance while he was there earned him a bust in Canton when all was said and done. Skill wise; he was one of the best backs to ever take the field. He was known for cutting past defenders while never slowing down. His rookie season went down as one of the best in history; as he scored a record 22 touchdowns with over 2,000 all purpose yards. Unfortunately, just a few seasons later he became injury prone, and they forced him to end his career at the age of 28. However; his legacy earned him #22 on the Sporting News' list of the 100 greatest players!

Sayers signed my 8x10 photo beautifully in black; adding his "HOF 77" inscription! I threw in a $10 donation for the autograph, and I'm beyond happy with the result! Thanks Mr. Sayers!

See Ya!

TTM #106 - Psychopath Closer!

Hey guys, Drew back here! I recently sent out a few TTM's, and one of them rolled in during my Spring Break! Take a look:

Former closer Al Hrabosky signed two cards for me along with an index card! Known as "The Mad Hungarian" (one of the best nicknames in baseball history in my opinion), Al had a knack for putting on a show for the fans. He would step off the mound between pitches, turn away from the batter, pound the ball into his glove, and then whipped back around and stared down the hitter with his nasty facial hair until they were scared to death. Call him crazy; but he still managed to win the 1975 Fireman of the Year award, and after it was all said and done he retired with 97 career saves. 

Currently, he is the color commentator for the St. Louis Cardinals, the team he played most of his career for. I love the index card personalization "Psyche Up! Al Hrabosky, The Mad Hungarian". He certainly isn't the best success I've ever gotten but it'll rank up there as one of the cooler ones.

Thanks Mr. Hrabosky! See Ya!

Re-Experiencing Early Hobby Memories!

Hey guys, Drew back here! As I mentioned yesterday, I met a solid group of players at last weekend's JP's Sports March Madness card show! First of all, a big thank you and shoutout to the guys from JP's Sports for doing a great job as always! When I look back on my early days in the hobby there's no way I could ever forget my experiences meeting so many legendary players. Although I met 6 former players that day, I've shaken all but 3 of their hands in the past. I'll explain further in a minute. But, to kick things off, I jumped on the free signer's line early because those lines always seemed to grow quickly. Not many people seemed to be in attendance that day, as the show was relatively quiet. But nothing is worse than being stuck in lines for hours!

This show's free signer was former Orioles' Rookie of the Year Ron Hansen! Hansen battled injuries throughout his prime and later career, which severely impacted his opportunity for success in the big leagues. However, the 6'3 shortstop had a great rookie year, batting .255 with 22 home runs, 86 RBI in the lower half of the O's lineup. He made both All Star teams from the season, but never was the same player.

Hansen was a real nice guy, signing a ball for William for me, as well as a 1961 Topps for my collection! He assumed me to be a big Pirates fan, judging by my McCutchen jersey and Pittsburgh hat, so he asked me if I was excited to meet the Pittsburgh players signing. Of course, as you all know, the Pirates are my second favorite team but I don't love them nearly to the extent that I love the Yankees. Hansen posed for a picture and I was off on my way to meet some former Bucs. 

The first of three Pirates I visited that day was 4 time batting champ Bill Madlock! I've met Madlock along with the following two players at my first White Plains show back in the summer of 2009, and he was a fairly nice guy. I believe he signed for free that day, however Sunday he charged $15 with a free inscription. Last time the "Mad Dog" had a clean look to him, which was uncharacteristic for a 70's Bucco. This time around, he was sporting a beard and the New Era Pirates hat. He didn't say a whole lot, similar to the last time I met him, but he signed my ball and posed for a picture. 

I figured that I should take advantage of the free inscription, so I got him to add "Mad Dog" in between his first and last names. He has a clean signature, but it isn't exactly easy to read. In my ball display area, he'll be placed right next to the Crime Dog, Fred McGriff, to make for a pair of tough dogs you certainly wouldn't want to mess with during their primes.

 Next up was a player who ended up becoming one of my favorite old school players following the first experience I'd had with him, Mr. Dave Parker! Parker had all of the tools, but never really used them to the fullest extent that he could have. Unfortunately, drugs and hysteria got between Parker and the Hall of Fame, because most people knew he had the potential to reach the hall. Dave looked good today; it appeared that he lost some weight since last time, and he was really friendly as usual.

He signed my ball, and I asked him if he could put his "Cobra" nickname on it. He replied "how did you know about that nickname?", and I told him that I didn't know, and that I made it up. He laughed and then told me his trainer gave it to him because his batting stance was coiled. He started writing Cobra on the ball, and then below it he continued to inscribe it. I wasn't sure what he was doing until I looked at it a minute after I left him.

 Below Cobra, he wrote his number 39, with a cobra in the shape of a 9! I don't normally shop for his memorabilia on eBay, but I checked later on to see if it was a commonality or if I was lucky. There were no balls like that currently on eBay, so for now I'll go with me being lucky! I wouldn't sell it, but it is really cool to think of how few people may have what I have throughout the world. Thanks to the Cobra once again for making my day!

The final signer (for this installment of drewscards) was 2 time batting champion Al Oliver! Oliver was also a free signer back in 2009, but this time he was $15 per autograph with a free inscription, exactly like Madlock's. Oliver was friendly the first time and he didn't disappoint the second time, although he was shocked to see a New Yorker decked out in Pirates gear. "You a true Pirate fan, kid?" he asked me. "These jerseys aren't cheap Mr. Oliver," I replied, and he said "Now I hear ya on that man!" Always something interesting when Oliver is around.

Oliver went above and beyond on inscriptions as well, signing his nickname "Scoop" and writing 1971 WS Champs below his name, which may be disheartening to you Orioles fans, but it is what it is. All of the balls came out spectacular, and I'm glad I added them all to my ever growing signed baseball collection!

That's not all though! Stay tuned for the final two players I got to add to my Mantle photo! In the meantime, go Pirates!

See Ya!

TTM #102... or Juan02

Hey guys, Drew back here. While the season is over, perhaps one of my favorite times of baseball is just beginning. I've always been into sports business management type-jobs, so the idea of free agency is very interesting to me. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Yankees will do, even though I'd prefer for them to hold off a little bit. However, I recently got a TTM success from someone who will most likely be staying put in Philadelphia this winter. Take a look:

None other than MLB Memes legend Juan Pierre signed two cards for me! Pierre will go down as one of the best speed threats of this generation, swiping 591 bases in 13 years! He's bounced around quite a bit since his rookie season in 2000, but has contributed everywhere he's gone. He also has just over 2000 career hits and a career average just below .300! I'd easily consider him one of the most underrated players in my short lifetime, and I'm really happy he took some time out to sign for me. In addition, Pierre added the Bible Inscription Psalm 37, which basically explains to trust the Lord and not be envious of those who commit crimes and wrong-doings. 

Along with the autographs, Juan threw in this pretty sweet Bible card, entitled "Beast Mode, 24.7.365". While I'm not necessarily an overly religious person, I really enjoy receiving throw ins from players. It seems like Pierre is a very faithful Christian man, and I have nothing but respect for someone like that.

Thank you to Mr. Pierre! Juan post down, many more to go!

See Ya!