Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Willie McCovey

Hey everyone! I know, you're probably shocked that I've posted three days in a row. And you probably also think that in a week I won't post again for another three months. If so, I totally get that, and there's definitely a likelihood that will be the case. For now, we're going to let the good times roll.

In order to properly put a bow on the Bronx Baseball Bonanza show I went to last Saturday, I have to show off my other new prize. At the show, my vendor friend Joe I mentioned in yesterday's post was really helpful with some non-hobby related ventures of mine, and my Dad and I thought it would be best to buy something from him as a "thank you". And now that you're caught up, voila...

My 24th Hall of Fame signed baseball is of Willie McCovey! This ball is in mint condition, and is certified by Steiner. When compared to the other McCovey balls he had, I felt as though this was the one to have because it appears that the signature had the best chance of lasting long-term. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it. I've been wanting a ball of the Giants slugger for some time now, and have come to the conclusion that I probably won't ever get to meet him considering his declining health.

Ultimately, I think a big reason I don't often go after Hall of Fame signed baseballs is because I plan to try to meet as many of them as possible. But when I know the chances are slim, I'm more likely to pounce on one. Dad paid for a majority of the ball, so thank you so much for the great gift. This one is already in my Hall of Fame baseball display, and will stay there for the foreseeable future.

Alright, I'll talk to you guys tomorrow (hopefully)!

A Golden Ball of a Gold Glover

Hey everyone, Drew back here! It already feels like the summer is beginning to wind down, but I'm far from ready for it to end. Unfortunately, I will not be flying to Chicago this weekend for the National, but I do plan on attending the East Coast National, hosted by JP's Sports, for the 7th straight year! They always make their lineup especially solid for their summer show, and I'm looking forward to getting three more Hall of Fame autographs in my collection that day. 

One of the players I planned to have sign a baseball for me was Brooks Robinson. Brooks is William's favorite player from everything I've gathered, and he seems like such like a wonderful man (not to mention one hell of a third baseman). My dad decided for my birthday to find something to spoil me with, and with his gift, I will have to find something creative for the Human Vacuum Cleaner to sign (perhaps a vacuum?).  

Yeah, that's right. For all of $25, my dad got me this awesome Tristar certified Brooks Robinson signed baseball; HOF Inscription and all! I researched the certification, which said that the ball was signed at a Houston card show in 1992; so it has a little bit of wear to it, but still looks great considering it's older than me! Robinson has one of the best signatures I've seen, especially among the Hall of Fame, and I've been wanting to get him on a ball for what feels like forever. He is now in my Hall of Fame ball case I got last Christmas, and after the card show I will have officially filled the case with nothing but Cooperstown's best.

Thank you so much Dad for the great surprise! Now, I ask you, the audience: what should I have Brooks sign for me at the show? I was debating between a bat or his famous World Series dive photo. Let me know in the comments below!

See Ya!

My New Hall of Fame Showcase!

Hey guys, Drew back here! I'm very proud to congratulate four great players on their inductions into Cooperstown, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Craig Biggio! I originally predicted 3 of those 4 to make it in 2015 with Smoltz barely missing the cut this year but making it in within a year or two, but I'm so glad that wasn't the case. We just missed adding Mike Piazza as well, but it looks like next year he and Ken Griffey Jr. will look to share the spotlight.

Since most of the baseball world has been focused on the Hall of Fame vote these past few weeks, I had been preparing this post for a little while now once the voting had concluded. This Christmas I received a really cool baseball holder, and I decided to hang it on one of the few open spots on my wall and put all of my Hall of Fame signed baseballs inside. I kept most of my Yankees balls together with the exception of the HOF'ers, and while I was originally 3 baseballs shy of filling the case with Hall of Famers, with yesterday's induction that was slimmed down to 2. About a year and a half ago, I met John Smoltz at the East Coast National Show, and added a signed baseball to my collection in hopes that he would be enshrined one day, and yesterday I was able to put him into my ultimate pitching rotation that spans two rows (or 11 of 21 total balls) of the case.

Here is how the display currently looks as of January 2015! I look forward to replacing two of the balls with Hall of Famers, but do wish Fred McGriff and Vladimir Guerrero all the best in being one day inducted.

Row 1: Gaylord Perry, Ralph Kiner, Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, Vladimir Guerrero (non-HOF), Fred McGriff (non-HOF)

Row 2: Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford, Bob Feller, Steve Carlton, Warren Spahn

Row 3: Fergie Jenkins, Jim Palmer, John Smoltz, Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers

Row 4: Frank Thomas, Johnny Bench, Cal Ripken Jr.

Row 5: Yogi Berra

The lighting in the room seems to make most of the balls look more yellow than they actually are, but I've never been one to particularly care how worn the ball is as long as the signature is presentable. I never was interested in collecting signed baseballs but soon realized I couldn't have signed pictures of everyone because I didn't have enough space to present them all, so I took an alternative path and I now love to add baseballs of my favorite players and Hall of Famers. It will never quite compare to my good buddy William's insane 108 Hall of Famer deep baseball collection (please check this out if you want to be impressed), but I personally prefer to dabble all around the various highlights of our great hobby.

So what do you think? How do you all prefer to display your baseballs? Thank you to Mom and Dad for such a smart gift, it cleared a lot of space on my desk (for more baseballs)! Congrats again to all of the new members of Cooperstown's Finest, and for now, See Ya!

TTM's from 200 Miles Away!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Although I'm at school at the moment, I made sure to send a bunch of through the mail requests out to come home to on breaks! My dad has been face timing me whenever I get letters back in the mail and opens them for me, and so far I've gotten a few really nice successes! Here are the first two of the three I've gotten back so far!

Tony La Russa: 1/1 in 6 Days (Received August 28th)

We start off with newly inducted Hall of Fame and legendary manager Tony La Russa! I wish I had more time before I left to find a second card of La Russa depicted as a manager to also have signed, but I guess I'll have to give him a second try down the road. That doesn't take anything away from how beautiful this 1972 Topps came out, but obviously La Russa wasn't known for his playing ability. It's a great shot of young Tony, before each and every one of his 2728 career managerial wins! He's clearly missing some gray hair and wrinkles, but those certainly worked their way into the equation after the stress of managing for as long as he did. I've always had a ton of respect for Mr. La Russa, and I'm really happy to add his small, but powerful autograph to my growing collection!

Larry Bowa: 3/3 in 6 Days (Received August 28th)

Larry Bowa was a better player than Tony La Russa, but his managerial record isn't half of what La Russa gave baseball. However, I've been a fan of Bowa's ever since he became a part of the Yankees coaching staff in 2006 (around the time I began to follow baseball). I also really enjoy his work currently on the MLB Network! He signed 3 cards for me, out of 1971, 1972, and 1976 Topps; my personal favorite being the '76!

All in all, two really nice gifts from home that have helped make this transition a little better! Thank you Mr. La Russa and Mr. Bowa for the beautiful autographs! Have a great night everyone, and See Ya!

A Merry Feller Christmas!

Hey guys, Drew back here! First and foremost, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! I was spoiled once again and had a great time with my family, and I hope you can all say the same. As always, William and I got each other presents for Christmas, and this year's was certainly a special one. Check it out:

William sent me this gorgeous JSA certified Bob Feller signed baseball, inscribed with his Hall of Fame year to boot! Feller was a hero on and off the field, and although this certainly isn't my first Feller autograph, it's now definitely one of my favorites. He and I are both big fans of Feller, especially after he had been so giving to both of us with through the mail requests. After looking at a lot of statistics and reading stories about his fantastic life, we came to a conclusion that he was one of the most underappreciated pitchers in the game's history! I'm really glad I was able to add him to my collection, and it being from William just makes it all the more special.

Thank you so much for the great gift William! Please, if you guys haven't given his blog, do yourself a favor and click this link. I'll be back here with more recent Christmas additions and TTM's shortly, but for now, See Ya!

August 20th White Plains Card Show Review Part 4

Hey guys, Drew back here! Time for you guys to see the 2 big Hall of Famers I added to my custom Hall of Fame set! Take a look...

PART 4:

HALL OF FAMERS

This has been a post I've been dying to write for months now, because I couldn't wait to talk about my story of meeting these former greats to you all. We all had to wait quite a long time because, considering its one of the biggest card shows in the country and many people were there, a lot of people were in line to meet these guys too. 

The first Hall of Famer I met that day was former Cardinals All Star shortstop, "The Wizard", Ozzie Smith! Smith, known for his trademark backflips and incredible defensive plays, was larger than life back in his playing days. Fortunately, throughout his popularity and fame, he hasn't changed his personality one bit, as he was by far the nicest and most down to Earth player I've ever met. Before us in line was an older guy with his little son, holding a little toy when he shook hands with Smith. Smith proceeded to have the kid pose on the table while he held his little toy for a picture, and it looked like it was a cool memory for those people for sure. 

I came up to Ozzie and greeted him, and did the usual "I made this card of you on my computer, in your honor" deal, because it's always the shy guys way out of being loud and obnoxious to players. He responded by saying that I'm a really creative young kid, and it meant a lot for me to hear that from a guy who was certainly a unique baseball player:

So, I got him to sign my Hall of Fame card and we posed for a picture. Following that Mike did fellow blogger William a favor and got his baseball signed for him by Ozzie, giving him a chance to meet "The Wizard of Oz". We both strongly feel like he was the nicest baseball player we've ever met, and it was a great opportunity and memory for both of us.

My autographed card came out good, and my only complaint is that I didn't reprint it before I got it signed because the printer started to run low on ink as the card completed. You can tell by looking at the color comparison on the far right side of the card. Otherwise, the autograph, plus his Hall of Fame inscription came out awesome, and I'm extremely psyched to add it to the set! Before I get to the other guest we met, here are a few pictures of some of the other signers at the show:

Ralph Kiner

Fay Vincent

Mets Rookie Justin Turner

Mets Rookie Dillon Gee

Anyway, the second autograph guest was none other than "Mr. Cub", Ernie Banks! When I saw that Banks was on the lineup, I knew for sure I wasn't going to get a whole lot of "gifts" for my birthday, as I instead asked for money so I can save up to meet the legend! I eventually compiled the money, made his card, and went off to wait in line for him in the afternoon. Boy was he slow at signing autographs! It took Mike and I over 2 hours to wait in line just so we could make use of my autograph ticket. Mike ever so kindly stood in line for me since he was done buying stuff and had nothing better to do, as I ran out to buy more before the show ended and I came back with more money than I hoped to have had. The show was about a half hour from ending, with many more people still to go, Banks already having been way past his time allotment, and he decides to get up, and walk around a little bit...

I swear, I have absolutely no idea how I felt at this moment. I thought it was absolutely hilarious some of the stuff he was saying, and the fact that he decided to get up and personalize with a lot of the people still waiting for him, but on the second hand I was worried that he wouldn't finish in time and I ended up losing the price of his ticket! Fortunately, he soon finished joking around asking who was married and who has considered divorce, murder, or suicide, and finally returned to his signing table. (PS, turn up the volume on the video above, so you can hear him!)

So, about a half hour later it was FINALLY our turn to meet him. His price was $90 an autograph, so I guess he was trying to make it worth every penny! The lady in front of us worked in the media section for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and she decided to have a long conversation with him about the old Pirates teams, etc etc. I'm standing there, right in front of Mr. Banks, while he's holding my card and about to sign it, while not having said one word to me yet and continuing the conversation with that lady. He finally turned to me and I said hello, and the usual, custom card deal, and I asked him to inscribe his Hall of Fame year on it. He responds to me by saying, almost as if he was in awe, "You made that?", and I said yeah, and he told me he was really impressed. He finished signing my card and the 3 of us, dad, Mike, and I, all went around the table for a photo opportunity. My dad decides to be the funny guy he is and says "See that kid there (pointing to me)? He's 15, married, and murdered his wife!" Banks turned and stared me down for a good 5 seconds with his jaw dropped until dad said he was kidding and that I would never do that. Banks knew and just said he was going with the joke basically. What a hilarious and memorable meet with "Mr. Cub"!

Overall, Banks really made my day, and it was definitely something I'll never forget. He seemed like a real gentle giant, and had one of the better personalities I've came across in a long time. The autograph came out beautiful and is easily my favorite of the set so far. You can't get a whole lot better than a 14 time All Star who slugged 512 home runs, winning 2 MVPs along the way!

So, my advice is this. If you ever see one of these guys, Smith or Banks, coming around your area for a signing, don't miss out! Both of them are complete gentlemen and class acts, and it was a day I'll never forget...

See Ya!

Hall of Fame Autograph Addition!

Hey guys, Drew back here! I've been on a crazy eBay binge lately, especially with all the money I received for my birthday, which was totally unexpected. I'm definitely going to White Plains in late August, so I have to save quite a bit of money for that, but I also had plenty of room to buy stuff before hand. Here is one of my first pickups with the birthday money!

Out of 2008 Donruss Threads, to go with my Don Mattingly autograph from the same subset, here is a Tony Gwynn auto relic, numbered 21/50! Granted, my Mattingly was just an auto, but was numbered to 25 I believe. However, this card is pretty sweet! I bought this card after my friend Mike was in Arizona at the All Star Fan Fest and wanted to get his autograph there, even though in the end he never got one. I've been hoping for a guest post from him so he can tell the story of his incredible day there, because he will make you guys super jealous, for sure.

While I never watched Gwynn play, as he was just a little before my time, his list of accolades and accomplishments is very impressive. Over 3,000 hits and a lifetime batting average of .338 alone is something that not many future Major Leaguers will be able to top. He never won a World Series, but his 15 All Star elections, 5 Gold Glove awards, and 7 Silver Slugger awards surely made up for it. He also led the National League in hitting 8 TIMES. As everyone expected, he was elected into Cooperstown in 2007, along with Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr, making for one heck of an induction class!

So for under $20 shipped, there was no doubt in my mind that this needed to be added to my collection!

See Ya!

TTM #59- Hall of Famer, What a Relief!

Hey guys, Drew back here. From this point forward, I don't think we'll have to deal with as much damage on customs over here at drewscards! I picked up a new kind of glue, a liquidy kind as opposed to the glue sticks I was using. Keep in mind, that glue sticks are the worst idea ever for gluing customs to the card stock. Don't do it. Anyway, after I received a damaged custom from this guy, I decided to try him once more, and hope for the best.

I got Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning to sign not only my custom, but also sign a 2005 Upper Deck Legendary Cuts card! First off, I got the bottom card as part of the 2005 Legendary Cuts set, way back when I went to Cooperstown a few years ago. Since I got the set it's basically been sitting around in my special Hall of Fame box, until I found it and decided to try it TTM. The autograph looks incredible on the bonus and I'm very happy to own another auto of Bunning's. As for the custom, while it's not in mint condition damage wise, it's not in bad shape at all, and I can definitely live with this one! I sent this out prior to getting the new glue, so I hoped and prayed it wouldn't come back damaged. It would've had it stayed attached to its card stock, but fortunately I opened the SASE to find the stock completely seperated from the card itself. This success came back about a week ago, and it took about 15 days to come back.

Bunning had a very successful career. While he's not a top tier Hall of Fame, he still deserves his plaque in the Hall of Fame. He mainly pitched for the Tigers and Phillies but also played 2 seasons with the Pirates and Dodgers. Winning 224 games with a ERA of 3.27, as well as 2,855 strikeouts (the second highest in MLB history at the time of his retirement, behind only Walter Johnson), he was one of the top pitchers of his time. Not to mention he also threw a perfect game on June 21st, 1964 against the Mets, one of only 20 pitchers to ever accomplish the difficult feat.

Along with his baseball career, he was the senator of Kentucky from 1999 to 2011, when he just recently announced his retirement. Since then, he's been a great through the mail signer. If you like your Hall of Famer autographs like I do, then I highly recommend you send a card or two out to him! You'll definitely be satisfied!

A big thanks goes out to Mr. Bunning for signing for me again after the last card came home wrecked! What do you think of the cards?

See Ya!

Yankees Hall of Fame Auto Pickup!

Hey guys, Drew back here, with a card I just recently bought on eBay. I saw some people who previously bought this card for a low price, so I figured for a nice low price I could get one too.

1993 Nabisco Catfish Hunter Autographed Card

These cards are basically as cheap as they come autograph wise, but when you see some of the names in the checklist, they turn into must buys. These small name companies did a great job with these cards, as the cards look very nice signed. I'm psyched to be able to add an auto of a deceased Yankees Hall of Fame pitcher! I watched the "Yankeeography" show on YES a while back about Catfish, and it seemed like he went through a lot and still was a great pitcher. Of course, he passed away due to ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease, in 1999, at the age of 53. What a short life lived for such a great man.

Here's the certificate, pretty nice to have, considering these Nabisco dudes don't have licenses.

Well, it was a cool pickup for sure. Thank you eBay dude!

See Ya!

TTM #23- Hall of Famer!

Hey guys, Drew back here, with my most recent TTM success, that I received in 27 days from a Hall of Famer! I was able to add another Hall of Fame Heroes Custom auto to my collection for $5 and it was completely worth it!

Duke Snider! Wow, still kinda speechless to own a Snider auto right now. It came out pretty nice, even though his signature is beginning to take a turn for the worse at 83. Still, he is a great one to add to my collection! Hitting 407 home runs will do that to your hands, so he has every right to be sloppier nowadays, considering he has a better signature than most everyone in current major league sports still.

Not only did he sign the Hall of Fame Heroes card, he signed this "Hall of Fame Heroes" card too. No I didn't steal the name on purpose, I'm very bad at set names. This autograph looks better than the other one, and the card just looks outstanding. I'm really glad he signed both for me, that's just awesome, especially to think that he played center field in New York, while Mantle and Mays also played center field at the time! Unreal.

Thanks Mr. Snider! See Ya!

A Hawk Swooped Into My Collection

Hey everyone, Drew back here, after a long morning of doing chores, mowing the lawn, I was surprised with a nice little eBay package. I bought this after being outbid with 1 second left on a Nick Swisher patch card, so I at least finished my night on a good note. I know a few of you guys will be jealous of me, and sorry it's not going anywhere.

An Andre Dawson autograph! Now this, is how Upper Deck should've done Sweet Spot while they had a license in 2007/2008/2009, not really the design but the pen selection, baseball feel, that kind of stuff, because this is 4 years older than those badly faded 2007 cards, and the auto is most definitely still in tact. This was about $15, not that bad for the price, while I was watching other Dawson autos soar up to at least $20 at the most $30.

Dawson, as you all know, was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year, with 2774 hits, 438 home runs, 1591 RBI, and a lifetime batting average of .279. But, the stats were not Andre's game. Even though I never got to see him play, he was a scary player to face, a monster at the plate in the game's biggest situations. A former Rookie of the Year and MVP, Dawson was arguably one of the top players of the 80's. I'm glad to own this card!

Let me know what you think of the card in the comments below. See Ya!