Listia Mailbag: Trevor Cahill

I found a certified autograph card of somebody I've heard of on Listia that was actually reasonably priced so I pulled the trigger.  The card is a 2011 Topps Autograph of Trevor Cahill.  The price was about 13,000 credits.  The card is beautiful and in great shape.  Admittedly, it is a sticker autograph.  But, the signature itself is even borderline legible. 

Autographs Anyone?

I picked up a lot of 4 Autograph cards on Listia.  The entire haul set me back about 3600 credits.  I wanted this lot for the David Hernandez and Jeff Francis cards.  Hernandez is now with the Diamondbacks.  He should be a good pitcher once he gets healthy.  Francis made his name with the Rockies.  In recent years, he has floated around with various teams on minor league contracts.  In fact, he just signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays.  The other cards feature Brandon Duckworth, who was a serviceable pitcher in the 2000s, and Andy Wilkins, who got his cup of coffee this year with the White Sox. 

Listia Loot

I picked up this 2007 Bowman Autograph of Chris Seddon on Listia for just 499 credits.  Why did the card sell so cheaply?  Seddon was originally a Rays prospect but never played for the big league club.  He had a couple of cups of coffee elsewhere but is currently playing in Korea.  Now that’s obscure.  One of his teammates is Jo-Jo Reyes, another former MLB player. 

2012 Topps Gio Gonzalez Autograph

I picked up this 2012 Topps autograph of Gio Gonzalez on Listia recently.  I was the winning bidder by 1 credit.  The total cost was 3,334 credits.  That is more than I am accustomed to spending, but it was worth it.  The card looks great.  And it’s not exactly a no name.  Gonzalez is shown in an A’s uniform, but he played for the Nationals last year.  And he turned in quite a season.  He almost won the Cy Young.  I can understand why RA Dickey won the award though.  For the record, that is a sticker autograph. 

Garrett Atkins Autograph from 2007 Fleer Ultra

I recently picked up this 2007 Fleer Ultra Autograph of Garrett Atkins on Listia.  Of course, Fleer Ultra is (was) a lower level product and this is a sticker autograph.  But, the cost was only 600 credits.  I was the only bidder.  Sometimes the lack of bids scares me away, but 600 credits is a bit high for a starting bid.  That’s not a bad deal for an actual Major League player.  To be fair, Atkins has not been in the big leagues since 2010.  A quick internet search did not reveal what happened to him.  Any ideas?

Autographs from 2006 UD Future Stars

My latest eBay score was a lot of 10 2006 Upper Deck Future Stars Autographs.  I bought this lot mostly for the Russell Martin card.  He is in a Dodger uniform on the card, but he is still a Yankee.  I have been meaning to get his autograph for a while.  I put the rest of the cards back on eBay to recoup some of the cost.  Whatever I cannot sell on eBay will go into the personal collection.  I didn’t realize this at the time I purchased this lot, but much of these cards are clear.  The clear parts actually appear to be white on most scanners.  As you can see from the photo, the lot included some decent names. 

White Plains Card Show: Part 3

I found a few good deals in a dollar bin at the White Plains Card Show.  First, I picked up a 2008 UDx Autograph of Marlon Byrd.  It’s a sticker autograph and certainly not a star player.  But I couldn’t pass this up for a buck.  Second, I bought a 2012 Topps Jersey Card of Sergio Santos.  The neat thing about this card is the jersey swatch.  It is blue with a white pinstripe.  I believe this is from a throwback uniform.  The funny thing is I lost an auction for this very card about a month ago.  Finally, I purchased a 2012 Gypsy Queen Jersey Card of Nelson Cruz.  This is my first Gypsy Queen Relic Card.  I now have regret about some of the cards I did not pick up out of this box, including a few Jesus Montero cards.  Oh well.

White Plains Card Show: Part 2

The free autograph at the White Plains Card Show was Howard Johnson.  I got on line about 20 minutes before the signing was scheduled to start.  It was a good thing I did.  The line was really long by the time the signing started.  HoJo was really cool.  He signed my 1993 Upper Deck card in black Sharpie.  He actually let some of the kids try on his 1986 World Series Ring.  That thing is really big. 

TTM Mailbag: John Maine

I received a TTM autograph return this week. This was my first return of the year. I thought this was a spring training return, but the envelope only had a 44 cent stamp on it. It turns out the envelope was from John Maine. I received two cards signed in 276 days. I sent the cards to AAA Colorado Springs but the envelope was postmarked from Charlotte, NC. Both cards came back in great shape signed in black Sharpie. By the way, did anyone realize that Maine signed a Minor League deal with the Red Sox?

1st TTM Autograph Requests of 2012

I sent out my first TTM autograph requests of the year out this week to spring training facilities. I made a list of the players that I wanted to send letters to this year. I sent 5 letters out to Joba Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano, Aaron Hill, Chris Volstad, and Neil Walker. A couple of those are close to sure bets. I would be thrilled to get the Joba request back. Typically, I will send 5 letters out at a time just to make life easier and continue doing so throughout the year. Any advice for who to send to during the rest of the year?

eBay Mailbag: On Card Autographs

My eBay purchases had earned me some eBay Bucks for this last quarter. With these Bucks set to expire, I had to use them up. After several unsuccessful bids, I finally bought two cards from the same seller. Both cards cost less than a dollar after using my Bucks.

The first card is a 2011 Topps Chrome autograph of Aaron Crow. Crow was an All-Star last year for the Royals. Of course, Mark Redman was once an All-Star for the Royals. But the Royals have to have an All-Star and last year it was Aaron Crow. I only bought this card because I recognized the name from the All-Star roster. If he’s any good, he will move on to another team someday and have a decent career.

The other card is a 2009 Goudey autograph of Phil Coke. I bought this card because it shows Coke as a Yankee. Coke was one-half of the “Phil-thies” with Phil Hughes. Coke was eventually shipped to the Tigers in the Curtis Granderson trade. I am happy to say that both cards are signed on the card rather than a sticker. However, the Coke signature can be missed after taking a quick glance at the card.

On an unrelated topic, I have not purchased any 2012 Topps product nor do I intend to. I will save my money for Heritage or maybe Allen & Ginter. That is all I have to say on that topic.

TTM Mailbag: Brandon Morrow

I received a TTM autograph return this week from Brandon Morrow. I sent two cards to Blue Jays Spring Training and received both back in 237 days. Both the Topps Heritage and Upper Deck First Edition cards were signed in blue Sharpie. Unfortunately, each card has a tiny smudge on the front. It is still a very nice return and my longest to date which gives some hope for some cards that I sent out during spring training. I try to send to Blue Jays players during spring training so that I can avoid sending packages into Canada. I can’t wait for spring training to start in 2012. At best, there are only 5 games remaining this season.

I Own an ARod Autograph!!

Usually when I make an eBay purchase, I don’t spend more than $10. However, I decided to splurge on my latest purchase. I was looking for a nice autograph in the $25 area. I started looking at a bunch of different players. I also looked at Alex Rodriguez autos which are admittedly more than $25. Most of his autos can be had for under a hundred bucks. At the end of the day, I purchased a 2011 Topps Tribute card with a triple relic and autograph. The card is numbered 58/75. The total damage was $73. Not really too bad considering. This is the new best card in my collection. Once I am able to replenish funds, I may purchase a Jeter autograph which will probably run about a hundred bucks. That won’t be for a while though.

eBay Mailbag: Certified Autographs

The only thing better than a TTM autograph is a certified autograph, even if the autograph is on a sticker. For the record, in person autos fall in between the two. I purchased the six autographs pictured from an eBay seller for a grand total of $4.00 including shipping. I received two autos of Willy Taveras from 2004 Just. I will probably sell those to recover some of the cost. I think I will keep the rest of the cards. I received a 2005 UD Ultimate Signature card of Mike Morse. I also got two autographs of Beltran Perez. One is a 2007 Topps Chrome. The other is a 2007 Topps Co-Signers. The final card is a 2008 Topps Finest auto of Ross Detwiler. I think that one is my favorite. It is a blue refractor and it looks pretty cool.

Arizona Diamondback Autographs

I purchased the six autographs pictured from an eBay seller for a grand total of $4.52 including shipping. I think I scored a pretty good deal. These are all Arizona Diamondback players. I got one autograph of Conor Jackson from 2004 Topps Pristine. I got two autographs of Miguel Montero – one from 2007 Moments & Milestones and one from 2007 Co-Signers. I got two cards of Ed Easley from 2008 Bowman Chrome. He is currently playing in the Diamondbacks system at Double-A. I also got a 2005 Bowman’s Best Auto of Edgar Varela. I don’t know who this is either. According to baseball-reference.com, he last played professionally in 2006 in the Marlins organization. Not a bad deal for the money. I have three certified autographs of bonafide Major Leaguers and three no name autos that can be sold on eBay at some point to recover some of the cost.

My 3 Favorite Autographs

The idea for this post comes from Dinged Corners. I’m showing off my 3 best autographed cards. And I’m sorry but one of them has a sticker on it. So without further delay, here are my favorite autographs in no particular order.

My first card is a 1993 Topps card of Chuck Knoblauch signed in blue. This was the first card I ever received signed through the mail. I hate landscape oriented cards but the card looks nice anyway. I sent this card out way back in 1999. I think I’m getting old.

The next card is a 2006 Fleer card of Mariano Rivera. I received this TTM by sending to the Yankees spring training facility. Why do I love this card? Because it has the autograph of the greatest closer in the history of baseball. He also happens to be a Yankee. Enough said.

The final auto is a sticker. But I have a story to go with it. This is a 2007 UD Black Adrian Gonzalez autograph numbered 20/25. This card is special because I won it from Pat Neshek through a contest on his website. Also, he wrote an article about his box break which consisted of 2 cards. Check out the link: http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071220&content_id=2334394&vkey=mlbpa_news&fext=.jsp