I recently received a TTM autograph return from Aaron Hill of the Diamondbacks. I received my 2011 Topps card signed in black Sharpie in just 18 days. The signature looks perfect with no flaws or smudges. Hill was traded to the Diamondbacks by the Blue Jays last year. He was an All-Star in 2009, but his numbers have slumped in the past two years. Hill is off to a slow start in spring training, but that doesn’t mean much once the season starts.
Spring is here which means that baseball season fast approaches. And with the beginning of baseball season comes fantasy baseball. I drafted my team over the weekend using an auction-style draft. This was my first auction-style draft. It’s much like eBay. 20% of my money went towards drafting Pujols. Now I know how the Angels feel. I feel pretty good about my team. Look at this roster:
Joe Mauer
Albert Pujols
Dustin Ackley
Alex Rodriguez
Derek Jeter
Drew Stubbs
Brett Gardner
Ichiro Suzuki
Ryan Howard
Jesus Montero
Edwin Encarnacion
Jose Tabata
Ian Desmond
Roy Halladay
CC Sabathia
Shaun Marcum
Anibal Sanchez
Ervin Santana
Mariano Rivera
JJ Putz
Frank Francisco
Brandon League
Chris Perez
I overpaid for Halladay, but otherwise there are no regrets. Fingers crossed for no injuries.
My latest eBay purchase was a lot of 4 2010 Topps Update cards. I paid 11 cents shipped for all 4 cards. I received one card each of Brian Matusz, Logan Morrison, Travis Wood, and Jeffrey Marquez. All are considered rookie cards. I figured I could use some for autograph purposes. For the price, I can’t really go wrong. I generally pay 10 cents for commons at card shows. I got these cards for less than 3 cents per card.
I received my first TTM autograph return from spring training this week. Neil Walker signed a 2010 Allen & Ginter and a 2011 Topps in black Sharpie from Pirates spring training in just 7 days. Unfortunately, the A&G card has a small corner ding but it’s not that bad. Both cards still look really good though.
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?
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?
I picked up a 2011 Bowman Chrome Throwback Card #BCT11 of Yankee prospect Manny Banuelos on eBay. I paid 1 cent shipped. It doesn’t get any cheaper than that. I figure that my investment can only go up in value. Banuelos is a big pitching prospect in the Yankees organization. He has yet to make his big league debut. That will probably come at some point this year. He will probably start the season at AAA Scranton. This is my second card of Banuelos. I will probably be looking to pick up a few more Banuelos cards in the future.
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.
My latest eBay pickup is a 2010 Upper Deck Biography card of Alex Rodriguez. I paid a total of 6 cents shipped for the card. That’s pretty good for an ARod card. This was one of those penny auctions that I placed a bid on without any expectation of winning. For some reason, there were no competing bidders. To make this an even better deal, I paid using eBay Bucks. By the way, if you still have any eBay Bucks remaining, they will expire this coming week.
My latest eBay purchase is a 2006 Fleer Tradition Rookie Card of Josh Willingham. The card cost me all of 5 cents. I love buying cards for less than the price of postage. You might notice that Willingham is shown in his catcher’s gear, even though his is listed as an outfielder. He is still an outfielder. He actually just signed a 3 year $21 million contract with the Twins. Not bad for a .262 career hitter.
