TTM Success: Roger Clemens

I've changed my TTM strategy over the last few months. While I still send to a lot of the "sure bets" - Yankees players from the Junk Wax Era and prospects, I've decided to start dabbling in sending to some big-time players. For a long time time, I avoided this. With dwindling success rates and the volume of mail these players are getting going up, there wasn't a point to wasting two stamps knowing a card was never coming back.

However, with that logic, I found myself missing the surprise element of through the mail autograph collecting. There's no better feeling when an envelope shows up, and inside is an autograph that was an extreme long shot.

That's no disrespect to guys like Walt Terrell or Tim Stoddard. I love adding their autographs to my collection. However, it's a bit of a different feeling when I open an envelope and this falls out:

Boom!

Regardless of your feelings on Clemens, I think we can all agree he was one of the best pitchers to ever take the mound, illegally aided by PEDs or not. And he's going to get into the HOF at some point, as shown by the leap he took this past year.

Going back to the autograph, I have tried Clemens a few times, both at home and via his foundation. Each time, I've either gotten a return-to-send, or the card comes back unsigned. One time, he did send a small signed picture along with my unsigned card.

So when I shipped this off just after the new year, I knew it was a longshot. Still, I wanted to take a chance, and I was thrilled to open my envelope and find this card signed. And the card itself, a 2007 Turkey Red, is awesome. I've sent this card to him each time, so it's been on a little ride. But no matter, now it's signed, and looks perfect!

Like any successful portfolio, you need to diversify with safe picks and risks. That's my TTM strategy, and when a risk like this pays off, it feels great!