The TTM envelopes still roll in

As this blog and my collecting habits have evolved over time, one thing that has really changed is my desire to send out TTM (through the mail) autograph requests.

I have not sent out a request since 6/28/21. Before that, the last one was 2/15/21.

I collect and view the hobby a lot differently than I did 11 years ago when I started this blog. For the first five or six years, TTMs were a mainstay here. I have 415 posts tagged with TTM. I had some great returns, and great stories from those returns. I had projects and goals.

When the pandemic started, I felt uneasy about sending unsolicited mail to strangers. Was the virus on the mail? I know that was silly, but many of us were freaked out and knew very little how this thing was carried. I then saw some posts of MLB players with mounds of mail sent to their home, pleading fans not to send to their home address. I started to see this element of the hobby as a bit of an invasion of privacy.

I stopped sending to home addresses all together. It no longer felt right. In the event I did want to send to a particular player, I sent it to their stadium or spring training. Maybe that's not that much better, but it at least felt like a bit more justifiable to me if I was going to send a piece of mail.

Despite not sending out new requests, it's not uncommon for an old self-addressed stamped envelope to make it's way back to me. Just last week, a return came back from Yankees 2020 first round pick, Austin Wells:

This was sent to spring training last February, for a 365-day turnaround. Annoyingly, the signature bubbled a bit.

I'm sure a few more envelopes will make their way back to me over the years. But as for new requests, not many will be going out.

A TTM success trickles in

For the most part, I have stopped sending out TTM requests. While I enjoyed this aspect for the hobby for many years, I no longer feel the same about it like I once did for a multitude of reasons.

However, I have hundreds of unanswered TTM requests still out in the world, and every so often one finds its way back.

The most recent was sent in February, 2020, a few weeks before the pandemic changed the landscape of the 2020 baseball season. I was already sending out fewer TTM requests due to absolutely dwindling response rates over the past few years, but that didn't stop me from sending a handful to spring training just to give it a whirl.

Twenty two months later, former Yankee and most currently Red Sox Adam Ottavino returned two cards signed. Back when he was a Rockie, Adam used to sign with purple sharpie. It looks like he has traded that in for a more traditional blue marker.

Both came out great. The Heritage is fairly cool.

Ottavino was sent to the Red Sox for virtually nothing so that the Yankees had some wiggle room under their self-imposed fake salary cap. For the most part, he was a dependable arm for Boston. He appeared in 69 games, throwing 62 innings and striking out 71, and saving 11 games. I didn't agree that the Yanks should send a veteran reliever to their rival, but what do I know?

I'm sure another TTM or two will pop up in my mailbox at some point, but for now, it's always fun when a surprise return comes back.

2021 Topps Yankees Project entry...for now

While I no longer actively send TTM autograph requests, I don't want my Topps Yankees Project to go by the wayside. 

The Series One checklist offered no real opportunities to check off 2021 in my quest to have a signed Topps Yankees card from each year. Series Two offered some slightly better options.

The first, and easiest, was a card featuring third base coach Phil Nevin and Giancarlo Stanton. Of course, Stanton doesn't answer fan mail, but Nevin is an outstanding signer. So while I'd prefer a traditional card being my entry for the 2021 season, this will be a solid placeholder in the binder for now:

I certainly hope to upgrade, both this card, and hopefully from a rostered player. The signature bubbled pretty badly. I definitely ran an eraser over the card prior to sending, but must not have done it enough if the marker tried so badly to evaporate.

However, I do like the card itself. Stanton's HR handoff is a pretty cool celebration when he is rounding the bases. Sadly, it just doesn't happen much anymore. Apparently he started this isn Miami and brought it to NY.

As for the Project, there's still a couple of other guys who might return a card, so hopefully I'll have another addition to this collection.

If you're interested in seeing past entries to the project, check this out here.

47 Months Later...

I haven't been sending out TTM requests anymore, but once in a while self-addressed stamped envelopes with my writing on them end up in my mailbox.

Yesterday was such a day. Not knowing who might have returned a signed card, I opened it and these three cards popped out:

Wily Mo Pena! (Or Willi Mo Pena according to the Bowman card above). Good lord. I couldn't remember sending this this one so to my handy record-keeping spreadsheet I went. I sent it to Cleveland Indians spring training on February 22, 2017! That was 47 months ago! Or 1,417 days ago. That's crazy.

Thanks goodness I haven't moved addresses since 2016.

It just goes to show that you truly can never write-off a TTM request. It also goes to show how important it is to keep records. My current spreadsheet only dates back to 2015. I lost a few hundred records to a work computer malfunction back in 2015. Dumb. That's why I use google sheets now, and always have access to it.

Thanks to Mr. Wily Mo Pena for returning these cards signed.

2020 Hindsight

I don't have a lot to say about 2020 that hasn't been said. I know it was horrible for many, and I hope that 2021 proves to be more fruitful to any who had hardships, whether it be health, financial, or job-related.

I'm fortunate to say that my year was pretty good in the grand scheme of things. My family remained healthy and happy. I got to spend more time with my kids during important ages of their lives than I would have ever dreamed possible. Although I have to say, that feels like a negative at times as well. I think I've hit my family-time quota for the next few years.

Work was busy and rewarding. I feel fortunate about that. While not essential, my line of work does provide people with entertainment and an outlet for tough times. We grew when others cut back.

The last time I physically went to work was on March 9. I have not been into Manhattan, where my office is, since then. And it doesn't appear that I'll be going back soon. Remote work has become the norm, and my dining room table is my new desk. I just wish I invested in a better chair than the cheap I bought on Amazon at the beginning of all this.

Baseball was weird this year, but I applaud MLB - and all other leagues - for figuring out a way to get in or finish a season. I actually liked the season quite a bit. Seven inning double headers were awesome. Each inning felt so important. I did not hate the extra inning runner on second, either. For the regular season, I wouldn't be upset if MLB kept that one.

As for cards, it was a really weird year for me. The best way to describe it was up and down, with short term bursts that kept me interested and occupied. It almost felt like I truly lived into my name as "The Lost Collector", as these quick projects are sort of what kept me going once the store shelves dried up. Not that I am a big retail buyer anyways, but the hobby changed around me, and I changed with it and found projects to make me happy and keep me focused, or at the very least, give me something to do that was card-related.

So with that, here's a bit of my year in review on cards.

My card of the year:

In July, I declared this my card of the year. Nothing knocked it off its perch for me. The card brings me back to the '90s, whose cards continue to pull me in ways that neither current cards nor vintage can.

Basketball rookies I missed:

That love of '90s also pulled me back into collecting some NBA cards, notably of rookie cards of guys I missed after I stopped collecting basketball. Playerss like Vince Carter, Dirk, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan, and more. I grabbed RCs of current established guys like Lillard and Durant and AD as well. But that was one of my aforementioned few short-term focuses. I'm glad I did that before the card market went insane

Vintage Syracuse lore:

I did dabble in some vintage, but really more of under-appreciated Syracuse legends Floyd Little and Dave Bing. I'm glad I did. It was fun to look at vintage designs I hadn't seen before due to not being familiar with 70's Topps basketball and football products.

Goodbye to TTMs:

One of my biggest shifts in collecting is that I all but said goodbye to TTM autograph collecting, something I had done fairly religiously since this blog kicked off. A few players publicly expressed their displeasure with having mail sent to home and that it was an invasion of privacy. That, and the whole pandemic thing, made me not want to send mail to home addresses of athletes, past or present. So I all but stopped.

Although the one area of TTMing I will keep alive is my Topps Yankees Project, which luckily I was able to check off 2020 when Mike Ford returned a card signed to me. I now have a signed Yankees Topps card from every year, 1951-2020.

Hello Project 2020:

I started off as skeptical about Project 2020 as anyone, but once I got my first Derek Jeter card, I decided to give it a go and collected the full run of all twenty of his cards. Expensive? Sure. But it's not like I was buying a blaster a month or anything. The set should be collected any way someone sees fit, whether that means one card, or all 400, despite the opinions of those who will tell you on how this set should be collected. 

The varieties are endless. I know some who bought one card from each artist, and will display 20 different players from 20 different artists. I know some who collected entire runs of teams or players. Some picked and choosed here and there based on simply liking a card. Some bought none and at and wanted to brag about that.

Me? I got all 20 Jeters directly from Topps, and supplemented a few more on eBay for much more affordable costs. There are lot for under $5. I even split a lot of Don C. Ripkens with Napkin Doon!

I definitely have my favorite artists of the bunch. I have some I wasn't a fan of. I think a few artists were out to lunch and had no idea what they were doing at the start. But I sure do respect anyone willing to put their art out there, and I admire the work done by these men and women.

TCDB emerges:

I started using the Trading Card Database in 2019, but it took off for me in 2020. I completed over 100 PWE trades. It has been a fun way to add a few new Tino cards, as well as 2020 Yankees that I wasn't able to find in stores or by ordering online.

Tino hits 1K, and beyond:

Last but not least, my favorite collecting achievement this year was when I hit 1,000 unique Tino cards a few months ago. And since Tino found his way into the likes of Allen & Ginter (and all its spinoffs), as well as Topps Update, my collection has continued to grow. I now sit at an even 1,050!

I'm sure I'm missing a few things from collecting cards in 2020. But the year came and went, and I'm still here. I appreciated a few trades with friends old and new, and receiving cards 'just because.' I enjoy being able to share the hobby here, and I look forward to celebrating this blog's 10th birthday in a few weeks.

Thanks for reading and being a part of my small corner of the collecting world. I wish you and your families the best in 2021!

My Topps Yankees Project...is ALIVE!

I thought I had no shot at continuing my Topps Yankees Project for 2020, but out of nowhere a few days ago, this showed up:

Let me take a step back. For those not familiar, my Topps Yankees Project is a collecting project I started in 2011. The project consists of one signed Yankees Topps card from every year since 1951. All autographs were obtained by me through the mail (TTM), and there are no repeating players. 

I sent a batch of cards out at spring training for 2020, and none came back. Then COVID-19 and stuff. And I did stop sending TTMs during that time, except I sent three requests to Yankee Stadium once Series 2 came out. I know, hypocrite!

After hearing nothing, I assumed I was going to have to try again next spring, but luckily Mr. Mike Ford came through for me and I can check 2020 off the list.

I am due to once again scan the entire project. For now, I'll link back to the last time I did that in 2017 here.

TTM Success: Vince Carter

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I've decided not to send out TTM requests. 

I was already souring on this part of the hobby well before the world shut down, but once everything started picking up in mid-March, I made the conscious decision not to send unsolicited mail to current or (especially) retired athletes.

Prior to this, I was sending fewer and fewer requests for a several reasons. One, I value my time, and sending letters to people I don't know currently doesn't appeal to me as a way to spend my time. I haven't always felt this way, and maybe I won't forever. Two, it's getting harder and hard to find players that sign. Rebel Random Ramblings (thanks for the tip, Fuji) has a great post on the greed that has entered the TTM hobby, with guys often sending far more than one or two cards. Why anyone needs to send nine cards to a player is beyond me. I guess to sell them.

I'm not stepping away completely. I still plan to continue my Topps Yankees Project, which is still missing 2020! I'll have to try again next spring sometime.

Prior to the pandemic - well, prior to quarantine really starting - I sent a request to future NBA Hall of Fame Vince Carter. Fearing it was his last season (indeed it was), I hoped to secure an autograph of his. I sent this on March 2nd, and last week, this arrived:

Awesome! I've always been a huge fan of Carter, from his days at UNC to his ascension to the NBA's most exciting player, to helping the Nets get to the Finals, to embracing his role as a wise old veteran the past few years. He's been a hell of a player, and I'm happy to add this autograph to my collection.

I wish Mr. Vince Carter nothing but the best in the next chapter of his career.

Ford drives in

One of the very few spring training TTM requests I sent this year found its way back to me last week.

I only sent six or seven requests, as spring training TTMs are no longer a source for a high success rate. That's a trend that's really been happening the last ten years or so. I've limited it to trying to send the latest Topps flagship issues for my project, and then one or two others. No sense in wasting stamps.

One of the players I did send to was Mike Ford, a rookie last year who finally made it to the Bronx after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He was both the hitter and pitcher of the year for the 2013 Ivy League season while at Princeton, which is certainly a pretty cool feat.

Ford slowly but surely made his way through the minors. Never a shiny prospect, his rise was steady with a combo of power and OBP.

Finally, he made his debut last season, and was very good, hitting 12 homers at the big league level with a .350 OBP. He had an OPS+ of 137.

He was kind enough to sign my card just as the Yankees were heading to Summer Camp. I like it because it's his Update RC. He is also a part of 2020 Series 2, so I may need to send a request his way again as I try and knock of 2020 for my Topps Yankees Project.

Another old TTM success rolls in

Early on during 2020 Quarantine, a few TTM successes rolled in. I figured a few would pop in here and there, as current and retired players were at home with time to pass.

After getting a few in late March, all went quiet again. I did not send out any requests during this time out of respect to these athletes. I'm mostly done with this part of the hobby anyways, as the only part of it still desirable to me is to keep my Topps Yankees Project moving.

In 2019, I had a bit of a hard time early on getting a success to check off the current year, but eventually got Chance Adams to return his card. Later on, I replaced him in my set with Troy Tulowitzki, which felt like a fun one to include. However, one that rolled in yesterday might give Tulo a run for his money:

Yankees reliever Chad Green! I sent this is February of 2019, so about a year and a half ago. The bold signature looks really good, and Green is obviously a Yankees bullpen staple. He has appeared in 169 games for NY over the past four seasons, putting up a 5.3 WAR, 347 Ks in 259.1 innings, and posting a 3.16 ERA. He's been an excellent force for NY, especially since his move to the bullpen in 2017.

I'm still 0-for in my quest for a 2020 signed Yankees card, but glad I have a few really good options for 2019 should I decide to change my mind.

Kerr-plunk

Oh man. The Last Dance has ended.

What a ride it was. I'm sure film buffs will probably critique the format of the docu-series and how the timeline jumped around. However, I thought it really worked well and actually appreciated the road it took to get to that final sixth title, with Jordan hitting the shot over Russell.

I knew there would be a heavy focus on Pippen, Rodman, and Kukoc. What I wasn't expecting was Steve Kerr to be featured so heavily on his own in Episode 9.

I guess it makes sense. Kerr hit that huge shot in 1997's Game 6 that led to the Bulls first title over the Jazz. Watching those title runs during my childhood, I didn't appreciate the role players as much. Or maybe I did and just have forgotten about then. I definitely knew Kerr was an important part of the squad, but I really didn''t remember much about guys like Scott Burrell.

I can't quite remember when I got these - probably in the 1997-range, but Steve Kerr signed two cards for me TTM waaaay back. They both came out pretty well, I'd say.

Kerr has obviously gone on to have a ton of success as the head coach of the Warriors. I remember he was the front-runner for the Knicks job, and when he took the Warriors job instead, I remember thinking that was a slap in the face. Shows what I know. I guess Kerr knew what he was doing.

The Last Dance was awesome, and best of all, provided something to look forward to for five straight Sundays. Yesterday with golf, NASCAR, and then The Last Dance...it almost felt like a real sports Sunday!

Where was I?

Normally I'm pretty in-tune with what's going on in the sports world.

Whether it's checking ESPN.com or glancing up at the office TVs that are always tuned to ESPN, or a quick mid-day stroll through Twitter, not a lot happens where I feel like I'm last to know when it comes to what's trending in sports.

However, I felt like that with the passing of Al Kaline today, as I was stuck on calls all day and didn't see this until it was well into the news cycle.

Obviously Kaline was a legend of the game, and any time a legend passes, it makes you stop for a minute. While I have a few old Kaline cards, my favorite is definitely a TTM autograph on a Topps insert from 2012.

I don't love the insert itself. I've grown to hate the 2012 inserts. But that spring, Al Kaline was signing TTM autographs for $5, and while I usually don't send to guys with a fee, this one was hard to pass up.

I wish I sent it on a vintage card, but at the time I had just gotten back into collecting, and it's what I had in 2012.

2012. That was a long time ago. March of 2012, when I got this, was over 8 years ago.

While looking back at the post from 2012 here, it made me think back to where I was then in my life:

My son, now 8, was 3 months old.
I was still at my first place of employment. I'm on my fourth now.
I lived on the Upper East Side in NYC. Since then I moved to Hoboken, NJ, and then to my current town.
I lived in a rental. I've rented three homes since then. I now own one.
I was automobileless. I have bought four since (not all at once)
I had a cockapoo dog. I know have a bernedoodle dog.
I weighed about the exact same.
I had about 500 Tino cards.

Seems like a lifetime ago.

Thanks for a quick trip down memory lane, Mr. Kaline. RIP.

Players returning mail while stuck inside

Twice last week, I received two TTM returns on very old requests. I'm guessing that with people spending more time home and being a bit bored during this time, so retired players are using the time to catch up on some old mail.

I will say, before I start, is that I'm not using this time to send any NEW requests. While I haven't sent any new TTM requests in months outside of four to spring training, my personal preference is to respect privacy at this time and not send mail from a stranger to someone's house.

That's actually something I've been sticking too regardless. Once I saw how Max Muncy felt about this being an invasion of privacy by sending to his home address, I've really been reluctant to send any more. Plus, my time feels more limited than ever these days (social distancing not withstanding), and writing letters to baseball players is no longer an appealing way for me to spend it.

Regardless, on Friday and Saturday I did receive some very old requests back both more than 2 years outstanding!

The first was from George Frazier who signed my two cards that I sent in November, 2017!

The second was from Adam Lind, who I sent to in spring training of 2018 while with the Yankees. He didn't make the team, unfortunately, and hasn't been in the Majors since 2017. Still, very cool of him to answer my request after all this time. Not sure why I sent the card I did, but I guess it was what I had at the time. It's a cool photo though!

It'll be interesting to see if a few more from well in the past trickle in.

TTM Success: Joe Torre

I really don't send out TTMs much anymore. I feel like I've sort of got the main guys I would have wanted by now, and life feels so busy that I shudder at the thought of going through the steps to send a request. 

I'm being dramatic. It's not that time-consuming. A request probably take around 10 minutes between pulling the card, addressing the envelopes, writing a letter, sealing. I know, boo hoo so much trouble for an autograph. 

But with little free time, TTMing is not something that is rising to the top of my list of things I want to do. And as one might expect, I get very few successes these days because I don't put the time into it.

However, in a past life I did indeed frequently send out requests, which means that I have a few hundred unread and unreturned letters out in the universe somewhere. Many of those have long since been in the dumpster, but a few do find their way back occasionally. Like this one:

Please note that I sent this to the MLB Offices, where Torre holds a position. I know that there is a lot of chatter on social media right now because of Max Muncy's post, but rest assured, this did not go to Torre's private address in case you wanted to call that out.

These are my first Joe Torre autographs, so I'm pretty excited to get them back. I've always liked his old school signature, and the cards turned out great.

Quite the success to have trickle in after two years.

Thanks, Mr. Torre!

Adding a Yankees Legend to my Topps Yankees Project

Most are likely familiar, but a few years ago I set out to collect at least one signed Topps Yankees card for each year that Topps has put out a product. I did this all via TTM autograph requests, and didn't purchase any of the autographs via a 3rd party. I also didn't repeat players. Here is the last time I posed all the cards together, in 2017.

Given current signing habits, it's gotten tougher and tougher. But it's still doable.

In 2019, this had been my entry so far. I was fine with it, but the personalization was something I was hoping to not include in my project. Just a weird quirk, even though I don't mind at all when I get personalized autographs.

Then yesterday, this 'lil beauty arrived in my mailbox.

That right there is from Yankees legend Troy Tulowitzki.

I was all for the Tulo signing last winter. People bitched and moaned, because that's what they do, without understanding that the Yankees were getting him for the league minimum at a time when their starting SS was going to miss the first half of the season with TJ surgery. I know it's a hard concept to grasp: no risk, high reward.

Tulo then had himself a great spring training, and was the Yankees opening day shortstop.

Sadly, as most likely would have predicted, he got injured after just five games, and eventually called it a career. At the age of 34, he just couldn't stay healthy enough to keep playing. It's a bummer, because he was an elite player when healthy. I'm glad he was a Yankee, albeit for a short time, because he idolized Jeter (wore #2 in Colorado and Toronto), and I know it meant a lot to him. He even hit his last career homer as a Yankee.

Tulo then latched on with the University of Texas as a coach, which is where this TTM request was sent.

So if it comes down to Chance Adams versus Troy Tulowitzki for my 2019 project entry, I might just have to give the nod to the five-time All-Star, two-time gold glover, all-time Mets killer, and all-around cool dude and Yankees legend.

A TTM from the Sockman

Mike Tauchman had a very solid first season in Pinstripes. He was acquired late in spring training, and ended up making the Opening Day roster. He had a 3.6 WAR, belted 13 homers, and played a solid OF. He was pressed into more playing time than he should have had with all of the Yankees injuries.

He also received a John Sterling home run call: "Tauchman, the Sockman."

The one thing about guys like Tauchman, and Gio Urshela, and Luke Voit, etc, is that Brian Cashman has gotten obsessed with these buy-low, under-the-radar type of trade candidates. And that's cool. They almost always pay off for him. But it's like a game to him, and he likes operating as if he were the frugal Marlins or something to show how smart he is.

It's like he needs to constantly prove he's a savvy GM with these deals.

I'd love to see Cashman play it both ways - continue to try to make these ninja moves, while also opening up the wallet and using the financial might that comes with New York. There's room to play it both ways.

Anyhow, back in April I sent Tauchman a TTM request, and after the season my two cards arrived. Mind you I didn't have a real Tauchman card at the time. Since then, he's been included in 2019 Update (with an erroneous RC...he previously had one with the Rockies), so I'll likely try to send him another request down the road if I ever decide to send another TTM request.

Thanks, Mr. Mike Tauchman!

A spring training TTM success rolls in

Although spring training TTM success rates have been putrid over the last few years, every once in awhile one finds their way back following the season.

This happened this past week, as I unexpectedly found this waiting for me in my mailbox:

Cool! I enjoyed Neil Walker's year as a Yankee in 2018. He proved to be a very solid, versatile player. However, he was one and done in the Pinstripes, and played 2019 as a Marlin. That probably was not fun for him.

Walker has had a good reputation as a TTM signer, and I really appreciate having a signed card of him in a Yankees uniform.

The Volpe-lmonster

Ok, Coach Tom, there's only one Vogelmonster. I won't try to steal this from you.

But the Yankees have a Killer V coming in a few years, and he goes by the name of Anthony Volpe, their 2019 1st round pick out of NJ. The Yankees signed Volpe away from Vanderbilt, and he spent his first season at rookie ball Pulaski this year. He hit .215 in 150 PAs, although showed good patience with a .349 OBP.

I don't put much stock into a high schoolers first stint in pro ball. They are most likely away from home for the first time, playing deep into the summer after their high school season end. There's a lot going on. Just going through the reps and preparing like a pro is valuable experience.

I sent Volpe a TTM request earlier this summer, and this past week received these two cards in return:

Awesome! Love snagging a first rounder's autograph.

I look forward to seeing how Volpe progresses in his first full season next year.

TTM Success: MLB Draft prospect Bryant Packard

Earlier in the spring, I bought one lonely fat pack of Donruss. I think it was one of the 50-card packs, actually. It was a confusing pack, with a lot of card variations, the black rookie cards, and a few inserts. It felt all over the place.

One of the inserts was a very shiny card called "American Pride," which is a set that depicts the Team USA Collegiate National Team. The subject of this card, Bryant Packard, is a junior OFer at East Carolina University.

Upon a bit of googling, turns out Packard is a very impressive player. He hit over .400 last year, ranking sixth in the nation. He followed it up with another performance year this year, leading ECU to a #10 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Packard is currently ranked as the #106 Draft Prospect according to MLB.com, which would put him in consideration for a pick around the 3rd round. Although, you never really know with the Draft and team's strategies in rounds 4-10ish.

Anyhow, I thought it would be cool to try a TTM request to Packard, and sent the card to ECU's baseball facility. He was kind enough to sign and return the card in about 2 weeks time.

Now I just need the Yanks to draft him!

Blake of the Year

Yesterday, I received a TTM success from Blake Snell.

While he's obviously not a Yankee, this is one of the times I don't mind sending a TTM to a player on another team. Snell is a guy who I respect from a team within the AL East. He's a bit of a quiet star, but I remember him making his debut against the Yankees, looking like a 12-year-year-old on the mound. I figured he'd be a force for the Yanks to deal with for years, and thus far that's looking accurate.

In just his third season in the Majors, Snell won the AL Cy Young. He went 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA. Pretty damn awesome for a dude who pitched the entire season at age 25.

While the Rays are a very pesky team, there's not much to dislike about Snell...except when he's on the mound against your team.

TTM Success: Mark Teixeira

My TTM conquests over the last year have really slowed down. I don't have as much desire to send out the cards as I once did. Part of it is working long hours, and when I get home from the day, I don't feel like writing letters and addressing envelopes.

But I do send out a few here and there, and I've been going after a few big fish. One of those paid off handsomely.

I sent a request to former Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira, and was thrilled to open up an envelope this past weekend to find this:

I had never gotten Tex before, so this was a thrilling TTM success. Despite injuries late in his career, Teixeira really was a great Yankee. In NY, he was an All-Star twice, MVP runner up, 3-time Gold Glover, and obviously was a big part of the 2009 World Series team.

I can't say enough how incredible these Turkey Red cards look signed too. I'm not trying to build a collection of them, but I definitely go out of my way to send one when trying to capture an autograph. Here are a few others I've gotten: