TTM Success: Fu-Lin Kuo (Yankees Prospect)

Yankees prospect Fu-Lin Kuo signed this sweet 2013 Bowman Purple parallel in about one month's time. I sent it to Kuo at Charleston, the Yanks Low-A affiliate. He's currently with Tampa in High A ball, and long-term, is probably an organizational player at best.

A 2x3 PWE bomb

I got a nice, unexpected PWE bomb from Jeff at 2x3 Heroes. It was the only piece of mail I got, which made it extra special since I had something to open that wasn’t my Verizon bill. I don't think I could love PWE's any more than I do.

Here are a few of the goods:

Jeff, thanks dude! Most appreciated.

Turning unwanted cards into a vintage Mantle

Would you make this trade? The card above, for these three cards below:

 

These three cards for a dinged up 1962 Topps Mantle? I feel like most would answer yes.

That’s essentially what happened to me on Listia. I turned these three cards that I really didn’t care about into enough credits to score this Mantle.

Yeah, it’s wrinkled and in crappy condition, but that’s better than no Mantle at all. Listia does suck a lot of the time – like 499 credits for a 1989 Donruss Rance Mulliniks (listed by Napkin Doon), but if you sift through the crap, you can score some great things while getting rid of some unwanted clutter.

I’d turn those three cards into a vintage Mantle any day.

LaMonica LaDelivers

I consider Ryan LaMonica of Ryan's Pitch one of my good buddies around here. We check in from time to time on the Yanks, our kids, the bobby, etc. He’s certainly a lot more palatable than Napkin Doon. I sent Ryan one stinkin’ Anthony Rizzo card, and he goes all bubble mailer on me and sent me some great cards. On a side note, his handwriting is spectacular. He included a note, and the penmanship was simply top notch. I felt like I was holding an official document from the 1700’s. It was that good.

First off, a bunch of 4x6 (I think) photos of some Yankee greats. The back of each had a photo of another player. I have no idea what set or issue these are front, but they are very cool.

Love the GQ’s, especially the Pineda. Can’t wait to see that beast in the Bronx.

Ryan also sent me a 2013 Archives Yankees team set, which saves me a bunch of time from having to put one together on my own.

Lastly, Ryan showed off this Zoilo Almonte the other day. I foolishly made a comment that I used to have that card until Zoilo didn’t return my TTM, so of course it shows it up a PWE from Ryan. What a guy!

Ryan, thanks again bud.

Rance'd by Napkin Doon

I’ve been by Rance'd by Napkin Doon. In what will surely become 2013’s version of Bipping, Nap included three Rance Mulliniks cards in our latest card exchange. Little does he know, these cards are already on the way to Rance for a TTM ‘graph. I’ll have the last laugh, Nap. Just wait.

He actually sent me some cards I wanted as well. My favorite of the lot was a group of 2013 Bowman Yankees with some fancy flags in the background. Interesting that the USA players have their state flag in the background instead of a US flag.

He also sent this awesome Jeter. I love Diamond Kings. 

Not only did he send me cards, but included three cards for Joey’s HOF binder. The highlight for me is this 1960 Fleer Mickey Cochrane. Such a cool card from a great, underrated set. Nap also sent a Goose, and a Gehrig. Since I’ll never own an original Gehrig, I’ll gladly put this in the binder, as I might as well have an awesome card like this Diamond King instead of a Topps Golden Moment or something. 

And in his signature move, Napkin included a pack of 1990 Topps. The highlight for me was this Edgar Martinez. Look at that pornstache and sweet jacket. 

TTM Success: Jose Ramirez (Yankees prospect)

Back in mid-June, I sent Yankees pitching prospect Jose Ramirez a TTM request to Double-A Trenton. Literally the day after I sent it, he got promoted to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. I figured the Thunder would either do a return to sender, or just throw it out.

To my surprise, this came back yesterday. Very cool that they must've forwarded it on to him after the promotion. He is one of the Yankees best pitching prospects and had a really good spring training with the big league club. He's got impressive stuff.

Tino Tuesday #67: 1997 Topps Stars '97 All-Stars #AS3

This card was a bear for me to find for years. I knew it existed, but it never popped up on eBay. I ended up buying one years ago, then lost it in my collection back home. It was then reclaimed with some others cards I found in my parents' attic. However, I picked one up a few months ago on eBay...so now I have two!

In the spirit of the All-Star game, I figured this is an appropriate card to show. Tino started the '97 game in Cleveland, and rightfully so. He was very deserving. He almost hit a HR in the game as well, pulling a ball just to the right of the foul pole.

1997 Topps Stars was a great set, and this is a great looking insert card, even if it doesn't have the canvas-like feel of the base cards.