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.
he has a nice looking signature. i am in the same boat with ttms, and it's nice to see an old request fulfilled once in a while. thank goodness for "forever" stamps!
ReplyDeleteCool.
ReplyDeleteDo you think your returns were dwindling because the players were getting inundated with more requests? Or was it something else?
ReplyDeleteYes. There are so many sites and forums dedicated to it, I think players were getting more mail than ever. And now they don't just sit around spring training answering mail. They have more effective uses of time.
DeleteAlso during Covid it felt like an invasion of privacy, so that weighed heavily on my decision to stop.