Amazing Surprise from William

I got a surprise in the mail the other day from my good friend William. I was super surprised to see this amazing 2015 Topps Museum Patch card of Chapman inside.

This is probably my best patch card that I own in my collection now. I've never seen something like this were it has part of Mr. Red face.

eBay Pickup: 2016 Topps Heritage Jose Altuve red ink

I'm a pretty big fan of Mr. Altuve, one because he is a good player and two he shows that size doesn't matter and hard work is all it takes to play in the MLB.

I've been wanting to pick myself up a Altuve auto for awhile now. I have always thought that the heritage auto's looked pretty cool and I keep a eye out for one and I was able to pick this one up on there for a fairly cheap price.

2015 Topps Museum Ozzie Smith Framed auto

I was able to pick this very affordable 2015 Topps Museum Collection Framed card of Ozzie Smith /15 not to long ago off of eBay.

I have wanted to own one of these suckers for awhile now, because I think that they look pretty freaking cool. The silver ink really makes the signature pop off the card a lot.

Ozzie Smith is probably my favorite Cardinals Hall of Famers. I've really been working on picking up a lot more of his stuff lately to improve my collection of him.

Breaking the odds in a Box Break.

I sold my old PlayStation 3 not to long ago, and decided to test my luck and I join in a fantasy break on breakers.tv

I ended up getting the Astro's in the break and I'm going to make this post short sweet, I ended up pulling this awesome 2013 Bowman Sterling Carlos Correa auto for a lot cheaper than what they are selling.

eBay Pickup: #1 2013 Tier One Craig Biggio patch auto

I have had a job for about two months now, and it's nice to be able to have a little bit extra money to spend on my collection.

I as of now have everything paid off for the Nationals for this year, and now I'm just saving for spending money now. 

I've been trying to check out eBay out every now and then, seeing if I can't find any good deals on anything. I was able to find a good deal on this 2013 Topps Tier one Craig Biggio Patch auto that I couldn't pass up.

This is a really nice looking card, and I plan on holding onto it for awhile, but will probably take it to Nationals and might see if I can trade it for something else.

TTM Success Stan Williams 8 Day TAT

Sent out this 1971 Topps card to Stan Williams on March 21st and received it back, signed on March 29th making this a 8 day success. 

Williams is a really awesome signer, he was really fast and even answered the questions that I sent him. I'm not going to be home all day today, so I won't be able to put them on here.

Williams (b.1936) Played for the Dodgers, Yankees, Indians, Twins, Cardinals, and Red Sox. He had a career 109/94 W/L, 3.48 ERA. He went to the bullpen near the end of his career and end up getting 42 SV.

TTMS have been pretty slow lately, but I plan on tying to write a bunch more once I can actually find any time I'm not at school, working, or doing track.

TTM Success George Culver 8 Day TAT

I sent a 1970 Topps to Mr. Culver on March 21st and received back signed in blue ink on March 29th making this a 8 day success. This card came out great signed. I can now check off 1970 on my list.

I included some question when I sent to him, and he was nice enough to answer them for me.

1. What did if feel like pitching on your MLB debut?: Nervous, but very exciting.

2. Who were some of the toughest players to pitch to?: Willie McCovey, Lou Brock, Carl Yastrezemski, Roberto Clemente, and Pete Rose.

3. Who were some of your favorite players growing up?: Mickey Mantle, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays   

Mr. Culver was also awesome enough to include this extra signed index card, inscribed, 7/29/68 No-Hitter Cinci-Reds.

Culver (b.1943) He played 9 years in the MLB for the Indians, Reds, Cardinals, Astros, Dodgers, and Phillies. He has a career 48/49 W/ L, 3.62 ERA, 23 SV, and 451 SO. He threw a No-Hitter on 7/29/1968 for the Reds against the Phillies in a 6-1 W. He S/O 4, and walked 5 giving up one run.

TTM Success Tony La Russa 17 Day TAT

I sent two cards to HOF Cardinals manager Tony La Russa on March 14th, and received both back signed in black sharpie on March 31st for a 17 day success.

First up I have this 2011 Heritage that turned out really well. Oh, good old 2011 Heritage, in my mind the best Heritage so far. Getting this card back signed in black ink just made it that much more better.

Next, I had also included this 07 Allen & Ginter's thinking it would look good signed, and oh boy was I right. Just take a moment and look at it. I know, it turned out beautiful, right? I guess it's time to dig and find some more 07 A&G to send.

La Russa (b.1944) Was a Manager from 1979-2011 for the Chicago White Sox (1979-1986), Oakland Athletics (1986-1995), and St. Louis Cardinals (1996-2011). He has 6 Pennants (3 Athletics, 3 Cardinals) and 3 World Series (1 Athletics, 2 Cardinals).

TTM Success Chuck Essegian 8 day TAT. New Project

I sent this 1959 Topps of Chuck Essegian to him on March 21st and got it back on March 29th, making this a 8 day success.

Essegian (b.1931) He played for the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, Orioles, Kansas City Athletics, and Indians. Essegian and a career .255 Avg, 240 H, 47 HR, 150 RBI. During most of his career he was just a back up outfielder and didn't get much playing time. His best season was in 1962 with the Indians when he hit .274 AVG, 21 HR, 50 RBI. He only played 101 games that season.

Time to talk about my new project now. I have been doing a bunch of TTM's lately and have sent out a lot of vintage Cardinals, and have decided that I'm going to try to get every year of Topps signed by a Cardinal player.

TTM Success Don Shaw 14 Day TAT

I'm back, with yet another TTM success. I sent this 1972 Topps card to Mr. Shaw on March 14th, and received it back and signed in blue sharpie on March 28th, making this a  14 day success.

Shaw (b.1944) played in the majors as a bullpen pitcher from 1967-1972 with the Mets, Expos, Cardinals, and Athletics. He had a career 13/14 W/L, 4.01 ERA, 123 SO, and 188.1 IP.