Jeremy Guthrie

Who: Pitcher Jeremy Guthrie

Team: Baltimore Orioles

Card: 2009 Goudey

Acquired: TTM 2/2 3/10/2010 (14 days)

Comments: This the second of two cards that Jeremy signed for me. The other is a Goudey as well. This one came out particularly nice with the black marker on bright, contrasting colors. Like the other one, this card took a little beat of a beating during it's visit with the USPS. No matter though, great return for the collection.

Jeremy Guthrie

Who: Pitcher Jeremy Guthrie

Team: Baltimore Orioles

Card: 2008 Goudey

Acquired: TTM 2/2 3/10/2010 (14 days)

Comments: Dude, Goudey. Keep it rockin'! This one comes from Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. Jeremy kicked out 10 wins last year, but tied for the league lead in losses with 17. Well, he pitches for the Orioles, who are pretty miserable, so it's okay. 10 wins on that team are pretty damn good.

Nice little personalization on this one. Good stuff. I like Jeremy's autograph - it's got a nice little curvy kick to it. Too bad his black glove is hiding a bit of the signature.

The card took a bit of a beating in the mail. There's a decent little crease across the top of the card.

Micah Owings

Who: Pitcher Micah Owings

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 2009 Topps 206

Acquired: TTM 1/1 3/4/2010 (19 days)

Comments: Micah was another one of my first returns from spring training mailings. He always goes out of his way to add a little extra personalization to the request and this time even had a little hand-written note suggesting I check out his performance pledge on his website. Pretty cool he takes a little time to do those things for fans.

Cecil Cooper

Who: First Baseman Cecil Cooper

Team: Milwaukee Brewers

Card: 1987 Topps

Acquired: TTM 2/2 7/9/2009 (22 days)

Comments: I can't resist the '87 Topps. Both of the cards that Cecil signed for me were ugly cards that just got more awesome over time. They just deserved signatures. It's the way it is.

This card is from Cecil's last year in the league - 1987. He wrapped up his 17 year big league career with a batting average of .302. Not to shabby at all, was it?

He really liked that jacket, didn't he?

Cecil Cooper

Who: First Baseman Cecil Cooper

Team: Milwaukee Brewers

Card: 1981 Fleer

Acquired: TTM 2/2 7/9/2009 (22 days)

Comments: 1981 Fleer - so bad it's good. I've really takin' a likin' to sending these out for TTM. I have a small stack of them and always give them a shot if I'm looking for a player from that era. I was pleased as punch to find this beauty when I wrote to Cecil Cooper, current manager of the Houston Astros. There's a lot going on here. Bad card design. Ugly Brewers uni. Softball jacket under the jersey w/ fly collar. Cecil is gazing stoically into the stands. Rad sideburns and a gold medallion on his chain. Does it get much better than this?

Guy Hoffman

Who: Guy Hoffman

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1988 Donruss

Acquired: TTM 2/2 2/3/2009 (14 days)

Comments: Guy really took care of me on these two cards. He signs them like he's on a mission... and mission to make you feel special. It worked on me.

Guy Hoffman

Who: Pitcher Guy Hoffman

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1987 Topps

Acquired: TTM 2/2 2/3/2009 (14 days)

Comments: Great autograph! Guy NICELY personalized two cards for me. Thanks a ton, Guy, seriously... these are nice.

Another notch in my 1987 Topps Reds set as well. This particular card was is a part of the "Traded" series. Yeah, it's in quotes on the box.

Guy didn't have a terribly long stint with the Reds - just the 1987 season. Funny, he was actually traded to the Reds from the Cubs for Wade Rowden - another player in that '87 set.

Ross Grimsley

Who: Pitcher Ross Grimsley

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1973 Topps

Acquired: TTM 1/1 1/5/2009 (6 days)

Comments: I picked this card out of a box of 1973 Topps Reds cards (all commons) at this past year's Moeller Card Show. On a lark I looked up Mr. Grimsley to see if he was a TTM signer. It ends up that he does. Upon further reading about his career, I unearthed this little nugget on Wikipedia:

In an incident on September 16, 1975 at Fenway Park, Grimsley, warming in the Orioles' bullpen, responded to Boston fans' heckling by winding and throwing into the right field bleachers. The ball passed through the protective netting, injuring a Boston fan who later successfully sued Grimsley and the Orioles. The case, Manning v. Grimsley, is cited in law casebooks to highlight scope of employment law as it relates to agency.

Craziness.

That's what fun about this little hobby - You learning some interesting things about guys. Plus, you get some great autographs. Glad Ross signed my card for me.

Joey Galloway

Who: Wide Receiver Joey Galloway

Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Card: 2007 Upper Deck

Acquired: TTM 1/1 1/3/2009 (63 days)

Comments: I haven't followed he career with great detail, but I've always been a big fan of Ohio State grad Joey Galloway. When I went to OSU Football Camp when I was in high school, he was a senior (I think) at the time. He was a stud on the field of course, but what really got me was how many power lifting records he held at OSU. He was crushing linebackers and running backs in all kinda of categories - squats, clean & snatch, etc. His athletic ability and strength are insane. It's probably a big reason why he is still in the league today. He's a total freak. I love it.

Pat Pacillo

Who: Pitcher Pat Pacillo

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1987 Topps Traded

Acquired: TTM 2/2 1/2/2009 (30 days)

Comments: Ah! My first TTM return of 2009. We kick it off right by adding another card to the '87 Reds Topps Project. Pat had two brief sints with the Reds in '87 and '88 then was traded to the Expos and later to the Mariners. He did not appear in any major league games for either of those clubs. As far as autographs go, this has to be one of the best I received. Nicely personalized to me and just a great looking signature. Mr. Pacillo is certainly a class act.

Micah Owings

Who: Pitcher Micah Owings

Team: Arizona Diamondbacks

Card: 2007 Topps '52 Rookies

Acquired: TTM 1/1 12/17/2008 (93 days)

Comments: I thought this card was a good one to post on Christmas. On the heals of getting Micah's autograph at Redsfest, this card showed up in the mail after 93 days. Micah included a note that said "Merry Christmas" and apologized for delay and that he gets to all his mail in the off season. It didn't bother me at all that it took a while, but it was very nice of him to include a note. He also said to check out his website. I dig that he personalized the card to me... very nice touch.

David Fulcher

Who: Safety David Fulcher

Team: Cincinnati Bengals

Card: 1989 Pro Set

Acquired: TTM 2/2 11/26/2008 (54 days)

Comments: David Fulcher is THE MAN. One of the hardest hitting safeties in the game back in the late 80's and early '90s. The family and I were big fans of his. Great signature on this card, eh? He also personalized one for my newphew. Nice way to start a young man's collection, right?

Jim McMahon

Who: Quarterback Jim McMahon

Team: Chicago Bears

Card: 1986 Topps

Acquired: TTM 1/1 10/23/08 (8 days)

Comments: Are you serious? This is an awesome autograph right here. Jim was kind enough to personalize a card for me and mail it back in 9 days. Awesome. Jim - you are the man. You are forgiven for your rapping and your headbandz. Well, no need to apologize about the headbandz. They were pretty cool at the time. Rock on, dude. Thanks for the auto.

Herm Winningham

Who: Outfielder Herm Winningham

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1990 Donruss

Acquired: Christmas 1990? 1991?

Comments: Ah, part two of the 1990 (or 1991?) autograph Christmas spectacular. If you remember, the other card acquired that day was an autographed Rob Dibble. It was pretty cool to get both, but I will a little more stoked about the Dibble one, I must say. But, I have to give Herm some respect. He was not too bad... right? He helped. And stuff.

Rob Dibble

Who: Pitcher Rob Dibble

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1990 Donruss

Acquired: Christmas, 1990? 1991?

Comments: Another autograph that I was mega-stoked about. This one was a surprise though. I'm pretty sure I received this card (and another - coming soon!) from my Grandmother on my step-dad's side of the family. I was really surprised. I think it may have been the first autographed card I ever had. Of course at the time (1990?), the Reds were World Champs and Rob Dibble was pretty much a bad-ass, so you can imagine how excited I was. I love that it's personalized too.

This card was one of two that I got as a gift. The other is coming soon, of course.