RBI (232) Dirk Nowitzki...

I've posted about getting future NBA Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki's autograph before, but I recently added another piece to my collection. Dirk is a well known ttm signer, so I took a bit of a gamble and sent in a larger piece. I picked up a jersey online for a good price and dropped it off in the mail.

I've seen Dirk signed jerseys come back and was hopeful that I'd luck out to get a jersey signed with a good marker and signature. It turns out I was glad take the chance because now I have a Dirk Nowitzki autographed jersey that he hit with a very clean signature.

I'm really happy with what came back. I think it's a great that Dirk was willing to sign a jersey, and the jersey's Dirk autographed have all seemed to come back with a nice signature instead of a scribble. It took about a month and a half to come back.

The Dirk Nowitzki ttm address I've used is:

Dirk Nowitzki
American Airlines Center
2500 Victory Avenue
Dallas, TX 75219
USA

RBI (228) Paige Van Zant

Up and coming UFC star Paige VanZant has been catching the MMA world by fire lately. The UFC has found a star on the rise after her debut victory against Cailin Curran. Her dismantling of veteran Felice Herrig solidified her reputation as legitimate prospect and the UFC has been happy to have Paige appear at numerous of the company's most recent events such as the UFC Fan Expo is Las Vegas.

I sent a TTM request to her just after her victory over Curran realizing she was legitimate and going to become incredibly popular with the fans as soon as they realized the talent she had. Paige was incredibly kind and autographed two 8x10's for me.


While I do have a healthy Ronda Rousey autograph collection I don't have the body issue cover signed which is a cornerstone item to have signed by her, so I wanted to make sure my Paige VanZant autograph collection had "the" photo. Her initial UFC promo photo has actually been "the" photo so I was sure to send one of them.

Paige also signed this photo from her UFC debut.

I'm very glad to have these two in my collection as I've heard her events and appearances get swarmed now by huge crowds of eager fans to meet the rising star. She's proven legitimate as a growing young fighter since transitioning from model and ring card girl into UFC star. You can find Paige Vanzant (@paigevanzant) | Twitter

RBI (223) Dirk Nowitzki...

I was happily able to add future NBA Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki to my collection. Dirk's a known great TTM signer so getting Nowitzki's autograph in the mail was a no brainer.

Dirk's been named so far to 12-All Star teams, won an NBA championship, was the 2011 NBA Finals MVP and was the 2007 NBA MVP. He's the all-time leading scorer in Dallas Mavericks history and whenever he does decide to finally retire from playing basketball he'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame soon after.

I had Dirk Nowitzki autograph his 1998 Topps Finest rookie card. He got it back to me in only a few weeks and it came out great. I was little worried since it's a chrome that it would bubble but it came out perfectly.

RBI (222) First TTM of 2015....

My first TTM reply came for 2015 and it was a pleasant return to start off my year with. Continuing with my 2014 Topps Heritage set building endeavor I picked up a few of the 2014 Topps high numbers cards. I don't plan on getting all 600 cards done, but I wanted to add a few of the high numbers to my collection.

Eric Young Jr. is an outfielder who is known to be a great player to interact with responded back to my TTM request. EYJ always responds to his fans and he even has a special stamp and personalized label he attaches to his returns now.

I was glad to add the 2013 Stolen base champ on a 2014 Topps heritage. He responded in about two weeks but I lost the exact date I sent to him in December.

RBI (219) Jason Grilli...

It took a while, but I got a late spring training return that I had written off and assumed to be gone. I mailed Jason Grilli his Sports Illustrated when he was still a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates and after he got sent to the Angels I didn't think I'd get it back and it'd be lost in a box in the Pirates clubhouse. I was pleasantly surprised to open my mailbox and find my long lost return waiting for me.

Not only did he sign the magazine for me after Jason Grilli autographed his Sports Illustrated he inscribed "Grill Cheese" as well for me. When he was a member of the Halos it took a while for me to finally get Grilli's autograph but he was a nice guy and when he did sign he made sure to sign for literally as many fans as possible for half an hour at a time. Putting this Sports Illustrated of the former All Star closer in my collection is a nice pick up and I appreciate him following through on his mail requests 9 months latter.

RBI (207) A TTM Letter Answered...

It's been a significant amount of time since I had a letter response from a TTM request so it was nice to start baseball season off with one. Pitcher Ross Ohlendorf was nice enough to take a few moments to sign and share some of his thoughts.

I sent Ohlendorf his 2014 Topps Heritage card to be signed for my set, but he swapped that out and sent back two different cards. We'll get to that after his letter:

What was the biggest difference for you between the Red Sox and Yankees organizations?
Yankees are more "old school" in regards to conditioning and work in the training room.

Did you realize you were throwing an immaculate inning?
Yes

Where is your favorite stadium to play as a visitor?
3 favorites are Padres, Giants, Pirates

Why do you wear #43?
They gave it to me

What do you remember about your 1st MLB win?
I nearly gave up a home run to lose it but stranded the runner at 3rd

Definitely a nice response and I'm surprised again to hear that Pittsburgh is one of his favorite spots. I've consistently heard that response back and now I'll need to putt Pittsburgh on my to visit list as soon as I can.

Ross Ohlendorf autographed a 2008 Upper Deck rookie card and personalized "Ryan best wishes!" on a 2013 Topps card for me. Definitely a nice response and I hope his season goes well.

Peyton Manning TTM fail...

Welp I tried out sending a TTM request to Peyton Manning through his foundation. I see he's really slowed down with the successes, but occasionally someone slips through with a real one.

I sent in a copy of his Sportsman of the Year Sports Illustrated hoping to get it signed, but instead I was sent back my copy of Sports Illustrated with a Pre-Print autograph photo included in the envelope. It's a nice photo of Peyton and would be great to get signed.

It'd be funny even to get him to sign it next to the pre-print autograph. I''m not really sure how people enjoy getting these sent to them, but it's still a fail as far as getting his actual autograph. I'll put the magazine back in the stack to be sent out next season for another try.

RBI (199) Tarec Saffiedine...

If you saw the previous post about Liz Carmouche's autograph I sent out a few TTM's though they weren't the normal baseball ttm requests that I send out. I sent autograph requests to MMA fighters and today I got a successful reply from UFC fighter and former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Tarec Saffiedine.

I was happy to get Saffiedine's autograph because I like him as a fighter and am looking forward to him having a successful career in the UFC. He has the distinction of being the last Strikeforce champion ever winning the welterweight belt against Nate Marquardt in the promotion's final fight before closing. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do now that he's gotten off to a solid start winning Fight of the Night honors in his UFC debut. The photo that I sent to him is actually from his win in his UFC debut against Hyun Gyu Lim.

I got this Tarec Saffiedine autographed 8x10 photograph returned to me after days that I sent to him at Dan Henderson's gym. He was nice enough to inscribe it to me "To Ryan Tx for the support" and I'm glad to have Tarec Saffiedine's autograph in my collection.

You can follow Tarec Saffiedine (@tarecfighter) on Twitter.

RBI (198) Liz Carmouche…

Recently I started to prepare for the upcoming baseball season by printing out some photos to start loading up my folder for this season. While going through my box of photos I still had from last year I ran across a few of the MMA photos I hadn't been able to get signed yet. I decided to pop by the post office and send a TTM request to UFC fighter Liz Carmouche.

Carmouche made history becoming the first woman to enter the octagon to fight women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey at UFC 157 in Anaheim. I hadn't been able to get Carmouche's autograph during fight week so I decided to take a shot through the mail.

I got this Liz Carmouche autographed 8x10 photograph from her pre-UFC days back in only 6 days after I sent it to her care of her gym. She's currently preparing to fight again for the promotion against Miesha Tate so I'm grateful she took some time from her training to sign for a fan. Also I really appreciate how she took the time to find the dark spot of the photo to sign with her silver sharpie, it's the little things that show if a signer cares or not and it means a lot to me that she did.

It was a historic moment for Liz to walk into the Octagon in the UFC and I'm glad I was there to see it happen in person. I'm glad to include both female fighters in my collection now from that night.

You can follow Liz Carmouche @iamgirlrilla on Twitter.

RBI (185) Long Delayed TTM Response...

I was pleasantly surprised to see a TTM return envelope in my mailbox considering I haven't had very much time to send out TTM's this year after burning myself out trying to do my 365 TTM challenge last year. I knew it had to be a fairly old reply but I was shocked to see how old it was when I checked my records.

Cadaret was a journeyman reliever and starter who posted 539 Strikeouts with a 38-32 record pitching from 1987-1994 with a comeback in the 1997-1998 seasons. He debuted for the A's before pitching for the Yankees, Reds, Royals, Jays, Tigers, Angels and eventually the Rangers. I remember asking how it felt to make it back into the majors with the Angels, but unfortunately Mr. Cadaret didn't respond to my letter. I was very glad though to add his autograph in my collection especially since he played for the A's in the 1988 World Series.

Greg Cadaret autographed this 1990 Fleer card for me 2 years and 4 months after I sent it to his home address.

RBI (172) Jim Leyland TTM...

I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my 365 TTM's come back after a long delay. There was no postmark on it so I wasn't sure who had finally responded. When I opened the envelope I was happy to see Jim Leyland signed my card.

Leyland is notorious for chain smoking during games inside the dugout but not many people complain considering the results he's been able to get as a manager. He's won more than 1750 Games, was 2-time NL Manager of the year, AL Manager of the Year and won the 1997 World Series to give the Florida Marlins their first franchise World Series championship. As Detroit's manager he's had another World Series appearance and been one of the more humorous managers in the game. He's quoted as commenting on Orioles stud Manny Machado that he's the league leader of doubles and Leyland is second in doubles, double vodka's and double scotches. 

Jim Leyland autographed this 2011 Topps Heritage card for me that I sent TTM c/o the Tigers at Comercia Park after 1 year and 4 months.

RBI (124) Billy The Kid

Today I was pleasantly surprised to find a TTM return waiting for me in the mail. I was even more surprised to see the return was from retired pitcher Billy Wagner.

Wagner was taken by the Houston Astro's in the 1st round of the 1993 draft before flying up to the Majors in September of 1995 to face one batter that season. He would spent 9 seasons with the Astros before playing for Philadelphia, Boston, the New York Mets, and finally Atlanta. He was a 7x All Star, pitched a combined no-hitter, and was the 1999 NL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year.

When he finally retired after 16 seasons he was one of the top relievers of not just during his playing time but of MLB history. His career numbers are a 2.52 ERA across 853 games striking out 1,193 and retired with 422 Saves, putting him 5th All-Time on the career saves list. Wagner is someone I feel really proud to add to my collection, and to be honest I'm really surprised a player of his caliber answered my TTM request. I'm not sure if he has the name brand appeal to make it into the Hall of Fame considering he was pitching out of Houston at the same time as Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, but the lefty closer is definitely someone that will be remembered as a great from his era.

Mr. Wagner signed this 2011 Topps card for me after 79 days from his home address. When it comes to players like Mr. Wagner I like having either a rookie card or what I call their career card, the final card produced with all of their career statistics on the back. Not only am I very happy to have his autograph added to my collection but also to have this specific signature added to my collection. Researching his autograph I've seen that Billy has two signatures a short signature that is mainly "By Wagnr" and a full clean signature of Harmon Killebrew crispness that you see on my card. I'm very happy that Mr. Wagner gifted me his autograph and signed with his full crisp signature.

Writing TTM to the Padres at Petco

If you read my other post about Padres Fanfest then you know I went on a tour of the team's clubhouse.  What is actually really cool about their clubhouse is that there in the middle of the locker area are giant mailboxes with each player's fan mail waiting for them.

If you look at the photo you'll notice not too many of the players have been making a dent on their mail sent to the stadium over the off season, and judging by the size of some of those stacks not much of dent during the regular season either.

To those of you who have written to Huston Street care of the Padres, have fun waiting. It doesn't seem like he's going to get to you anytime soon.

If you do happen to get a return from one of the players sent to the stadium, well I know I'd definitely value it a bit more.

RBI (119) More 1987 TTM Goodness...

I've got to make one thing clear, I very much enjoy working on my 1987 Topps set. I'll obviously never finish it considering there are a substantial number of non-signers, expensive Hall of Famers, and players/managers who have passed on but I enjoy the long arduous task. Maybe one day I'll be close and have hit the lotto so I can buy the missing cards but for now it's all in good fun.

One of the latest 1987 Topps cards I was able to get signed TTM was by pitcher Dan Schatzeder. Dan was taken by the Montreal Expos in the 3rd round of the 1976 draft. He debuted in 1977 for the Expos at the age of 22 and continued playing for 15 seasons retiring finally after the 1991 season. He played for the Expos, Tigers, San Francisco Giants, Phillies, Twins, Indians, Astros, Mets, and the Royals. He was  traded from the Phillies to the Twins during the 1987 season and went on to win game 6 of the '87 World Series for the eventual champion Twins. When he retired Schatzeder was 69-68 in 121 Starts and 383 relief appearances. He had 10 Saves and 18 Complete Games tossed in amongst all of his appearances, supported by a career 3.74 ERA and 748 Strikeouts.

Mr. Schatzeder was kind enough to sign this 1987 Topps for me from his home address after a 41 day turn around. Pretty quick considering I sent it to him during the holiday season, and is the 25th return of the 365 challenge.

One further note I really enjoy the '87 Topps considering how well they sign as cards and the plethora of great mustaches you see players rocking in their cards.

RBI (118) ROY TTM Response...

There are times where autograph collecting and TTM can be pretty defeating or discouraging. Athletes today often don't sign for fans anymore, but every once in a while you hear about a player who goes above and beyond for the fans. Even more rare are those players who are so friendly AND are fantastic top level players. You've heard my stories about David Price, but a TTM signer who I've learned is pretty reliable and being amongst the top of the league is closer Craig Kimbrel.

Kimbrel was taken by the Braves in the 3rd round of the 2008 and debuted as a September call up in 2010. After that the story was over for other teams when it came to the 9th inning with Kimbrel quickly becoming one of the most dominant closers of his generation. He won a unanimous 2011 NL Rookie of the Year Award and was a member of the All Star team. He gained his 2nd All Star nod in 2012 on the way to the NL Rolaids Relief Man as the best reliever for the year. Both seasons had him lead the NL in Saves, while in 2011 he established the MLB record for most saves by a rookie. That is a record I find highly difficult to believe will be broken seeing as 46 Saves by any closer is an elite year let alone by a rookie. In 3 seasons so far Kimbrel has a 1.46 ERA, 89 Saves, and 283 Strikeouts in 160.1 innings. In 2012 Kimbrel was so dominant that he became the first pitcher in MLB history to strikeout more than half the batters he faced. It's scary to think he's only 24 and already accomplished so much. So long as he remains healthy the Braves have found a true crown jewel to lead their bullpen.

I was very excited and happy to open my envelope to find this 2012 Allen and Ginter card autographed by Kimbrel after 86 days c/o the Braves. This was part of my 365 challenge and is the 24th autograph response I received.

RBI (117) A Veteran TTM response...

I was happy to see a response waiting for me in the mail that included a letter response. I opened it to see former starting pitcher Mr. Walt Terrell had replied to my TTM request.

Terrell was taken by the Texas Rangers in the 33rd round of the 1980 draft. He was traded to the Mets in 1982 and made his debut with the organization that year. It was the beginning of an 11 year career that would take him from the Mets, Tigers, Padres, Yankees, Pirates, and back to the Tigers to close out his career. He'd retire with 111 Wins, a career 4.22 ERA and 929 Strikeouts. He'd throw an astonishing 56 Complete games, 14 of which were shutouts, in his 294 career starts.

Mr. Terrell was kind enough to not only sign my 1987 Topps cards but also signed my index card and answered a few of my questions.

What was your favorite team to play for?
Despite playing for six teams throughout his career Walt said, "I enjoyed them all"

Who was your preferred catcher?
His career allowed Terrell to pitch to seasoned veterans Mike Fitzgerald, Matt Nokes and Mike Heath. Walt responded, "They were all very good and each had something unique about their game"

How did you find out you were debuting for the Mets in 1982?
I found this answer to be very revealing as research into this response told me that Terrell's time in AAA was spent learning how to prepare for the big leagues by former top flight closer of his era, "Tidewater coach Jack Aker told me" Aker set the single season saves record of his time with 32 in 1966. Such consistent performance and numerous appearances must have helped influence Terrell's readiness to go the distance and do what was needed for his 56 Complete Games.

Did you ever talk to Wally Joyner about the 9th inning hit?
On August 20th, 2986 Joyner came up to bat in Tiger Stadium at top of the 9th with 1 Out left before Terrell would cement his name in history with a no-hitter. The at-bat went Joyner's way and "We never brought it up"

It was great to get this response from Mr. Terrell after 16 days quickly from his home address.

RBI (96) Will the Thrill TTM...

Another nifty 365 TTM return made it's way back to me and I was happy to see when I opened the envelope a 1987 Topps back. Who was nice enough to sign for me? I was thrilled to see Will 'the Thrill' Clark had autographed my card.

Clark was taken by the San Francisco Giants with the 2nd overall pick in the 1985 amateur draft after winning a Silver Medal in the 1984 Olympics. He flew to the Majors and made his debut in April 1986, homering in his first at bat off Nolan Ryan. He would be one of the premier 1st baseman in the National League while he played for the Giants and remains a fan favorite despite leaving for the Rangers, Orioles, and Cardinals.

He retired as a 6-time All Star, Gold Glover, and 2-time Silver Slugger. His career stats after 15 seasons in the MLB are mighty impressive with 2176 hits coming from a career .303 average and .384 OBP. He drove in 1205 RBI while smacking 284 Home Runs which supported a .497 slugging percentage. Clark was put in the College Hall of Fame, Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, and the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, but Cooperstown will not call as he was dropped off the ballot after failing to receive 5% of the vote in 2006.

Mr. Clark signed this 1987 Topps card that I sent to his home address after only 33 days. I was really happy to add Clark to my collection and it's always nice to check another '87 Topps off the list.

RBI (92) A 365 Return Rolls in...

It's been a while since I received a successful 365 challenge return and I've been working on a batch right now, so I thought I'd share the success. It was a quick and very surprising return by a great signer, Arizona Diamondback's starting pitcher Daniel Hudson.

Hudson was a 5th round pick in the 2008 MLB draft, taken by the Chicago White Sox. He flew through the minors and reached the White Sox in September 2009 for a taste of the bigs. He returned to the minors but then was called up in 2010 to replace Jake Peavy following Peavy's injury. Hudson was suitably impressive in his time in the rotation that when the White Sox decided to make a playoff run and wanted veteran innings eater Edwin Jackson, the Diamondbacks took Hudson and a minor leaguer for Jackson.

Hudson was dynamic in the 2011 season, helping ace Ian Kennedy push the Diamondbacks into an unexpected divisional title. He also collected a little piece of hardware for himself in his first year in the National League, being awarded the 2011 Silver Slugger award for a pitcher.

Daniel Hudson was nice enough to personalize and autograph this 2012 Topps Heritage for me c/o the Arizona Diamondbacks after only 12 Days. I'm very happy to have Hudson's reply as I think he's going to be a good solid ace potential pitcher despite his recent injury troubles that will require Tommy John surgery.

On a side note, one of the things that inspired me to write this one was a recent run in with D'backs ace Ian Kennedy. Kennedy informed me he doesn't get to this TTM during the season...but he knew one guy who does...

RBI (88) A TTM True California catch...

er...Long time Dodger and Angels catcher Jeff Torborg was nice enough to add me to his TTM response list this past week.

Torborg was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1963 as an amateur free agent. While with the club he proved to be a steady presence behind the plate and remained there for 7 seasons. He would move down the freeway to the California Angels for 3 seasons before finally retiring as a player. While in the batters box he hit .214 with 8 career homers and drove in 101 runs. Behind the plate though he showed a talent for greatness and would catch no-hitters by Sandy Koufax, Bill Singer, and Nolan Ryan.

After his playing career ended in 1973 he was an Indians coach by '75 and the skipper in '77. He would manage the Indians, White Sox, Mets, Expos, and Marlins. With the White Sox he would win the AL Manager of the Year award in 1990 and his career managerial line stood 634-718.

Mr. Torborg was nice enough to sign and personalize this 1971 Topps card for me after 185 Days from his home address. Anyone who also reads Card Buzz saw we actually sent our requests at about the same time and Mr. Torborg has recently responded to some of his mail.

After a card has been gone about 3 months I tend to assume it's not coming back so it was a pleasant surprise to get this card back especially since he caught a no-hitter from one of my favorite pitchers of all time. I especially like that you can see the MLB trademark logo on the sleeve facing the photographer, it's a nice touch that though a little garish for now is a cool flashback.

RBI (83) The 365 returns continue...

finally! It's been a while since I was able to get anything returned to me, and I'm happy to get this one. The Arizona Diamondbacks are a franchise on the rise, and this guy is one of the key supporting cast members. Second base man Aaron Hills is one of the players who call Arizona home and is helping push the franchise back into relevance.

The 13th pick of the 2003 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, the California native made his bones in the AL in 2005 for the Jays. He was a reliable bat that exploded for power in his 2009 All Star campaign, winning a Silver Slugger award and AL Comeback Player of the Year. Eventually his average dropped despite the pop and he was traded to the Diamondbacks. While with the DBacks, he returned to form and helped push the Diamondbacks into the playoffs.

In 8 seasons he has proved to be a productive bat that shouldn't be ignored in the line up. His average has declined to .266 but slugs a solid .416 supported by 102 Home Runs and 205 Doubles. His OBP is a impressive .321 considering his low batting average. While he may not be too impressive between the base paths with a 70% success rate his two Fielding Bible awards prove his ability playing behind them.

Mr. Hill was nice enough to sign this 2011 Topps Lineage for me after 30 Days, sent c/o the Arizona Diamondbacks.