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.

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.

Happy Birthday...

to me. It's my birthday. Yay.

Even John Smoltz is happy for me.

RBI (72) Another Cooperstown hit....

Well today I decided to prepare for the coming season with a quick trip to my local collectibles' show to stock up on a few supplies. I didn't do anything too crazy, just a few specialty balls that I've got specific players in mind for and some card protectors. But while I was wandering around browsing for a few singles, I unexpectedly saw one of my friends at one of the card dealers. While we chatted I couldn't resist breaking open a box of 2011 Topps Lineage that was just calling my name as the lone box not neatly stacked with the others.

What was in it? Well there was a redemption for a Ian Kinsler autograph, which is pretty cool seeing as I'm never able to get him to sign at the stadium and he's not a reliable TTM'er. What else was in it? Oh just 2011 World Series Champion closer Jason Motte, which I'll probably do a separate post for later.

Those of you who have cracked open a box of Lineage know there are 2 autographs and 1 relic inside. The relic was a Game Used Jersey swatch from Cooperstown resident Hank Aaron. Yup, that's right. Hank Aaron.

The card is currently residing next to my Jason Heyward pull, which will hopefully help him bounce back from last season and fulfill his potential this season. I'm not really sure if I need to do a full player bio for one of the greatest baseball players of all time, so here are a few highlights. He is a 25-time All Star with 755 Home Runs and 3,771 hits. He won a World Series in 1957 with the Braves and was inducted into Cooperstown in 1982 with 97% of the vote.

Awesome. Best impulse box buy ever.

RBI (24) A quick TTM send back by a come back player...

Speed on the base paths isn't all that Lonnie "Skates" Smith has, he's also pretty quick at responding and sending back things mailed out to him.

Lonnie Smith is a great personal story of his battles with illicit drug use during his playing career only for him to rise above it and be a championship caliber player. Making his debut with the Phillies in 1978, Smith finally cracked the lineup regularly in 1980, where he batted .339 in 100 games. His performance helped propel the Phillies to a World Series berth against the Kansas City Royals where the Phillies would emerge victorious.

Despite being a solid performer for the Phillies Lonnie was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals where he would continue to be successful and have an All-Star season in 1982. He would continue to thrive in 1982 so he would eventually be second place in the National League MVP voting, losing to Dale Murphy. What he would not lose to Murphy though, was the 1982 World Series where the Cardinals topped the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Cardinals would send him to the Kansas City Royals, a mistake seeing as the Royals would eventually face and beat the Cardinals in the 1985 World Series. Eventually he would be a free agent and have difficulty finding a team due to his drug use. He would be given a chance to join the Braves and despite a rough initial year in 1988 he would be named 1989 NL Come Back Player of the Year.  In 1991 and 1992 Smith's turn around would help propel the Braves to World Series appearances though they did not win the championship. Smith would then bounce around a few years with the Pirates and Orioles before finally hanging up his hat to return to Atlanta to live in retirement.

Lonnie would end his career after 17 seasons as one of the best run scorers and base stealers averaging 91 Runs and 37 Steals per season. He would have a final career average of .288 and .371 OBP which allowed him to constantly pester pitchers for a career tally of 370 Stolen Bases and 909 Runs scored.

Lonnie Smith signed this 1990 Fleer card for me and was nice enough to also respond to the letter I sent to him. Lonnie's signature is a great one to look at, it's very legible and fluid, and his hand writing in the letter as just as nice.

When asked:

What was your favorite part of being an All-Star?
Lonnie took a light hearted and genuine approach to his lone appearance at the All-Star game in 1982 saying, "The great players that were in the All Star Game. By far the best team i ever played on !!! :)" and yes Lonnie really put a smiley face in his response.

Which of your World Series Championships is the most meaningful?
Keeping up with his MVP caliber year Smith said, " '82 Team. We were more of a family of friends."

What was your favorite city to play at as a visitor?
Despite only playing there sparingly since all of his career was for teams in middle America or the east coast, Lonnie kept up his kind hearted approach and responded, "L.A. because it is the city I grew up in with family and friends."

When you set the franchise record for 5 steals in a game for the Cardinals in 1982 which was the most difficult?
Unknowingly I asked him about what seems to be the most memorable and favorite season he spent in the Majors, "Man just getting on base is the most difficult, you have to get on at least 3 times"


Lonnie Smith responded to my letter mailed to his home address after 13 days.

RBI (15) No longer green with envy...

And now I'm sparkling with diamonds. The past few weeks I've seen people posting up some of the cooler cards they've gotten from Topps Diamond Giveaway and I have to admit I was always a little jealous of the Diamond Die Cuts fellow bloggers have gotten. Well I've finally been able to score my own when I was out picking up another few top loaders I couldn't resist the blaster sitting by itself on the top of the shelf.

It may not be a Red Sox or Angels card, but hey I'll take it. Especially since Jair is currently sitting with a 7-1 record and 1.51 ERA. Batters are only hitting .234 against him and he has 38 punch outs versus only 11 walks. If he keeps it up he could be this years All-Star selection taking up Tim Hudson's selection from last year. 

RBI (6) I better keep the blog from going wayward...

And get back to talking about a cards with one from Heyward. That's right folks today as I was getting ready to leave for work I heard a few rings on my doorbell. I went to the door to see who it was, and it was my friendly neighborhood spider...I mean mailman. I was a bit surprised to see him as I hadn't ordered anything that I could think of when he handed me a small bubble package to sign for. I signed, went to the counter and popped it open it by pleasantly surprised.

If you've been keeping up and remember my very first pack ever was a Bowman Platinum that contained a wonderful Mike Trout autographed refractor. Well the second pack was pretty nifty too, you see it contained this weird little card inside.

I logged onto the Topps site and filled out the redemption information and proceeded to mainly forget about it since the site informed me it expected delivery in mid-June. Well here we are in the first week of May and the mailman delivered this!

Yup that would be an Jason Heyward autographed refractor with a game worn Jersey relic numbered 53/740. I'm not very well versed in Braves gear so I'd appreciate anyone who could help me identify what it came off of. Jason Heyward's autograph is definitely a crown jewel within my collection. To say I got lucky with my first blaster of Bowman Platinum is an understatement.

Heyward is a talent very similar to the other outfielder I pulled in the blaster, by that I mean a future franchise cornerstone. Named the 2009 Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America and USA Today, and was the consensus number one prospect in all of baseball coming into the 2010 season.

Heyward was known for strong plate discipline and delivering towering home runs and demonstrated both when he joined the major league club.  During the Braves 2010 Spring Training a Heyward homer broke the sun roof of Braves Assistant GM Bruce Manno and David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Manager Bobby Cox said the Braves would most likely install nets to protect the cars from $3,400 dollar damage estimates like Manno's.

When he began the season as the starting right fielder for the Braves he was assumed to be a lock for National League Rookie of the Year honors. He further fanned the flames of hype when he homered in his first Major League at bat off Carlos Zombrano. For his efforts he was elected a starter for the 2010 All-Star game, but due to a thumb injury that began to hamper his season did not play. He finished the season with only a .277 avg but a staggering .393 OBP in 142 games. His power numbers flashed with his 18 Home Runs, 5 Triples, and 29 Doubles with his 11 steals. Despite his strong numbers he was out shined for NL Rookie of the Year honors by fellow Georgian Buster Posey who ran away in the second half leading a resurgent Giants club to steal the NL West from the Padres in the final game of the season and eventually win the 2010 World Series.

In 2011 Heyward started the season the same way as 2010 and went deep off Livian Hernandez in his first at bat of the season and is helping the Braves stay in the hunt for the NL East title. In 32 games he is batting only .241 but again with a high on base percentage reaching at strong .346 clip. When he is connecting he's muscling the ball very well and has 7 Home Runs, a triple, and 4 Doubles.  While he isn't hitting for average so long as he keeps being a constant long ball threat and taking walks, it's highly unlikely many in the Braves organization will complain about having a Gold Glove All Star in the organization.

You can follow Jason Heyward @JasonHeyward on twitter at http://twitter.com/jasonheyward