February Recap, and a trip preview

As expected, it was a light month.  On the positive side, the guitar amp is out of the shop and sounding incredible. So barring any unforeseen expenses, I should be back to mailing out pretty soon. We're also only a month away from the start of baseball season, so Frisco runs should start happening pretty soon too.

FEBRUARY 1 – Dallas Renegades Practice
Lance Dunbar, 3/3
Eric Dungey, 2/2
Landry Jones, 4/4
Frank Alexander, 1/1
Daryl “Moose” Johnston, 3/3
Greer Martini, 2/2
Sean Price, 1/1
Hau’Oli Kikaha, 4/4
Derron Smith, 2/3
Bob Stoops, 1/1
Tre Watson, 2/2

FEBRUARY 7
Rick Wilson, c/o business, 1/1, 1 year

FEBRUARY 19
Brad Maxwell, c/o home, 4/4, 1 month

FEBRUARY 21
Ken Holtzman, c/o home, 1/1, 1 month

FEBRUARY 22
Terry Labonte, c/o home, 4/4, 10 months

FEBRUARY 25
Ryan Reed, c/o team, 3/3, 10 months

I'm also looking at doing another graphing mini-trip with Arron in early June. We can catch Corpus Christi at Midland, Las Vegas at El Paso, Salt Lake City at Albuquerque, and Midland at Amarillo all in a four day span on June 3 through June 6. So that's pencilled in on the calendar. It's a good holdover until the 2022 National trip.

Speaking of that, we're now less than a year away from the 2021 Topps Heritage set being released with the 1972 design. I plan to go nuts on this set with TTM and IP and trading to get as much signed as I can in the base set, the high-numbers set, and the minor league set. I already have an improbable piece of work with the 1972 set project; I might as well add more to the Sisyphusian task.

Help me out here fans/collectors: what's my best way of doing this? Buy a hobby case? Retail case? Blaster case? Just grab a few complete sets off eBay? Snag a bunch of base lots from people breaking cases? Maybe a combination of a blaster case plus a box or two of hobby or retail?

I'm not looking to make a killing on inserts or SPs or anything like that, but I'd like at least two complete base sets, preferably three or four just for an overabundance of preparedness. And I'd like to do it in the most cost-effective way possible, knowing I'll have to lather-rinse-repeat in the fall with the high-number and minor league sets.

November (and early December) 2019

I'm sure a few of these names will need clarification, so I'll just get that out of the way now.

As you probably know by now, I'm a musician. I played bass and keyboards in a band called Leisuresuit Salesmen when I was in 8th and 9th grade for a talent show and New Year's Eve party, drums in a band called 45 Percent for my high school's variety show as a senior, drums (with some keyboard, guitar, bass, and vocal contributions) in CC40 in college (not the CC40 Blues Band that comes up first on Google, but a short-lived punk/alternative project from Boston that had the name long before they did), and drums and guitar with Death Before Breakfast for a few years. Recently I joined a new project called The Nothing. I was in my high school's orchestra as a percussionist. I also play a little mandolin and possibly could still play some trombone if I tried. I might record some solo stuff that I've written, and maybe some covers of some Great Lakes folk songs.

Anyways, my biggest influences and favorite bands list would likely change a lot from day to day, but the Top Five always tend to be Guns N' Roses, Weezer, Dropkick Murphys, the Funk Brothers (Motown's backing band), and the New Bomb Turks. You probably know the first two reasonably well, perhaps the third. The fourth is a little more esoteric since they were rarely credited-- the Motown marketing machine tended to concentrate on the singers while the musicians were left largely uncredited until Marvin Gaye released What's Going On, and then got pretty well screwed over by the label moving to Los Angeles with no warning given to them. Several of them found out by showing up to play and finding a note on the door. The Brothers finally started getting recognition on a wider scale with the release of the book and documentary Standing In The Shadows Of Motown. Only two of them are still living: guitarist Joe Messina and percussionist Jack Ashford.

Anyways, the last one, the New Bomb Turks, are a garage punk band of my fellow Clevelanders who assembled in Columbus, OH in the early 90s and accidentally kicked off the garage rock revival of the late 90s and early 00s. Without the album !!Destroy-Oh-Boy!!, there's a good chance you wouldn't know The Hives, The Hellacopters, The Vines, The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Black Keys, The Dandy Warhols, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, and a ton more. It wasn't until I was in high school, around 2000 or so, that I really started getting into punk rock. The Turks parted ways not long after, with their final album coming in 2003. And since I had parents who believed you might fall off the edge of the earth if you go west of Euclid, I never got out to many (any) shows.

Over the next 15 years, NBT would occasionally get together and play a couple shows, do a short tour, play a festival, whatever. None came near me though. The closest was Austin when I was in Wichita Falls, but having close to no disposable income at the time and having to work on weekends, I had to miss it.

So when I found out they were going to open for Rev. Horton Heat in Detroit and Chicago with the Voodoo Glow Skulls (both of whom I saw back in February together in Dallas), I knew I had to try to go. Long story short: we went to both shows, I got an album signed by two members, got one of the drummer's sticks, got called out from the stage by their lead singer in Chicago, and then had him swipe my hat and beat a couple people with it in Detroit. Awesome show, 10/10 would recommend. My only complaint is they did not play Defiled.

So, when you're asking yourself "Who are Eric Davidson, Jim Weber, and Sam Brown?" now you know. I missed having Brown and bassist Matt Reber sign my album, but I'm sure I'll get them eventually.

I also was able to get my grandfather's 12-string guitar from my uncle when we passed through Michigan. I need a new high G string (tee-hee-hee, yeah yeah, laugh it up) since it broke when I tuned it, but aside from that it's good.

NOVEMBER 9
Dave Schultz, c/o Hammer Enterprises, 2/2, 1 month, included fee of $10 per

NOVEMBER 12
Curtis Granderson, c/o Marlins ST, 1/1, 9 months

NOVEMBER 15
Ty Dillon, c/o Germain Racing, 4/4, 6 months
Bobby Knoop, c/o home, 3/3, 6 weeks

NOVEMBER 18
Nick Fotiu, c/o home, 2/2, 1 week
Ted Harris, c/o home, 3/2, 1 week, also signed protective index card

NOVEMBER 19
Tony Oliva, c/o Twins ST, 1/1, 9 months

NOVEMBER 20
Bobby Hebert, c/o home, 4/4, 1 week, personalized all

NOVEMBER 21
Phil Roberto, c/o home, 3/2, 1 week, added signed photo
Eric Nesterenko, c/o home, 3/3, 1 week
Jim Pappin, c/o home, 2/2, 1 week

NOVEMBER 22
Bob Froese, c/o home, 4/4, 1 week

NOVEMBER 23
Bert Marshall, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks

NOVEMBER 24 - Dallas Card Show
Rocket Ismail, 1/1

NOVEMBER 25
Dave Keon, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks
Ralph Backstrom, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks

NOVEMBER 26
Harry Sinden, c/o home, 1/2, 2 weeks, kept the second card
Don Marshall, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks
Fred Stanfield, c/o home, 2/2, 1 week
Alexei Yashin, c/o home, 2/2, 1 week
John Harrington, c/o home, 2/2, 1 week

NOVEMBER 29
Jim Rutherford, c/o team, 3/3, 3 weeks
Jim Schoenfeld, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks
Grant Mulvey, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks
Joe Watson, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks
Steve Janaszak, c/o home, 3/2, 1 week, also signed protective index card

NOVEMBER 29 - Voodoo Glow Skulls, New Bomb Turks, Rev. Horton Heat concert
Eric Davidson, 1/1

NOVEMBER 30
Mike Davis, c/o home, 3/3, 2 years
Mark Wells, c/o home, 3/2, 2 weeks, also added signed business card, paid $5 per
Phil Verchota, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks
Craig Patrick, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks

NOVEMBER 30 - Voodoo Glow Skulls, New Bomb Turks, Rev. Horton Heat concert
Jim Weber, 1/1
Sam Brown, concert-used drum stick

DECEMBER 2
Mike Anderson, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks

DECEMBER 3
Jack Ashford, c/o home, 1/1, 2 months

The rest of July

JULY 8
Rich Robertson, c/o home, 1/1, 2 months

JULY 14 - Amarillo at Frisco
Hudson Potts - 7/7
Luis Torrens - 1/2
Owen Miller - 2/2
Jimmy Jones - 4/4
Peter Van Gansen - 1/1
Brad Zunica - 1/1
Ivan Castillo - 1/1
Taylor Kohlwey - 1/1
Lake Bachar - 1/1
Phillip Wellman - 1/1
Rodrigo Orozco - 1/1
Dauris Valdez - 1/1
Nick Margevicius - 2/2
AJ Kennedy - 1/1
Collin Wiles - 5/5
Leody Taveras - 1/1
Tony Sanchez - 2/2
Walker Weickel - 4/4
Charles Leblanc - 1/2
Hunter Pence - 1/3
Jonathan Hernandez - 5/5
Joe Barlow - 1/1
Blake Bass - 1/1
Andretty Cordero - 1/1
Brendon Davis - 1/1
Michael De Leon - 1/1
Demarcus Evans - 1/1
Alex Kowalczyk - 1/1
CD Pelham - 1/1
Tyler Phillips - 1/1

JULY 19
Tim Fedewa, c/o team, 4/3, 6 months, added in another signed card

JULY 24
Bernie James, c/o team, 1/1, 2 weeks

JULY 26 - Tulsa at Frisco
Yadier Alvarez - 2/3
Justin De Fratus - 2/2
Josiah Gray - 1/1
Adam Melhuse - 2/2
Jared Walker - 2/5
Rob Zastryzny - 2/2
Logan Bawcom - 1/3
Connor Wong - 1/3
Jonathan Hernandez - 2/2
Charles LeBlanc - 1/1
Leody Taveras - 1/1
Brock Burke - 3/3
Tony Sanchez - 1/1
Jake Lemoine - 3/3
James Jones - 2/4
Wade Lamont - 2/2
Michael De Leon - 1/1

JULY 27 - Arkansas at Frisco
Evan White - 1/2
Luis Liberato - 2/2
Aaron Knapp - 3/3
Wyatt Mills - 3/3
Logan Gilbert - 2/2
Joe Odom - 1/1
Kyle Lewis - 1/1
Isiah Kiner-Falefa - 2/3
Greg Hibbard - 3/3

Late June Recap

I was going to do the latter half of May and all of June in one post, but I'll be out of town at the time when I'd be putting that together.  So, here's one for the last month-ish.

MAY 13
Ron Bryant, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks
Dennis Higgins, c/o home, 1/1, 2 weeks
Ken Sanders, c/o home, 1/1, 2 weeks
Jerry Bell, c/o home, 1/1, 2 weeks

MAY 16
Gary Pettis, c/o team, 4/4, 3 weeks

MAY 21
Daniel Suarez, c/o team, 4/4, 3 months

MAY 24
Denny Doyle, c/o home, 1/1, 1 month

MAY 28
Brendan Gaughan, c/o home, 3/3, 5 months

JUNE 8
Martin Truex Jr., c/o team, 1/1, 4 months

JUNE 10
Heinz Wirtz, c/o home, 2/2, 1 month

JUNE 15 - Northwest Arkansas Naturals at Frisco Roughriders
Abraham Nunez, 3/6
Taylor Featherston, 2/4
Gabriel Cancel, 2/2
Travis Jones, 1/1
Nelson Liriano, 5/6
Brady Singer, 1/2
Khalil Lee, 1/2
Doug Henry, 8/8
Andres Sotillet, 1/1
Andrew Beckwith, 1/1
Anderson Miller, 2/3
Meibrys Viloria, 2/2
Preston Beck, 2/2
James Jones, 6/6
Jonathan Hernandez, 6/6
Michael De Leon, 2/2
Christian Lopes, 1/3
Tony Sanchez, 2/3
Juremi Profar, 1/1
Joe Barlow, 1/1 (I'm an idiot; I thought he was Joe Palumbo so it's on Palumbo's game program...)

JUNE 17
Ryan Newman, c/o team, 4/4, 4 months
Tyler Reddick, c/o team, 3/3, 6 weeks

So as the link above says, I'll be in Vegas for a MISL 40th Anniversary Reunion event. I might try to do the Aviators-Aces game while I'm there, but likely will have to miss that-- the only games while I'm there are at the same time as major reunion weekend events. I will be going out to Frisco again on June 30 though. Got Midland coming to town again and a pair of Bobby Crosby jersey cards that need a sig on them.

Hmm... Las Vegas and the MISL... think former Cincinnati Kids co-owner Pete Rose might be there?

April to Mid-May Recap

Going to have some busy weekends the rest of the month, so my high hopes for a lot of IP in Frisco are kind of dashed until June.  Plus the TTMing has slowed a bit-- most of my stamp budget has gone to buying guitar pedals. On the positive side, I have a very full pedal board now, though I still have a few I'd like to add.

APRIL 5
Kyle Larsen, c/o team, 4/4, 2 months

APRIL 7 - Midland at Frisco
Jake Lemoine, 3/3
Bobby Crosby, 5/7
Greg Deichmann, 1/3
Zack Erwin, 4/4
Tommy Everidge, 5/5
Jonah Heim, 4/4
Kevin Merrell, 4/4
Logan Verrett, 2/2
Trey McNutt, 4/4
Mikey White, 9/9

APRIL 20
Lance Lynn, c/o Rangers ST, 1/1, 3 months
Brad Keselowski, c/o team, 2/2, 2 months

APRIL 22
Chad Little, c/o home, 5/5, 2 months - envelope was RTSed (postmarked March 30)

MAY 2
Joe Mullen, c/o home, 1/3, 1 year and 1 month - returned two unsigned

MAY 6
Ken Aspromonte, c/o home, 2/1, 1 week - added a signed photo

MAY 8
Will Middlebrooks, c/o home, 2/3, 1 week - kept 2013 72-mini insert

MAY 11
Bob Reynolds, c/o home, 1/1, 1 week
Bruce Froemming, c/o home, 1/1, 1 week
Ken Schrader, c/o home, 4/4, 3 months
Christopher Bell, c/o team, 3/3, 4 months

Looks like I have another 3 coming in today per USPS Informed Delivery. My guesses based on postmarks: Jerry Bell, Ron Bryant, and Dennis Higgins.

March Recap

It's been a whirlwind month but out of it comes the start of baseball season and hopefully some nice outings to Frisco. Got my first one coming April 7 against Midland. There's no publicly available Rockhounds roster so I'm going to end up half-assing it on them. But after that opening series, it's on.

March was a bad IP month (not even going to get into my Sidekicks-Sockers experience...), and slow on TTMs, but I got a few...

MARCH 1
Scott Fulhage, c/o home, 3/3, a year and a half
Dirk Nowitzki, c/o team, 1/1, 3 months
Raisel Iglesias, c/o team ST, 2/2, 2 weeks

MARCH 2
Bubba Wallace, c/o team, 2/2, 3 months
Alex Bowman, c/o team, 4/4, 1 month

MARCH 4
Paul Stastny, c/o team, 1/1, 6 months
Hut Stricklin, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks

MARCH 6
Dana Barros, c/o home, 4/4, 3 months

MARCH 9
Michael Andretti, c/o home, 2/2, 3 months

MARCH 16
AJ Foyt, c/o home, 2/2, 3 months

MARCH 19
Taylor Davis, c/o team ST, 1/1, 3 weeks

MARCH 23
Joey Logano, c/o team, 1/1, 5 weeks

MARCH 27
Erik Jones, c/o fan club, 4/4, 6 weeks

Some pretty cool news from the sports world, the Kraft Hockeyville USA vote was won by Calumet, MI. Their rink gets $150,000 for upgrades, plus $10,000 in hockey equipment, and an area rink gets to host an NHL preseason game (I'd guess Michigan Tech's MacInnes Arena that's just down the road will get that honor if the Colosseum doesn't; Dee Stadium also has a chance).

The Calumet Colosseum, formerly the Calumet Armory, is where my dad learned to skate as a kid. It opened in 1913 and has been in use ever since-- the longest continually-operating ice rink in the world. The aforementioned Dee Stadium is 7th-- and only because the original Amphidrome burned down in 1927.

Me at The Dee, July 2016. I'll add a 1920s photo of the Colosseum
from my grandmother's collection later.

February 2019 Update

A fairly light month, as the winter usually is...

FEBRUARY 5
Geoff Bodine, c/o home, 3/4, 1 week, returned one unsigned

FEBRUARY 7
Bobby Hillin Jr., c/o T-Rex Engineering, 4/4, 1 week

FEBRUARY 8
Phil Parsons, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks

FEBRUARY 11
John Wall, c/o Washington Wizards, 1/1, 2 months, personalized

FEBRUARY 20
Landon Cassill, c/o team, 4/4, 3 weeks

FEBRUARY 24 - College Baseball IP
Mike Pelfrey - 8/8
Andy Stankiewicz - 0/6 ("I really can't, I gotta go stretch with the guys")

FEBRUARY 25
Matt Williams, c/o Oakland A's, 4/4, 1 week

FEBRUARY 28
David Ragan, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks
Ross Chastain, c/o team, 3/3, 2 weeks

January 2019, and a lesson learned

My mailing is a little slower right now: I bought a nice size batch of stamps back in December and have been creeping my way through them. So my stamp budget has gone toward buying new guitar pedals.

And with the Sidekicks' alumni game being moved to April, the in-person outings are rare as well.

My lone in-person outing led to me violating my own Rule #1 Of Collecting-- always be prepared.  But I'll get to that in a moment. For now, the usual recap...

January 2
Mickey Stanley, c/o home, 3/3, 4 months

January 5
Al Worthington, c/o home, 4/2, 3 weeks, added two signed photos and an extra signed card, kept my CIC
Harry Gant, c/o home, 4/4, 3 weeks

January 9
BJ Surhoff, c/o home, 4/4, 1 month
Ned Jarrett, c/o home, 3/3, 3 weeks

January 10
Manny Trillo, c/o home, 4/4, 2 years
Lenny Wilkens, c/o home, 3/3, 1 month

January 11
Chris Ford, c/o home, 4/4, 1 month
Bobby Allison, c/o home, 5/3, 3 weeks, added a signed card and a signed photo

January 12
Chase Elliott, c/o home, 3/4, 3 weeks, returned one unsigned
Bill Elliott, c/o home, 3/3, 3 weeks

January 22
Jimmy Britton, c/o home, 1/1, 3 months
Larry Nance, c/o home, 4/4, 1 month
Robert Parish, c/o home, 4/4, 1 month
Bobby Labonte, c/o home, 3/3, 1 month
Hailie Deegan, c/o team, 2/2, 1 month

January 27 - Rangers Winter Caravan in Irving
Adrian Sampson, 2/2 (one for Chris)
Lance Lynn, 2/2, 3/3

January 31
Terry Steinbach, c/o home, 1/1, 5 months, paid $2 fee for his scholarship fund

So. Lance Lynn.

I got my stuff together and Chris came over and we rode over to T-Mobile together. As we get there he mentions that he's in the Archives '72 design. Which is a set I'm working on. Which I forgot he's in.

Shit.

So, if someone out there has that card signed I'd gladly trade for it. I did fire off a TTM request to him at Rangers Spring Training, but I'm not too hopeful. He hasn't TTMed since 2016, but maybe joining a new team will make him pick up the pen, at least early on. I mailed quickly since I overheard him telling someone that he was heading out to Arizona later that day. Our resident local Cardinals fan says Lynn was never a good signer at the ballpark, so it may be my best chance. Positive note, he's on a three-year contract, so maybe he'll do a Caravan next year too.

Again, Rule #1 Of Collecting-- always be prepared. LFMF.

2018 Finale

The successes came in all the way up until the last day of the year. I opted to skip on the Rangers' Toy Drive this year as the list of players was underwhelming (much like the Rangers as a whole). But I did do some mailing and got some quick responses.


DECEMBER 19
Chris Davis, c/o home, 1/1, 1 week
Maurice Cheeks, c/o team, 3/3, 1 week

DECEMBER 21
Jack Sikma, c/o Sikma Enterprises, 5/5, 1 week

DECEMBER 22
Dick Schofield Sr., c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks
Ann Meyers-Drysdale, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks

DECEMBER 24
Harold Landry, c/o team, 3/3, 8 months
Josh Reddick, c/o team, 1/1, 4 months
Rene Lachemann, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks
Chuck Seelbach, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks
Paul Westphal, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks

DECEMBER 26
Scott Manning, c/o work, 2/2, 3 months
Craig Ehlo, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks
Hersey Hawkins, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks
Terry Porter, c/o team, 2/3, 2 weeks, returned one unsigned

DECEMBER 27
John Stearns, c/o home, 4/5, 2 weeks, kept one

DECEMBER 31
Tippy Martinez, c/o home, 4/4, 3 weeks
Danny Ferry, c/o home, 4/5, 3 weeks, returned one unsigned
Gail Goodrich, c/o home, 2/2, 3 weeks
Jerry Sloan, c/o home, 5/5, 3 weeks
Cale Yarborough, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks, personalized both

Looking back through the numbers, 2018 was my biggest year in the hobby. I ended up getting close to 1500 items signed myself (1476 to be exact), plus picked up another 300-400 in trades, purchases, pack pulls, and gifts. I had my biggest ever single month (270 in August), two-month span (528 in July/August), and three-month span (767 in June/July/August), and a record long streak of daily mail successes (25 delivery days from September 13 to October 12).

The streak ends... begins... and ends again.

Well, it was good while it lasted.

25 mail delivery days in a row with at least one autograph success-- September 13 through October 12 (30 days total minus four Sundays and Columbus Day).

My follow-up streak ended at one in a row as USPS has nothing on my Informed Delivery today.

September 28
Ray Rippelmeyer, c/o home, 3/2, 1 week, wrote a note back
Lee Thomas, c/o home, 2/2, 1 week

September 29
Jerry McNertney, c/o home, 2/2, 3 weeks

October 1
John Castino, c/o home, 5/5, 3 weeks
Jim Rooker, c/o home, 3/3, 3 weeks
Dave Marshall, c/o home, 3/3, 3 weeks

October 2
Don Sutton, c/o home, 1/1, 1 month, $5

October 3
Lee Richard, c/o home, 3/2, 2 weeks, added signed notecard
Ray Culp, c/o home, 1/1, 1 week

October 4
Tony Oliva, c/o Twins Spring Training, 1/2, 8 months, kept one, but gave good signature
Cookie Rojas, c/o home, 3/4, 3 weeks, sent one back unsigned
Ron Swoboda, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks, $5 each
Sparky Lyle, c/o home, 1/1, 2 weeks, $5
Rick Kester, c/o home, 2/1, 1 week, wrote note back

October 4 - Stars Opening Night Green Carpet
Alexander Radulov, 1/1

October 5
Brent Strom, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks

October 6
Bobby Floyd, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks

October 9
Greg McMichael, c/o home, 4/4, 6 months

October 10
Ron Stone, c/o home, 2/2, 3 weeks
John Odom, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks, $5 each

October 11
Ken Tatum, c/o home, 2/2, 1 month

October 12
Darrell Waltrip, c/o home, 3/3, 1 year
Buddy Bradford, c/o home, 1/1, 2 weeks

October 15
Mike Cosgrove, c/o home, 3/3, 1 month
Eddie Fisher, c/o home, 2/2, 1 month

I got Radulov finally, but had to skip my potential outing for the Anahim Ducks this past weekend due to rain. Hoping it all finally lets up by this weekend for the Frisco NASL event.

A quick June update

Three weeks until we leave for the Road Trip to the National. I plan to have a prelude posting maybe about a week out. Also got one Frisco game on the Schedule of Likely But Still Changeable Outings before it.

Meanwhile, some successes, both IP and TTM...

JUNE 4
Hayden Hurst, c/o team, 2/2, 1 month (personalized index card, signed on the back)

JUNE 7
Randy LaJoie, c/o The Joie of Seating, 3/3, 7 months

JUNE 16 - Wichita Wingnuts at Texas AirHogs

Franklin Perez, 2/2

Brent Clevlen, 3/3

JUNE 18
Brian Quinn, c/o San Disgo Soccer Club, 6/6, close to 3 years

JUNE 21-23 - NHL Draft

You've already seen this...

JUNE 29
Ronald Jones, c/o team, 2/4, 2 months (kept two)

JUNE 29 – Springfield at Frisco
Victor Roache, 5/5
Ian McKinney, 2/2
Jeremy Martinez, 1/4
Chris Chinea, 3/3
Lane Thomas, 3/3
Connor Jones, 2/2
Anthony Gose, 1/4
Ariel Jurado, 3/3
Brett Martin 1/1

JULY 1 – Tulsa at Frisco
Yusniel Diaz, 3/3
Keibert Ruiz, 1/2
DJ Peters, 1/3
Drew Jackson, 2/7, 2/2
Dave Borkowski, 1/1
Stetson Allie, 6/6
Dylan Baker, 1/1
Andrew Sopko, 9/9

JULY 2
Darrell Evans, c/o home, 2/2, 2 months

The countdown begins: 24 days until we pack up and hit the road. First stop: the Birmingham Barons play at home against the Tennessee Smokies!

January and February update

Hold onto your hats, a double dose of IP and TTM!

Also, be ready: a preview of the National is coming soon (maybe tomorrow?).

JANUARY 2
Jeff Mutis, c/o home, 2/2, 1 month

JANUARY 5
Dan Fike, c/o home, 3/3, 2 months
Ward Burton, c/o home, 4/4, 2 months

JANUARY 6
Matt DiBenedetto, c/o team, 3/3, 2 months

JANUARY 9
Rob Gardner, c/o home, 2/2, 1 year

JANUARY 11
Jeff Feagles, c/o home, 2/2, 2 months

JANUARY 16
Lee Johnson, c/o home, 3/3, 2 months
Aric Almirola, c/o home, 3/3, 3 months

JANUARY 18 - Rangers Winter Caravan
Doug Fister 3/3
Matt Moore 2/4

JANUARY 20
Wally Dallenbach, c/o home, 3/3, 3 months

JANUARY 21 - Rangers Winter Caravan
Jake Diekman 2/2
Mike Minor, 4/4, 4/4

JANUARY 29
Casey Candaele, c/o home, 4/4, 5 months

FEBRUARY 1
Martin Truex Jr., c/o team, 1/1, 3 months
Morgan Shepherd, c/o home, 4/5, 6 months, returned one unsigned

FEBRUARY 3
Eddie Zosky, c/o home, 4/4, 6 months

FEBRUARY 3 - Dallas Baptist University Alumni Game
Ben Zobrist, 1/1

FEBRUARY 6
Mike Timlin, c/o home, 3/4, 2 months, kept one card
Warren Moon, c/o business, 1/2, 3 months, returned one unsigned

FEBRUARY 9
Hal Kolstad, c/o home, 2/2, 1 week

FEBRUARY 10
Mike Garman, c/o home, 2/2, 1 week
Jim Hart, c/o home, 3/3, 1 week, personalized all
Johnny Edwards, c/o home, 7/4, 1 week, added three photos signed and personalized

FEBRUARY 12
Paul Hornung, c/o museum, 2/2, 6 months
Kyle Larson, c/o team, 4/4, 3 months
Norm Bass, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks, personalized
Don Taussig, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks
Hal Smith, c/o home, 4/4, 1 week
Ray Washburn, c/o home, 4/4, 1 week

FEBRUARY 13
Leo Posada, c/o home, 2/2, 1 week
Dave Giusti, c/o home, 4/4, 1 week
George Thomas, c/o home, 4/4, 1 week
Ike Delock, c/o home, 2/2, 1 week
Billy Moran, c/o home, 3/3, 1 week
Albie Pearson, c/o home, 4/4, 1 week
Dave Hillman, c/o home, 4/4, 1 week

FEBRUARY 15
Brett Butler, c/o home, 5/5, 5 months
Hector Lopez, c/o home, 5/5, 1 week

FEBRUARY 16
Ted Savage, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks

FEBRUARY 17
Tito Francona, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks - arrived 4 days after his death, postmarked the day before
Jim Bakker, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks

FEBRUARY 18 - Texas Wesleyan University vs. Bacone College
Mike Jeffcoat - 3/8
Kelly Shoppach - 3/7

FEBRUARY 20
Cal Quantrill, c/o team, 1/1, 6 months, personalized

FEBRUARY 21
Frank Baumann, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks
Lee Thomas, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks

FEBRUARY 24
Bob Oldis, c/o home, 3/4, 3 weeks, kept one card
Dan Majerle, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks

FEBRUARY 26
Bud Daley, c/o home, 4/4, 3 weeks

FEBRUARY 27
Felipe Alou, c/o Giants ST, 3/4, 2 weeks, didn’t sign custom index card
Doug Decinces, c/o home, 3/3, 3 weeks

Rounding out 2017

DECEMBER 1
Aeneas Williams, c/o home, 2/2, 1 month

DECEMBER 4
Dave Rohde, c/o home, 5/5, 4 months

DECEMBER 6
Scott Livingstone, c/o home, 2/5, 1 week, kept 3 and signed the two in a terrible marker

DECEMBER 8
Jon Lieber, c/o home, 2/2, 1 week
Mike Squires, c/o home, 1/1, 1 week
Ted Power, c/o home, 3/3, 1 week
Gary Bell, c/o business, 2/2, 1 week
Keith Byars, c/o home, 2/4, 1 month, kept two

DECEMBER 9
Eric Bell, c/o home, 4/5, 1 week, kept one
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., c/o home, 1/1, 3 months

DECEMBER 11
Jeff Shaw, c/o home, 6/6, 2 weeks
Carroll Hardy, c/o home, 1/1, 2 weeks
Jesse Levis, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks
Dan McGwire, c/o home, 3/6, 1 month, returned three unsigned

DECEMBER 14
Benny Distefano, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks
Andy Moog, c/o home, 2/2, 5 weeks

DECEMBER 15
Jan Stenerud, c/o home, 3/3, 2 months

DECEMBER 16
Kevin Harvick, c/o home, 2/2, 4 months

DECEMBER 18 - Rangers Toy Drive
Shin-Soo Choo, 1/1
Robinson Chirinos, 2/2
Steve Buechele, 4/4
Jose Guzman, 5/4
Elvis Andrus, 1/1
Matt Bush, 3/3
Joey Gallo, 1/1
Nick Gardewine, 2/1
Tom Grieve, 1/0
Matt Hicks, 1/0
Emily Jones, 1/0
Eric Nadel, 1/0
Dave Raymond, 1/0
Don Wakamatsu, 1/0

DECEMBER 22
Dale Jarrett, c/o home, 3/4, 4 months, returned one unsigned
Ryan Newman, c/o home, 3/3, 4 months

DECEMBER 27
Beau Allred, c/o home, 5/5, 1 month

Hoping for a big year in 2018. I might not be mailing as much out, but the National should be a great opportunity for a lot of in-person success. Looks like our schedule is pretty much set now that all the teams have established their schedules and game times. Only Lake County could change: their PDF schedule had all the times, but their website still says TBD. That's the team that involves the least travel though, so I'm not concerned. It's not like one of the teams on the way up or on the way back.

Schedule looks like this...

7/27: Tennessee @ Birmingham (Cubs/White Sox AA)
7/28: Rome @ Lexington (Braves/Royals A)
7/29: Asheville @ West Virginia (Rockies/Pirates A)
7/30: Indianapolis @ Columbus (Pirates/Indians AAA)
7/31: Great Lakes @ Lake County (Dodgers/Indians A), Louisville @ Toledo (Reds/Tigers AAA)
8/1: Maybe Gateway @ Lake Erie (independent league), National starts in the evening!
8/2: National, Bowie @ Akron (Orioles/Indians AA)
8/3: National, Bowling Green @ Lake County (Rays/Indians A)
8/4: National, Angels @ Indians (MLB)
8/5: Maybe National, Maybe Lansing @ Fort Wayne (Blue Jays/Padres A), Maybe Southern Illinois @ Windy City (independent league)
8/6: Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (A's/Twins A), Las Vegas @ Iowa (Mets/Cubs AAA)
8/7: Las Vegas @ Iowa (Mets/Cubs AAA), maybe Airhogs @ T-Bones (independent league)

I figure I can start buying Indians, Cubs, and Pirates prospects pretty soon-- we'll be seeing three Indians affiliates and two Cubs and Pirates ones. And I can start going nuts on coaches too: as long as the lists online are correct, I know I have stuff on Jose Bautista, Jacob Cruz, Terry Clark, Mark Johnson, Glenn Hubbard, Mitch Stetter, Paco Martin, Butch Wynegar, Steve Karsay, Jerry Owens, Delino Deshields, Jody Davis, Jeff Fassero, Jeff Pico, Brian Harper, Doug Mientkiewicz, Ken Oberkfell, Kennie Steenstra, Butch Davis, Mike Scioscia, Eric Hinske, Paul Sorrento, Charles Nagy, Alfredo Griffin, Josh Paul, Scott Radinsky, Terry Francona, Ty Van Burkleo, Victor Rodriguez, Carl Willis, Sandy Alomar Jr., Brad Mills, Scott Atchison, Willie Collazo, Burt Hooton, Don Schulze, Frank Viola, Marty Pevey, Rod Nichols, Mariano Duncan, and Frank White.

October TTM Update

Wow, check that out, I'm actually on time this month. Crazy. From here on, I'm going to start breaking things down by sport, then date. If I remember to, at least...

BASEBALL
October 5: Jeremy Sowers, c/o home, 1/1, 1 month
October 16: Jim Gott, c/o home, 6/6, 1 month
October 27: Tim Johnson, c/o home, 2/2, 3 months
October 31: John Wehner, c/o Pirates, 5/5, 3 months

FOOTBALL
October 19: Ted Kwalick, c/o home, 4/4, 1 week
October 21: Tom Matte, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks
October 28: Bill Nelsen, c/o home, 4/4, 3 weeks

RACING
October 2: Johnny Sauter, c/o Thor Sport Racing, 2/2, 3 weeks
October 3: Kenny Wallace, c/o home, 1/1, 3 weeks
October 10: Ryan Blaney, c/o Wood Bros. Racing, 2/2, 2 months
October 10: Derrike Cope, c/o home, 3/4, 2 months
October 19: Elliott Sadler, c/o home, 2/2, 1 month
October 23: Harry Gant, c/o home, 2/2, 2 months
October 28: Ken Schrader, c/o home, 5/5, 2 months

SOCCER
October 2: Ron Fearon, c/o home in UK, 4/3, 1 year (postmarked from US with US stamp, wrote note back)
October 7: Dick McCormick, c/o home, 3/3, 3 weeks
October 19: Andy Chapman, c/o Ultimate Soccer Arenas, 4/4, 2 years

I bought a crap-ton of stamps about a week ago (enough to send out about 140 requests), so I plan to get writer's cramp. I've already fired off 25 this week, and probably will crank out another 10-30 by Monday morning.

November through February is a bit of a slow spot now that I'm not doing much hockey.

So how long until pitchers and catchers report?

September results and National planning!

Had a busy September. My wife had her wisdom teeth removed so I spent a couple days helping her out, plus we're making a trip to Houston in two weeks (from which I should have some info in my October recap), and I've started assembling stuff for the roadtrip to the 2018 National with Arron-- selling stuff on eBay and some Facebook groups, planning routes and games to hit, all that.  I'll get into that after I recap. Right now, the list of stuff...


SEPTEMBER 1
Kyle Petty, c/o office, 2/2, 2 weeks
Danny Sullivan, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks
Carl Erskine, c/o home, 2/2, 2 weeks
Jerry Don Gleaton, c/o home, 6/6, 2 weeks

SEPTEMBER 2
Jim Vatcher, c/o home, 4/4, 1 month
Brad Smith, c/o home, 3/2, 2 weeks, wrote note on envelope
Denny Hocking, c/o Rainiers, 4/4, 2 weeks
Dan Plesac, c/o MLB Network, 6/6, 2 weeks

SEPTEMBER 5
Tim Naehring, c/o home, 4/4, 1 month
Richard Childress, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks

SEPTEMBER 8
Lee Stevens, c/o G.J. Rockies, 5/5, 5 weeks

SEPTEMBER 9
Greg Gross, c/o Aces, 4/4, 3 weeks

SEPTEMBER 12
Ron Hansen, c/o home, 3/3, 1 week

SEPTEMBER 14
Dave Marcis, c/o home, 5/5, 1 week

SEPTEMBER 18
Jay Bell, c/o home, 4/4, 6 months
Regan Smith, c/o Regan Smith Racing, 2/2, 1 month

SEPTEMBER 19
Ken Forsch, c/o home, 3/3, 1 week

SEPTEMBER 21
Jeff Newman, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks
Denny Vaninger, c/o home, 1/1, 1 week

SEPTEMBER 22
Cecil Cooper, c/o home, 4/4, 8 months
Bill Elliott, c/o home, 4/4, 1 month

SEPTEMBER 23
John Russell, c/o Orioles, 4/4, 2 months
Joey Logano, c/o home, 1/2, 2 weeks, returned one unsigned

SEPTEMBER 25
Brett Bodine, c/o home, 4/4, 3 weeks

SEPTEMBER 28
Ray Herbert, c/o home, 2/2, 5 weeks

SEPTEMBER 29
Jeff Reardon, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks

SEPTEMBER 30
Loy Allen, c/o home, 4/4, 6 weeks

OCTOBER 2
Ron Fearon, c/o home in UK, 4/3, 1 year (with US stamp and postmark), wrote note back
Johnny Sauter, c/o Thor Sport Racing, 2/2, 3 weeks

* * * * * * * * * *

So... The National. Dates have been officially set as August 1-5 in Cleveland.

Looks like it may just be Arron and me.  Outside chance another local guy, Josh (whom I may have mentioned before), might join us, but its looking like it'll likely be a two-person venture. We may also split hotel costs with a guy I work with who might just fly in and out.

Arron and I talked about the possibility of hitting a few games on the way up and on the way back, turning this into a gigantic 'graphing bonanza.  Clearly, I'm all in favor of it.

As of right now, there are a few routes we can take, and with the minor league schedules coming out, I'm paring it down to the best.  Several teams along our potential routes haven't released their full home schedules (namely Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisville, Tulsa, Columbus) so we certainly could add options to these. I was fortunately able to identify a few missing ones from other teams' schedules. But here are a few options, all leaving the morning of Friday, July 27. Note that some of these may or may not be doable due to game times. I'll list them wherever known.

OPTION A
Friday drive to Jackson TN (vs. Biloxi, 6 pm) or Birmingham AL (vs. Tennessee).
Saturday, drive up to either Bowling Green KY (vs. Fort Wayne), Louisville (vs. Rochester), or Cincinnati (vs. Philadelphia).
Sunday, depending on what we do Saturday we have the option of Louisville (vs. Rochester), Cincinnati (vs. Philly), or Dayton (vs. Lansing, 2 pm), on to Cleveland

OPTION B
Friday drive to Birmingham AL (vs. Tennessee).
Saturday drive to Kodak TN (Tennessee vs. Chattanooga), or Lexington KY (vs. Rome).
Sunday drive to Charleston WV (West Virginia vs. Asheville), on to Cleveland

OPTION C
Friday drive to Oklahoma City (vs. El Paso).
Saturday drive to Springfield MO (vs. NW Arkansas), or Indianapolis (vs. Buffalo, 6 pm).
Sunday, if we do Springfield drive to Indianapolis (vs. Buffalo, 2:30 pm), on to Cleveland.

OPTION D
Friday drive to wherever we feel like stopping.
Saturday drive to Cedar Rapids (vs. Quad Cities, 6:30 pm).
Sunday drive to Chicago (White Sox vs. Toronto), on to Cleveland.

While in Cleveland, we likely will do...
Monday 7/30: Indianapolis at Columbus, or Louisville at Toledo
Tuesday 7/31: Great Lakes at Lake County (11 am) AND Bowie at Akron (7 pm)
Wednesday 8/1: Show starts in the evening, so take the day off
Thursday 8/2: Show in daytime, Bowling Green at Lake County (7 pm)
Friday 8/3: Show in daytime, Indianapolis at Toledo or possibly something in Columbus
Saturday 8/4: Show in daytime, Los Angeles AL at Cleveland
Sunday 8/5: Last day of show; possibly skip it to hit the road early?

OPTION 1
Sunday drive to Fort Wayne (vs. Lansing, 3 pm) or Toledo vs. Indianapolis (6:30 pm), begin driving to Cedar Rapids
Monday drive remainder to Cedar Rapids (vs. Beloit, 12 noon), drive to Des Moines (Iowa vs. Las Vegas). Other options would include Quad Cities at Peoria, Wisconsin at Clinton, Kane County at Burlington.
Tuesday drive to Omaha (vs. Salt Lake, 12 noon), drive to Kansas City (dinner with friends). Another option would be doing Las Vegas at Iowa again if it's an early game.
Wednesday drive to Texas

OPTION 2
Sunday drive to Charleston WV (West Virginia vs. Augusta)
Monday drive to Chattanooga (vs. Mississippi)
Tuesday drive to Rome GA (vs. Delmarva) or Pearl MS (Mississippi vs. Mobile)
Wednesday drive to Texas

OPTION 3
Sunday drive to Toledo (vs. Indianapolis, 6:30 pm)
Monday drive to Bowling Green KY (vs. South Bend), Nashville (vs. Sacramento), Memphis (vs. Fresno) or Jackson TN (vs. Tennessee, 6 pm)
Tuesday drive to Texas

I've heard bad things about Jackson and Omaha, so we may try to avoid those. Fortunately reviews were good on Lake County, Akron, Toledo, Columbus, Chattanooga, and Iowa.

So, what say you, graphers?  What places would you recommend hitting? What would you recommend avoiding? Any teams you expect to be tough? Any you expect to be easy? Any info on schedules for Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisville, Tulsa, or Columbus? Any info on game times?

If so, leave a comment!