TTMCast This Week
Clemente Lisi comes in to talk about the Stanley Cup Finals, NHL Draft, Copa America, Euro 2024, and his trip to the recent Chantilly show. Plus Troy and I share some autograph successes, cover all the other hobby topics and drop a giveaway or two.
You can listen to this week’s show here.
TTM Successes
Masanori Murakami
I was 11 years old when Hideo Nomo made his MLB debut, and it was at the same time that I first heard the name Masanori Murakami. Nomo’s predecessor by 30 years, “Mashi” was the first Japanese Major Leaguer, closing out games for the Giants in the mid 1960s. He has been accessible by mail for several years so I finally got his lone card form his playing days, the 1965 Topps rookie he shares with Dick Estelle.
It came back signed in under a month.
Note that you’ll need Japanese stamps for your SASE, or to enclose $5 for return postage.
The Outbox
With a little extra money, I figured I’d hunt around and pick up a few more rookie cards of Hall of Famers to mail out. I was able to snap up Chris Hanburger, Joe DeLamielleure, Dan Fouts, and Joe Schmidt in the Football Hall; Guy Carbonneau and Craig Patrick in the Hockey Hall; and Mike Krzyzewski and Doug Collins in the Basketball Hall, all off eBay for under $65 total.
From SportLots I grabbed Bud Selig’s Allen & Ginter card for a buck. And I ventured out to the Dallas Card Show where I grabbed Tony Dorsett, Randy White, and Jim Palmer, all for $65 total as well.
I’ll have enough stamps to mail out 50 requests inside the US and 25 to Canada, so I’ll be keeping myself busy writing for a bit.
In-Person Report: Arkansas at Frisco
Graphing is much easier when temperatures aren’t in the triple digits. I skipped on Corpus Christi due to a lack of players I needed and the oppressive heat; so when Friday’s high was only 88 degrees, I figured I’d do pretty well with Arkansas.
The Travelers have eight of the Mariners’ top 30 prospects, and Cole Young and Harry Ford sit at #22 and #23 respectively on the MLB Top 100.
Over at the batting cages, I was able to get Victor Labrada, followed by Brock Rodden. Both are pretty strict one-per-person signers and Labrada will definitely remember you if you try asking again later. Kaden Polcovich and Ben Ramirez signed everything just before they went in to hit while Harry Ford and Cole Young both told us they would sign after they finish: and they did, each signing one for each of us.
Inside the park, we got Lolo Sanchez and Alberto Rodriguez as they finished at the cage, signing everything. Down at the field, manager Christian Colon and coaches Josh Morgan and Michael Peoples were both willing to sign everything. Ben Williamson also was a one-per-person signer, while Young and Rodden repeated their one-per-person performance for anyone who asked. At the bullpen, Garrett Davila signed my card, showing it off to his teammates since it was his first one, coming when he was in Rookie ball with the Burlington Royals.
Postgame, despite an 8-2 hammering the Travelers were still down for signing on the way out, with starting pitcher Michael Morales also signing one-per. Ford told everyone pregame that he would sign afterward, and he did, inking one-per on his way off the field before the fireworks began.
Outside, my Frisco needs have worn pretty thin, but since only two of us were out front, a few toughies were willing to sign. Aaron Zavala, Abimelec Ortiz, and Cooper Johnson– all of whom have straight up rejected me at times this season– were willing to sign one each for my friend Arron and me.
Overall, I got 35 cards signed: not bad considering my limited needs for Frisco and the fact I didn’t make any custom cards this time.
Next week, we have the All-Star festivities and I’m planning on seeing the Northwest Arkansas Naturals at least once.
Related Stories:
TTM This Week: Music and Baseball, Haul of Hall of Fame Autographs
TTM This Week: Card Life Talk, Football Autographs in the Mailbox
TTM This Week: The Show Returns; Reliable Football Signers
TTM This Week: The Mailbox Provides and International Mailing Info
TTM This Week: Collector’s Corner; Weekly Returns; One Frank Tanana
TTM This Week: Returns, In Person Sigs, and Your TTM Origin Story
TTM This Week: Hall of Famer Rookies and Set Hits, and Caveat Emptor on a World Series MVP
TTM This Week: More Hall of Famer RCs and an Appeal to the NHL
