This Week’s TTM Cast
A full recap of all things from spring training: the goods, the bads, and the uglies, plus Troy Rutter and I share what was in our respective mail boxes. We’ll also talk about international mailing in the all-new Grapher DIY segment.
You can listen here.
TTM Returns
Darrin Nelson
The former Vikings and Chargers running back was a guest on TTMCast a few years ago. He signed four cards for me in ten days.
Rich Camarillo
Well-traveled as a punter, Camarillo played for five teams and appeared in five Pro Bowls, mostly with the Phoenix Cardinals. He signed for me in 10 days.
Brad Mills
Known as Terry Francona’s right-hand man with the Phillies, Red Sox, and Indians, Mills signed this for me in about three months. It’s off to Bryn Smith next!
Gene Garber
Who doesn’t love sidearm/submarine pitchers? The former Braves closer signed these in about two weeks.
Jeff King
There aren’t many TTMs to be had in Montana, but the first overall pick of the 1986 MLB Draft signed these for me up there in about three weeks.
Ray Washburn
I found this 1963 Post Cereal card at a show for a buck, and the reliable Cardinals pitcher, now 85, signed it in a couple weeks. He pitched a no-hitter in 1968 and was part of two World Series winning teams in St. Louis (1964 and ’67).
Paul Gruber
Criminally underrated, Gruber played his entire career with Tampa Bay after being picked fourth overall in 1988 out of Wisconsin. He didn’t enjoy a lot of winning in college or in the pros but he was one of the first players elected to the Bucs’ Ring of Honor.
He signed these in two weeks.
Mike Rozier
The 1983 Heisman winner has always been an excellent signer, inking these for me in two weeks. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and made two Pro Bowl teams during his NFL career.
Kimble Anders
The 90s were a great time for receiving fullbacks and Anders was the AFC’s best. He signed these in a couple weeks.
Alan Bannister
I always like getting former Indians via mail, and Bannister spent part of the early 80s with them. These came back in two weeks.
Fred Kendall
Jason’s father was a solid catcher in his own right, seeing action in parts of three different decades, primarily with the Padres.
He signed these in two weeks.
Spring Training: My eight-day graphing bender
When people ask me of my religious preferences, my response is typically “baseball.” After all, there is a wonderful book on the history of baseball stadia called Green Cathedrals. F. Scott Fitzgerald called the sport “the faith of fifty million people.” Buck O’Neil, John Thorn, and T.F. Dailey all have made the connection as well.
Muslims make the hajj to Mecca. Those of Judeo-Christian tradition often visit the Holy Land. Buddhists may visit the Bodhi Tree. For us Baseballists, spring training is one of those pilgrimages.
Back in the summer of 2023, Jeff Baker told me he and his wife were getting a house in Fort Myers, FL for a couple months and invited me down for a week of spring training. I jumped at the chance, planning and researching and booking my flight almost immediately. Unfortunately his untimely death just after Thanksgiving threw my plans into disarray. And so, I pivoted: if I was going to be going solo, it was off to Arizona instead because at least I know a few graphers who typically go there.
The trip started Wednesday morning, with my alarm going off at 3 AM, an airport arrival at 4, a 6 AM takeoff, and finally arriving in Surprise, AZ to meet up with a few friends to visit the Rangers’ facility at 9. Whew.
Jeff was certainly there in spirit. I remember when he wrote about last year’s trip to Florida he mentioned at least one big autograph hit in Pedro Martinez, as well as several others, mostly Red Sox prospects.
DAY ONE: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
I had to knock the rust off quickly after spending five months without doing any serious graphing. I missed shortstop prospect Sebastian Wolcott because I had nothing for him– completely forgetting that I had blank sweet spot cards for each team, so I walked right by him.
The phrase “I’ll get you guys later” was the most common thing I heard. I did at least get prospects Danyer Cuevas and Owen White each on sweet spot cards, and former player Ian Kinsler on a card as he worked the line by the back fields. Kinsler is now a special assistant to the GM for Texas.
Blake Taylor added his sig to my 2021 Heritage Astros Rookies card, and Adrian Sampson signed my only card of him.
Making my way to the front fields, I got Jon Gray on three as he watched the pitchers and chatted with fans. I swear, he would have signed 20 if someone asked. When the pitchers and catchers finished, Antoine Kelly and Grant Anderson each signed a pair, while Diego Castillo, Jose Urena , and Andrew Knizner each signed one.
As a Cleveland native, I knew I had to hit the Guardians’ camp my first day, especially since I had heard Tuesday was an absolute bonanza at the parking lot.
The start was rough but it finished out well. I got Gavin Williams, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, Xzavion Curry, and David Fry on sweet spot cards. Anthony Banda signed four, Myles Straw did two, and Logan Allen, Austin Hedges, and Andrew Walters each signed one.
At this point I was dead tired, my feet were killing me, and I was pretty hungry since I was running off a 3:30 AM Mountain Dew and the little bag of graham crackers on my flight. But as I drove out I saw people still waiting at the Reds facility so I figured it was worth a stop. Dinner could wait!
And I’m glad I went by– I had some good talks with several collectors there, grabbed some intel on places and times… and realized when Tyler Stephenson pulled up and stopped to sign that I left my set card in the car.
Stephenson did at least sign one card that I managed to get into my box. Nick Marini and Jake Fraley each signed one as well. Elly de la Cruz, Spencer Steer, and Matt McLain signed mostly for kids.
The goal for my first day was 30 autographs, and I passed that. My next goals were just to do better each day.
DAY TWO: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22
Most people I knew said they were going to go to Seattle’s complex so I figured I’d try them out as well.
Once again the phrase “I’ll get you guys later” was heard a lot. George Kirby, Colt Emerson, Dominic Canzone, Mitch Haniger, Mitch Garver, Cal Raleigh, Sam Haggerty, and Taylor Trammell all uttered it to me– usually after signing for a few people but before they got to me. I have terrible timing.
The day started slooooow. I’m talking Yasmani Grandal taking off for second slow. The gates opened at 9 and we were told no one was coming out until 10:30. After a while we saw a group of pitchers heading for the back fields and ran after them. I got Cody Bolton, Gregory Santos, Luis Castillo, and Emerson Hancock each on a card, and Casey Lawrence on two. Castillo spent a solid twenty minutes signing, chatting, and taking photos.
As prospects made their way down and pitchers left, I got Tai Peete on a card. Kirby came back and signed for a few and right before he got to me gave a “Gotta go guys” and took off. I did at least get Bryan Woo, Andres Munoz, and Levi Stoudt on a card each, and Tyson Miller finished off a 2021 Heritage dual card that had been signed by Jimmy Lambert.
Heading back to where guys were taking BP, I got M’s President and former pitcher Jerry DiPoto and manager Scott Servais to sign after they chatted. Dylan Moore, Samad Taylor, and Ty Buttrey each signed two, and Cole Tucker signed the only card I carried. Tucker is an incredibly nice guy and would have signed a ton but sometimes I have grapher paranoia: I had a set card that I needed him to sign so I went for only that one to start.
I also got a bunch of sweet spot cards done: Blake Hunt, Peyton Alford, Troy Taylor, Josh Hood, and two guys that I forgot since I couldn’t write them down. Hopefully I can figure them out soon.
After the Mariners I figured I’d try my luck with a full exit session on the Reds. But when I pulled up, the complex was dead. A few of the previous day’s collectors were around and they said practice let out early and many were gone… including most of the guys I needed. So rather than sit there or drive over to somewhere else, I hit the Guardians again.
And I’m glad I did: I had seen that Anthony Gose had been signing a bit, so when he came walking out to his car I ran down to the exit for him. Let me preface this by mentioning I don’t run: I play goalie in soccer, street hockey, and floorball just so I don’t have to run as much as others. But I’m glad I did: he stopped and signed all three cards I had. That was the shock of the day as he’s been a tough autograph for years. The rest of the time was pretty slow again. I did get Micah Pries and Doug Nikhazy on sweet spot cards.
Chase Delauter signed but refused my sweet spot card (“I can’t sign anything without my picture”). Scott Barlow and Dayan Frias each signed one, and Tyler Beede signed three.
I ran back to Peoria, hoping to get the Padres leaving. I had little luck though. Pitcher Steven Wilson did at least sign a sweet spot card for me so I wasn’t leaving empty-handed.
Overall, it was an improvement on the day before and I felt like I was starting to hit my stride.
DAY THREE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23
I met up with my friend Kelly over at the White Sox camp to start Day 3. This was the first day of games for several teams, so I didn’t know what to expect. But the White Sox were third on my list of set needs so I knew I had to try them soon.
Darrin Jackson came by first and signed the four cards I had of him, followed by Kevin Pillar signing one, Nicky Delmonico four, and Jesse Chavez one. Andrew Benintendi did one too as I had yet another bout of grapher paranoia: I had heard he was signing everything, super friendly, but I had to make sure I got my set card done. I suppose discretion is the better part of valor.
Brett Phillips signed four and Gavin Sheets one, followed by a run of pitchers: Nick Nastrini on one, Ky Bush on two, Jared Shuster on one, Dominic Leone hit one, Jake Woodford signed two, Michael Kopech signed one, Dylan Cease signed one, Garrett Crochet signed one, Mike Soroka did one, and Chad Kuhl inked three. That was a major rush as they all seemed to come right in a row. I just barely missed Erick Fedde, unfortunately.
As the field behind us let out, we had a major shocker: Yoan Moncada came over and signed, joined by Luis Robert, AND Eloy Jimenez. I never expected to get any of them, much less all three in a five-minute span. I was so shocked that I completely blanked on who Jimenez was as he made his way toward me.
I stuck around a while for some of the minor leaguers as well, getting Brooks Gosswein on a card, Jared Kelley on two, and Jacob Gonzalez and Lucas Gordon each on one.
Signing sweet spot cards: Carlos Perez, Edgar Quero, Bryan Ramos, Rafael Ortega, Brooks Baldwin, Tanner Banks, Rikuu Nishida, Tyler Neslony, Jesus Mendez, and Manuel Veloz.
I made my way over to Scottsdale in a daze after this amazing start, knowing anything there was just a bonus at this point. I arrived a little later to the Giants than I had hoped, but was told I didn’t miss much. Just as I arrived and was finding out where to go, Pat Burrell was signing and I went into dead sprint mode for the second time in two days because my lone attempt at getting him back in 2004 was unsuccessful.
I missed seeing that Pablo Sandoval is with the Giants– fortunately the sweet spot cards came in handy again as I got him on one. Matt Williams signed a card and took a photo with me: I loved having him on the 1997 Indians.
Bob Melvin signed three, Lamont Wade signed one, and I helped someone get Amir Garrett on one as well since I had a brain cramp and left my jersey card in the car in my mad rush.
Farhan Zaidi, Garvin Alston, and Jon Miller each signed sweet spot cards. Miller was always a favorite of mine for his ESPN work. I mentioned that I used to do play-by-play for hockey and he said “I did hockey until I mispronounced puck once…”
Michael Conforto and Otto Lopez each signed a card, Alex Cobb and Mike Yastrzemski did two each. My grapher paranoia struck again as I heard Yaz would do more and I saw him sign four for a few others. Signing sweet spot cards were Blake Sabol, Logan Webb, and Luke Jackson.
Tomorrow: The second half of a full week of autograph chasing in Arizona.
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