TTM - Charlie Hough

Yes Steve this will be the 2nd autograph I am sending you. I'm just gonna start by saying that because I'm a lazy bastard and I still haven't mailed out my packages that I have set to go. And with Horrorfest going on right now I'm not sure when I will be able to get them out but I promise, everyone who has cards set aside by me, they will be mailed.

Now on to Mr. Hough. Charlie Hough was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1966 amateur draft out of Hialeah High School. He pitched in the low minor leagues of the Dodgers organization from 1967 -1969 with minimal success. During spring training in 1970 however he learned how to throw a knuckleball and his career immediately took a turn for the better. He led the Spokane Indians and the whole Pacific Coast League in saves and posted a 1.95 ERA.

He made his Major League debut on August 12, 1970 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, pitching 1/3 an inning with a walk and a strikeout to earn his first save. He didn't join the Dodgers bullpen on a full-time basis until 1973. He became a top reliever for the Dodgers until he was sold to the Texas Rangers in 1980. While with the Dodgers he has the distinction of being one of the pitchers to give up a home run to Reggie Jackson in game 6 of the 1977 World Series where Reggie hit three home runs in one game.

In Texas he was converted to a starting pitcher. He pitched for the Rangers from 1980 to 1990, making his first and only All-Star appearance in 1986. He left Texas as the leader in wins, strikeouts, complete games and losses. He was well known for throwing complete games and in 1984 finished the season with 17 complete games.

At the age of 43, in 1991, Charlie joined the Chicago White Sox where he pitched for two years. In 1993 he joined the expansion Florida Marlins and was the first starting pitcher for the team. He retired at the age of 46 after the 1994 season. He finished his playing career with a record of 216-216 with 2362 strikeouts, and a 3.75 ERA over 3801 and a third innings.

TTM - Xavier Hernandez

"The X Man" Xavier Hernandez is the latest acquisition to my autograph collection. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 4th round of the 1986 amateur draft. He made his Major League debut on June 4, 1989 as a starter. He pitch 6 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 8 hits, 3 walks, with 2 strike outs. Xavier has pitched for many teams throughout his career. He has pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds and the Texas Rangers before his career came to an end in 1998. He was a reliever for most of his career who finished with a record of 40-35 with 35 saves and a 3.90 ERA. He is currently the pitching coach for the Durham Bulls. They are the Triple A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Gary Gaetti is their hitting coach.

TTM - Bill Long

I still cannot believe these former players do not own sharpee's. Then again this guy played for the White Sox so what do you expect? Just kidding Steve, don't worry. Just so you know I do have one of these on its way to you. Merry belated Christmas! You'll also be receiving another autograph card which I will be highlighting next week. And now on to Mr. Bill Long.

Bill Long was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 2nd round of the 1981 amateur draft. Before the 1985 season he was traded to the Chicago White Sox with Ozzie Guillen, Luis Salazar and Tim Lollar for former Cy Young pitcher Lamarr Hoyt. Bill would make his Major League debut with the White Sox later that year on July 21, 1985. In his debut he pitched 5 innings giving up 3 ER on 7 hits and 1 BB with 5 K's. Long was traded to the cross-town Cubs in 1990. The following year in 1991 he signed with the Montreal Expos pitching just 1 2/3 innings before calling it a career. Bill Long finished his 6 year career with a record of 27-27 with a 4.37 ERA and 9 saves in 159 games, 52 as a starter.

Even more 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights

Bought another blaster for the 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights and I gotta say I'm not a big fan. The cards are just boring. Which is really funny because unlike most of you I liked the 2008 Topps set. Between the 2 blasters I bought I only got 5 doubles so thats a good thing. Just thought I would take the time to voice my displeasure with the set. However at this point i have a decent amount of the set and I gotta finish it now. So here's a want list for the remainder of the cards I need.

11, 27, 52, 62, 73, 114, 125, 126, 129, 160, 180, 216, 233, 237, 240, 275, 282, 289, 294, 306, 312, 324

**UPDATE**

Steve over at White Sox Cards just sent me 74 cards towards this set. I have to send a HUGE thank you out to him for the help. I have updated the above list to reflect the remaining cards needed for this set. He also sent me a ton of other cards for other sets which I will repost here as well. I will put up a post on his entire package once I finish posting the updated want lists.

**Update**

Big thanks go out to Scott over at Hand Collated. Just got a stack towards this set. List has been updated

**Update**

I'm reposting this again due to a nice chunk I got from fellow Mets fan Mark over at Stats on the Back and also some that I got for Christmas. I'm so close now I can almost taste it. Thank you very much Mark for your help.

TTM - Mark Leiter

Mark was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth round of the 1983 draft from Ramapo College of New Jersey. He made his major league debut for the New York Yankees on July 24th 1990 pitching 1 1/3 innings giving up 1 hit and 1 walk with no k's or allowing any runs. Mark was the definition of a journeyman who played for many teams throughout his professional career. He has played for the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, California Angels, San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos, Philadelphia Phillies, Seattle Mariners and the Milwaukee Brewers. Definitely not as strong a pitcher as his brother Al, he did however, enjoy an 11 year career in the big leagues, finishing his career with a 65-73 record and a 4.57 ERA. Mark had the dubious honor of leading the National League in losses in 1997 with 17.

2008 Goudey Want List

Alright with the blaster challenge finished I will now post a want list for this set. I planned on posting it yesterday but Steve over at The Easy Life was nice enough to share some of his doubles with me today so I decided to wait. I'm just working on the base set here. Sure it would be nice to have the whole set but there are WAY to many sp's in this set. I do have a few doubles left over for trade, not many but a few and I will keep my eyes peeled for whoever needs them. My list is as follows:

4, 11, 18, 19, 28, 31, 43, 58, 60, 61, 74, 102, 115, 116, 119, 121, 122, 126, 135, 138, 140, 142, 144, 152, 162, 163, 165, 171, 173, 186, 191, 200, 201, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230

Any help will be appreciated. I have a couple packages set to go out after the holiday and will be checking other want lists over it.

**Update**

Just got 13 cards from, yup you guessed it Steve over at White Sox Cards. This will be the last repost I promise!!! Thanks again Steve

**Update**

Just received four more cards towards this set from Greg over at Night Owl. I will make a full post on this package as well as Steve's on Wednesday. Thanks Greg

2008 Topps Heritage

I love this set. Back when I first started collecting we had nothing like this. That makes me sound old. Anyway, I like the old time look and the reflector and refractor cards are great. Unfortunately there are so many SP's it drives me insane. Here is a list of what I still need for the following set:

Green Back:

5, 11, 13, 14, 19, 23, 26, 32, 35, 42, 45, 57, 60, 64, 65, 67, 69, 78, 81, 82, 83, 84, 92, 116, 122, 129, 155, 159, 173, 186, 187, 195, 211, 231, 239, 256, 263, 267, 277, 279, 281, 283, 285, 297, 298, 301, 315, 321, 324, 330, 332, 334, 337, 347, 381, 415, 426, 427, 429, 430, 431, 433, 436, 441, 443, 444, 447, 449, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 459, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 472, 475, 477, 479, 480, 482, 483, 484, 486, 488, 489, 490, 491, 492, 493, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499, 500

Black Back:

13, 14, 22, 23, 28, 35, 52, 62, 65, 82, 83, 90, 122, 135, 176, 177, 186, 196, 263, 267, 291, 325, 334, 335, 338, 371,

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have a bunch of doubles as well as some refractors/reflectors/autographs i've got from this set I'd be will to trade. Please let me know. Thank you

**Update**

Got 19 cards yesterday towards this set from Steve over at White Sox Cards. Once again thank you and I will create a separate post on the whole package in the next couple days once I get a chance to do some scanning. For now I have updated my list above

1993 Studio

Just like the 1991 Studio I posted a couple days ago I also got what I have from this set out of a lot of cards. I figure I put up the 91 want list so I may as well through up a 93 want list as well. This set looks nicer than the 91's. Maybe its the phony autographs on them but they just look nice. Please help with this one as well. Thanks all

4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 15, 22, 25, 27, 31, 39, 40, 41, 47, 48, 52, 57, 60, 61, 65, 70, 71, 78, 80, 84, 87, 89, 90, 93, 95, 96, 97, 102, 103, 105, 109, 110, 118, 121, 122, 124, 127, 132, 134, 139, 140, 141, 145, 146, 147, 151, 152, 154, 155, 156, 157, 159, 160, 168, 173, 174, 177, 178, 182, 184, 186, 193, 196, 197, 201, 206, 207, 210, 213, 214, 215, 217, 218,

As you can see I am much closer on this one than the 1991. I'd like to finish off both. Please help if you can.

**Update**

Steve over at The Easy Life was able to help me out with some of this set. I got 7 more cards from him towards it. Thanks buddy. I've updated the above list.

TTM - Mark Knudson

This is another of the recent autographs I have received through the mail. And Mr Knudson actually owns a sharpie so theres a plus right off the bat. Mark is a former major league pitcher. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in 1982 from Colorado State University. He made his Major League debut on July 8, 1985 with a horrible performance where he went 7 innings, giving up 14 hits and 7 runs with 1 walk and only 1 strike out. On August 15th 1986 (My sixth birthday by the way) Knudson along with Don August were traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Danny Darwin. Both of which I also have TTM autographs for. He pitched sporadically for Milwaukee over the next two seasons, and in 1989 compiled an 8-5 record with a 3.35 ERA. At the beginning of the 1991 season he came down with a virus that severely affected his performance for the rest of his career. He only pitched 35 innings that year and did not pitch at all in 1992. In 1993 he tried to become a broadcaster for the then expansion Colorado Rockies. He would actually wind up pitching for them. After just 4 games and posting a horrible 22.24 ERA he retired from the sport. He finished his career with a 24-29 record and a 4.72 ERA

1983 Topps

The bulk of what I have so far towards this set is thanks to a 5000 card lot I bought at the local card shop. I had a couple strays from this set but now I have a good chunk so I have to finish it. Thats where you all come in. Please help me put another check mark in the complete set column. Cards I still need:

2, 10, 15, 20, 30, 35, 36, 40, 41, 42, 49, 55, 60, 61, 63, 65, 70, 71, 80, 82, 83, 100, 101, 103, 105, 112, 118, 121, 123, 126, 127, 129, 137, 140, 145, 146, 150, 155, 156, 163, 168, 177, 191, 198, 203, 216, 217, 220, 229, 230, 240, 241, 249, 250, 255, 256, 257, 258, 270, 273, 285, 289, 300, 305, 306, 307, 312, 313, 322, 325, 332, 338, 346, 350, 358, 360, 361, 364, 367, 368, 370, 372, 375, 383, 386, 388, 389, 390, 391, 393, 397, 398, 399, 401, 406, 407, 410, 417, 420, 425, 428, 437, 459, 463, 471, 472, 474, 482, 491, 498, 500, 501, 505, 507, 508, 520, 525, 527, 534, 535, 536, 544, 555, 570, 572, 576, 578, 579, 580, 585, 589, 593, 600, 602, 603, 608, 610, 612, 615, 619, 626, 630, 642, 645, 652, 660, 661, 665, 685, 688, 693, 697, 700, 710, 715, 720, 721, 734, 735, 740, 743, 748, 765, 766, 769, 770, 782, 787, 792

As usual any help will be greatly appreciated and I will certainly get something back to you for it.

TTM - Scott Livingstone

Got some more autographs through the mail recently. We'll start first with Scott Livingstone. First let me start by saying damn you Scott and damn the invention of the ballpoint pen. Ahh, now that thats out of the way. Scott was a third baseman drafted out of Texas A&M in 1988 by the Detroit Tigers. He made his Major League debut on July 19, 1991 going 3 for 5 with an rbi. During his career he played for the Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals and the Montreal Expos. He played his final game on September 26, 1998. Never a power bat but he did finish his 8 seasons in the bigs with a respectable .281 batting average and struck out only 189 times in 1533 career at bats. Word of advise Scott, invest in a damn sharpie!!!!

1989 Fleer

Going back to the 80's for this one. This is another set I started back when I was a kid and of course is not finished. Just like all my other sets. Anyway thought I'd through a list up for some help, here goes

90, 407, 468

**Update**

Got a great stack of cards here from Paul over at Paul's Random Stuff. If you have not checked out his blog you should definitely do so. Great site. And a great stack here. Thanks a lot man. I'll do a more in depth post at a later time. I would go into further detail now but I use Steve over at The Easy Life for his scanner and he's probably busy with his wife right now. Just kidding buddy. Much love, Happy Birthday!!! For now I have updated my want list. Please help me finish this one off. Thanks all!

**Update**

Just got 8 more cards towards this set from Steve over at White Sox Cards. Thanks again Steve. Gonna look for some more stuff for ya soon. See what else I got for ya. The list above has been updated.

**Update**

2 More cards towards this set. Big thanks go out to Marks at Stats on the Back.

1987 Topps

I have to send a very big THANKYOU to My Buddy Steve over at The Easy Life. We had a flood a couple years back and I lost a big chunk of this set to the flood. Steve gave me close to 400 cards to get me very close to completing this set. Here's a list of the remaining cards need to finish up this set.

200, 393, 522

Steve loves this set. Says he just likes the wood grain look. This was the first year I actually started collecting cards and I am somewhat partial to this set as well for that reason. I'm so close. Please help me finish this one off.

**Update**

Just got three more cards towards this set from Steve over at White Sox cards. I've updated the list above. Big thank you for the help. I'm so close to finishing this one off now I can taste it. Tastes like woodgrain. Mmmm Woodgrain!

**Update**

Got a bunch more cards for this set. Thank yous go out Steve and Ben. I'm soooo close. Just 9 cards to go!!!

**Update**

And then there were 3. Almost there

2008 Topps Updates and Highlights

Picked up a blaster the other day. For the most part it was fairly disappointing. I did however get two cards that made me really happy. We'll start first with a Tim Lincecum All Star Gold.


This was in one of the first packs open so I was thinking this was gonna be a great blaster but aside from that the only other great card, at lease in my mind, was the Ray Knight Ring of Honor. I like the look of these cards and the fact that its Ray Knight just makes it that much better. Ray was a major part of one of my first baseball memories, the 86 World Series. Here is the card and a scene from the good ol days of the NY Mets






Also while searching for this great scene above I came across this great video. Any Met fan no check that any baseball fan should get a kick out of this.

TTM - Kent Anderson

Just got another autograph back in the mail. This time its Kent Anderson. No matter how many searches I do for this guy I cannot find any information on his career other than this. Kent made his major league debut with the California Angels on 4/15/89 and played his final game on 9/6/90 also with the Angels. Thats it. If anyone has any information about this guy feel free to comment becuz I certainly couldn't find any but its another autograph to add to the collection.

2008 Goudey Day 2 Part 1

Here we go again. Day 2 of my Goudey experience. The first blaster box was great. Lets see what box 2 has in store.

Pack 1

Larry Doby
Brandon Webb
Jorge Posada
Ian Kinsler
Hideki Matsui
Prince Fielder
Michael Young
Goudey Presidents James Buchanan

Score: 1. Well this box didn't start off to good. One point for Prince Fielder and minus a million for these stupid president cards. What is it about all these card sets doing President cards?

Pack 2

Joe Blanton
Roy Oswalt
Jonathan Papelbon
Magic Johnson Mini
Graig Nettles
Jeremy Hermida
Bobby Doerr
Yankee Stadium Legacy Urban Shocker

Score: 7. Gets points for top top heavy pitching and the Magic Johnson Mini. But the real reason this gets a 7 has got to be Urban Shocker. Wow thats a name. Who the hell names their kid Urban Shocker?!?!?

Pack 3

Ben Sheets
Aaron Harang
James Shields
Bob Gibson Mini
Trevor Hoffman
Brandon Phillips
Adrian Gonzalez
David Wright B&W SP

Score: 7. The David Wright card is really sweet and I like the Bob Gibson mini, more good pitching but still cant go higher

Pack 4

Derek Jeter
Hanley Ramirez
Andruw Jones Game used bat
Ken Griffey Jr
Randy Johnson
Hank Blaylock
Don Larsen

Score: 8. This pack has a potential 300 game winner in Randy Johnson, potential hall of famer Derek Jeter, Don Larsen and a man who if it wasn't for injuries we could be talking about having the homerun record in Ken Griffey Jr. Heck the only reason its not higher is because Andruw Jones forgot how to play baseball.

So right now we have a tie. Pack 8 from blaster 1 and pack 4 from blaster 2. 4 more packs to go. Which pack will prevail? Tune in tonight to find out.

1986 Topps

I recently read a post at Night Owl Cards that said these cards were ugly. This is one of my favorite sets. I do have to admit I am slightly biased. This was not only the last time the Mets won the World Series but I was 6 years old at the time and these were the first baseball cards I ever saw. The funny thing is, even as a kid I never owned any. I didn't actually start collecting until 87. But these cards always held a soft spot in my heart. (Tear) Anyway, earlier this year I bought about 20, if I remember correctly, rack packs for $1 each. I got really close to the set, however I also ended up with tons of doubles and triples. I will be sending a bunch over to Night Owl but I still need a few more. Please help if you can.

3, 5, 6, 51, 53, 171, 267, 270, 300, 305, 350, 377, 389, 390, 455, 485, 506, 580, 610, 683, 790

So what do you all think? Are these cards ugly?
**Update**

Got a Christmas gift today in the form of 1 card off this list. It was Darryl Strawberry, a man with one of the most fluid swings i've ever seen. Big thanks to Mark at Stats on the Back for the help. Almost there.

2008 Goudey Day 1 Part 2

Ok we're back for the second half of blaster #1.

Pack 5

David Wright
Troy Tulowitzki
Tom Glavine
Shane Victorino
Chone Figgins
Mark Buehrle
Wladimir Balentien (Rookie)
Sport Royalty Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Score: 5. I really wanted to give this pack a higher score. Really! I mean with David Wright and Tom Glavine, as well as Mark Buehrle. (Got the White Sox on the Brain. Been working on some cards for White Sox Cards for a trade) But Jackie Joyner???? Come on I just cant give a pack with her a good score. Sorry.

Pack 6

Ryan Braun
Eric Byrnes
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Ian Kennedy (Rookie)
Pedro Martinez
Matt Holliday
Dmitri Young
Yankee Stadium Legacy Tony Lazzeri

Score: 7. Looks like we have a tie going so far. This pack gets points for Braun, just cuz he's Braun. Gotta give points for the regular Pedro and I have Matt Holliday on my fantasy team. Also we have the six syllable wonder Saltalamacchia so he gets points but it falls just short of taking the lead because of the Yankee Stadium Legacy card. F*ck the Pinstripes, I bleed Orange and Blue!!!!

Pack 7

Josh Willingham
Clay Buchholz (Rookie)
Khalil Greene
Edwin Encarnacion
Justin Verlander
Chad Cordero
Jason Bay
Ken Griffey Jr B&W Sp

Score: 5. I like the Buchholz rookie, Bay and the Griffey sp but this pack loses points because I had Verlander on my fantasy team this year and he pissed me off.

Pack 8

Jimmy Rollins
Aramis Ramirez
JJ Putz
Tom Seaver (Mini)
Torii Hunter
Paul Konerko
Scott Rolen
Billy Wagner

Score: 8. I hate to do it I REALLY hate to do it, but this pack will take the lead for multiple reasons. First and foremost not only do I get Tom Seaver, possibly the best pitcher in Mets history but its a Mini, that make me want to give this pack a 10 right there. I also had Hunter and Ramirez on my fantasy team, and even though Wagner was somewhat of a disappointment for the Mets he's still a Met, well sorta. The only reason this pack loses points is because of Jimmy F'n Rollins. I absolutely hate this guy. I hope he gets abducted by aliens and is repeatedly sodomized with anal probe after anal probe. Jackass!!!

And on that note, I will leave you with that image dancing in your heads. So far Pack 8 blaster 1 is in the lead, regardless of that stupid Rollins. Dick!

Be back tomorrow with Blaster #2.

Goudey Trifecta

To be honest when I first saw these cards I was not a big fan. I like the way the 08 Goudey's look but I do not like the Derek Jeter/Ken Griffey Jr says at the bottoms of the cards. However I recently picked up 2 blaster boxes for this set. After much deliberation I decided with My Buddy Steve over at The Easy Life collecting them we could help each other out with the set so what the heck. I will run through blaster #1 today, blaster #2 tomorrow and have a want list for the remaining cards up on Tuesday. I will score each pack as I see fit. I do this because I can. Mwahaha!!!

Pack 1

Johnny Bench
Phil Rizzuto
Clayton Kershaw (Rookie)
Manny Ramirez
Brad Hawpe
Phil Niekro
Alex Rios
Sport Royalty Emmitt Smith

Score: 4. Not much I really care for here but I will give it points for the old guys and the Emmitt Smith w/o the stupid Griffey/Jeter says

Pack 2

Jay Bruce (Rookie)
Russell Martin
Tony Perez
Scott Kazmir
Billy Butler
BJ Upton
Magglio Ordonez
Jeremy Guthrie
Yankee Stadium Legacy Babe Ruth

Score: 2. I give this pack points for the Babe. Other than that it loses points because of the Kazmir. Just reminds me of one of the stupidest trades in NY Mets History!!!

Pack 3

Tim Lincecum
Larry Doby
Brandon Webb
Jake Peavy (Mini)
Ralph Kiner
Andruw Jones
Sparky Anderson
Vladimir Guerrero Black & White SP

Score: 7. I like this pack. Pitcher heavy at the top with some great pitchers. Love the Peavy Mini. I love mini cards! We got Ralph Kiner, as a Mets fan need I say more? Sparky Anderson. I got a TTM autograph from him so that helps and I like these B&W SP's.

Pack 4

Hideki Matsui
Prince Fielder
Michael Young
Pedro Martinez Game Used Jersey
Craig Nettles
Jorge Posada
Ian Kinsler

Score: 10. I hate to say it but we already have a winner Ladies and Gents! For me to not give this pack a 10 would be crazy. Pedro game used......please wait while I change my shorts. Ok i'm back and while I was gone I decided this pack will be disqualified. Score: 0. I cannot in good conscience include this pack it just would not be fair. (Don't worry it knows in its mind it really won. And isn't that what matters?)




Ok, thats all for now. Will post the second half of this blaster later today. So far in the lead we have Pack 3

Old Stuff

As I said previously I have a lot of older sets that I have that I'm trying to complete. I thought I'd start off with one of them. We'll start with 1989 Donruss since I'm fairly close to finishing this one. I don't know how many cheap boxes i've bought to get this $5 set completed but the fun of going through them is definitely worth it. Here's what I still need:

26, 96, 101, 232, 238, 245, 250, 408, 458, 590

Any help would be greatly appreciated and I have plenty for trade. Let me know what you need and I will be more than happy to help.

**Update**

I received the 2 remaining 1990 Donruss I need so that set is now complete. A big thank you goes out to Jim over at Taste Like Dirt for finishing that one off for me.

**Update**

Got a Christmas gift from Mark at Stats on the Back, 2 more cards towards the 89 Donruss set. Thanks again Mark. Lets Go Mets!!!