Tag: Cards

Sases for Sox: Pete Ward

Pete Ward played for the White Sox from 1963-69. He first came up with the Orioles, but was blocked at third base by Brooks Robinson. The Sox acquired him in a blockbuster trade. The Sox got Pete Ward, Hoyt Wilhelm, Ron Hansen, and Dave Nicholson in exchange for Luis Aparicio and Al Smith. Ward went on to finish second in the 1963 AL Rookie of the Year balloting behind teammate Gary Peters.

Pete has reliable signed his mail forever, so I knew he would be a safe guy to send to. He certainly didn’t disappoint. Thanks Mr. Ward!

Send Date: 8/18/21
Receive Date: 8/28/21
Total Days: 10
Items Sent: 4 cards
Items Received: 4 cards
Pen Used: Blue Sharpie

       

Sases for Sox: J.C. Martin

Saturday’s mail brought a couple of returns. First one I opened was from J.C. Martin, who played for the Sox from 1959-67. Martin is most famous for his game winning bunt for the Mets in Game 4 of the 1969 World Series. It was a controversial play, as Martin was running inside of the baseline and was hit by the throw from the catcher.

J.C. is one of the most reliable mail signers there is, so I wasn’t surprised by this quick return. Thanks Mr. Martin!

Send Date: 8/18/21
Receive Date: 8/28/21
Total Days: 10
Items Sent: 4 cards
Items Received: 4 cards
Pen Used: Blue Sharpie

   

   

Sases for Sox: Bobby Jenks

This is without a doubt my favorite return since I started doing the whole TTM thing again. Big Bad Bobby Jenks hasn’t reliably signed his mail since 2007. But he has started signing again during his coaching stint with the Grand Junction Rockies of the Pioneer League. So I sent in a couple of Upper Deck cards. I should have sent more than 2, as I need Jenks on quite a few cards. But I didn’t want to risk pushing it and getting nothing back.

The cards have an abbreviated version of his already short signature, but I’ll take it. Thanks Bobby!

Send Date: 7/23/21
Receive Date: 8/9/21
Total Days: 17
Items Sent: 2 cards
Items Received: 2 cards
Pen Used: Blue Sharpie

           

Private Signing: Salome Barojas

Salome Barojas had an incredible 1983 season for the Sox. He was by far the best member of their bullpen in that division winning season. He put up a 170 ERA+ over 87 innings. Unfortunately, like many of his teammates, his magic ran out in the playoffs, as he gave up 4 hits and 2 runs in 1 inning. Still, they may not have gotten there without him.

Barojas has been an extremely difficult autograph in the years since his playing career ended. This is pretty much entirely due to the fact that he lives in Mexico. Luckily, there was a recent private signing conducted with Mr. Barojas in Mexico. The price was very reasonable, so I sent one of each Sox card I had. I’m very happy to add these to the collection!

           

           

     

Sases for Sox: Danny Tartabull

Danny Tartabull had a 10 year run as a very good hitter in the American League. From 1984 to 1994, had a 139 OPS+ on a 278/374/505 slash line. 1996 was his only season with the Sox, and it came after his peak, but he still put up a solid 111 OPS+. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by the fact that he consistently signs his mail for a pretty reasonable price. Now that I’ve finally tested the waters and knocked out the Upper Deck card I needed, I’ll probably send a few more cool cards and a baseball. Thanks Mr. Tartabull!

Send Date: 7/23/21
Receive Date: 8/6/21
Total Days: 14
Items Sent: 2 cards
Items Received: 2 cards
Fee: $20 ($10 per card)
Pen Used: Blue Sharpie

           

Private Signing: Nick Madrigal

It pains me to write this post. I was no great Nick Madrigal fan. In my opinion he didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the team. He seemed like he had never had fun in his life. But he was a solid player, with the potential to be more. He almost certainly wasn’t going to become a star, but a consistent 3-4 WAR player is very valuable, especially while they’re cheap.

If we had traded him in a package for a legit star, I wouldn’t have been too upset. But we traded 5 years of a good player for 1.3 years of a flaky reliever. Kimbrel has been great this year (at least until he got here), but he has been very inconsistent in his career. We already had a great, consistent, closer in Liam Hendriks. Aaron Bummer and Michael Kopech are more than capable of locking down the 7th and 8th. Ryan Tepera was a fine addition, and would have helped to solidify the middle of the bullpen, along with Garrett Crochet. So we traded something like 15-20 WAR (plus Codi Heuer) for a reliever we didn’t really need that will be lucky to be worth 4 WAR during his time here.

The only way I’ll come around on this trade is if Madrigal’s injury ends up being career-altering in some way, or if Kimbrel is a vital cog in winning the World Series this year and/or the next. Otherwise, I think we got fleeced. I guess this is payback for the Jose Quintana trade.

BM Authentics posted a Nick Madrigal signing shortly before he was injured. It was a very expensive signing, relative to what Madrigal has accomplished. My first inclination was to get a 16×20 done with a “Nicky Two Strikes” inscription, but Madrigal refused to do that inscription. So I ended up sending in just 2 cards. His rookie refractor, and another really nice refractor. At a cheaper price, I would have likely gotten 10 or so items done.

After the trade, I’m glad I only sent in the two items. In fact, I wish I had only gotten the rookie refractor done. I’d be pretty upset right now if I had paid through the nose to get 10 items done.

The two cards turned out great, and I’m glad to have them done. If Madrigal goes on to an All-Star career with the Cubs (UGH), at least I got a couple of cool items done.