TTM Success - Mark Loretta

I had a very pleasant surprise in my mailbox last week.  Way back in June I sent out four TTMs.  I got all of them back except Mark Loretta's.  But after I sent it out I also read that he had taken a position with Cubs as bench coach.  So it wasn't a big surprise that I hadn't heard from him since his PO Box was based out of Rancho Santa Fe, California.  I had pretty much forgotten about the request as depending on who I'm sending too many never get returned, but Matt had a great track record as a TTM signer so I was really happy to see this in my mail box last week.  According to the Cubs website Mark is no longer listed as Bench Coach and I haven't found any articles about him recently so I'm not sure if he's found a new position yet. But thanks to Mark Loretta for helping me complete my Brewers TTM project by filling in the 1998 spot and helping me close out the first 3 decades of the team.

TTM Stats
Address used
Mark Loretta
PO Box 9505
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067

Date Sent: 6/10/19
Date Recieved: 2/7/2020

TTM Success Rick Waits 0r Finally Finishing the 80s

I had a very pleastant surprise in the mail box yesterday.  I got another TTM back and this one finally fills the last 80's spot in my Brewers TTM project.  Like Tom Tellmann who I featured earlier I sent Rick Waits his 84 and 85 Topps cards.  As you can see Rick has a bold and beautiful signature.  I decided that Rick's 84 card would take the year spot.  Now onto the finishing the 90's and 00's.

Date Sent: 6/10/19
Date Recieved: 7/5/19

Address Used:
PO Boz 1001
Palagonia, AZ 85624

TTM Success - Tom Tellmann

Wow we have a heat wave going on up here in Alaska.  Anchorage hit 90 degrees yesterday. That's a new record not just for the date, but for an all time high temperature for the city, since they started keeping track of that sort of thing.  Whew.  I've also got other big news, but I'll save that for a later post.  Instead I'm going to ply you with a few more successful TTM's.  First up is a couple nicely signed Tom Tellmann cards.  I strategically sent out a quartet of TTM requests early last month.  I only need two more year's from the 80's and that decade is closed for my project.  I sent Tom his 1984 and 1985 Topps cards, that's last two years I need in the decade.  As a rule I'm trying to get a different player for each year, so Tom will only get to count for one of those year's, but I'll spoil this right now and tell you I just got back another TTM today that finished off the decade and I'll feature that success later.  

Date Sent: 6/10/19
Date Received: 6/27/19

Address Used:
1021 Yankee Bush Rd
Warren, PA 16365-8536

TTM Success - Frank Linzy

It's been awhile since I've had a TTM success and seems like even longer since I posted here.  But I finally can put the 1970's to bed in my Brewers TTM Project.  1973 was the last year I needed to get a card signed by a unique Brewer.  I figured I had better start making an effort as a lot of the guys from that era are starting to pass away and even fewer are signing TTM.

Luckily there was one guy that was pretty dependable, still with us, and was a Brewer and had a Brewer's card in 1973.  Frank Linzy.  Frank played for the Brewers in 1972 and 1973, well before my time, as I was born in 1973.  Frank is now 78 and still has a great signature.  I'll let Tony L. over at Off Hiatus give the indepth story on Frank in his meet the Brewers series, but according to his wikipedia page Frank was one of those great fireman pictures of the late 60's with 110 saves to his credit.

Thanks Mr. Lizny for being my 1973 auto and rounding out the decade.

 Date Sent:  Some time late April
Date Recieved: May 24th, 2019
Address used
38947 E 151st St. S.
Coweta, OK 74429

TTM Success - Franklin Stubbs

Wow it's been a long time since I've had a TTM success.  But it's also been awhile since I sent any out.  I had seen some recent success with Franklin Stubbs.  And the beauty is I also got to fill a hole in my TTM project filling in the 1993 Topps and Donruss spots.

Address Used: 

C/O The Visalia Rawhides

300 N Giddings St

Visalia, Ca 93291

Date Sent: 8/20/18

Date Received: 9/17/18

TTM Success Junior Guerra

I am always excited to get a TTM back. Especially if it's a player I haven't gotten yet.  And doubley it if it's on a Topps year I haven't gotten yet.  And triply if it's an actually active roster player.  And finally if he's actually pretty good.  Getting Junior Guerra fits just about all those.  Plus so far he's the only request out of the 8 I sent out that I've gotten back.  Sure getting Braun to actually sign TTM is a long shot, but I keep trying.  Still awesome to get Junior back!

TTM Stats
Date Sent: 3/6/17
Date Recieved: 3/27/17
Address used:
Maryvale Baseball Park
3600 North 51st Avenue
Phoenix, AZ   85031
Cards Sent 2

TTM Success Adam Lind

I was surprised in my mailbox last Tuesday to see one of my TTM return envelopes. I was surprised because I haven't sent any requests out since Spring Training.  But luckily for me Mr. Lind signed his 2016 Topps card for me.  I sent the two cards above to him.  Adam only signed the one, which is fine.  I would have loved to had both signed as I can add the Topps card to my Brewers TTM project, but I love the way the Allen and Ginter cards looked autographed.

My TTM notes are packed away in storage so I'm not sure when or where I sent these cards.  I'm pretty sure it was in March and I'm also pretty sure I sent these to the Mariner's Spring Training address since Adam had been traded to the Mariner's in December 2015.

The cards were wrapped in a piece of stationary from the French Lick Springs Hotel, which oddly enough I've been too.  And it's not too surprising since Adam is from Indiana. I can't find the envelope anymore, but I do believe it was postmarked from Indianaopolis.

Thanks Mr. Lind.  Good luck next season.

TTM Success Taylor Jungmann

I only sent 4 spring training TTM's out.  And I finally got my second one back, I'm still hopeful for the other 2, but I'm not going to hold my breath.  So I got Brewers future star Taylor Jungmann.  I'm really excited because with this success I can mark off 2016 for my Topps Brewers set.

TTM Stats
Taylor Jungmann
Date Sent: 1/16/16
Date Recieved: 3/28/16
Address used
Maryvale Park
3600 North 51st Avenue
Phoenix, AZ   85031

TTM Success - Michael Blazek

Got my first TTM of the season back on Friday.  I only sent a handful out this pre-season.  Mostly hoping to fill a few holes in my Topps Brewers TTM project.  And with getting Michael back I fill in the 2015 need.  Michael was traded to the Brewers back in 2013 for John Axford and had a few relief appearances.  He spent all of 2014 with the Nashville Sounds and was called up in 2015 for the regular rotation, until he got injured.  He's back at spring training this year and was nice enough to sign a couple of his 2015 cards for me.

Here are the stats.

Date Sent : 1/16/16
Date Recieved: 3/4/16

 Address used:
Michael Blazek
c/o Milwaukee Brewers
Maryvale Park
3600 N. 51st Ave
Pheonix, AZ 85031

TTM Success - Ben Oglivie...Again??!!??

You're not seeing double.  I posted about a return from Ben earlier this year and it's entirerly possible that those cards are the ones I sent out in 2012 and these were the ones from November.  But whatever way you want to look at it I got my original request filled too, almost 4 years later.  Ben was signing for Topps Archives in 2012 so that may have been why I got no initial response.  But this also makes my longest wait for a success yet, a spot held by Ray Searage until now.  Still nice to get them back and an unexpected surprise.  Thanks again Ben.

TTM Stats
Date Sent 3/26/12
Date Recieved 1/7/16

Address used:
Ben Oglivie
1012 East Sandpiper Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85283

TTM Success - Ben Oglivie

Happy New Year everyone.  I had a very low key New Year's Eve as I was recovering from travel back to Alaska from the Lower 48 visiting family for the holidays.  

Back at the end of November I sent out two TTMs.  Just two.  And I finally got my second one back and it's kind of a big one for me.  I tried Ben Oglivie back in 2012 the same year he signed cards for Topps new Archives brand.  I never got a response.  But I had been seeing a ton of returns for him over at Sports Card Forum so I figured why not.  

I sent Ben 2 cards his 1980 and 1981 Topps cards.  The 1981 is a the first Brewers card from that set that I've gotten signed so it's nice to fill a hole.  The 1980 card marks the third I've for that set.  I have a small side project trying to get as many of the 1982 World Series team as possible and getting to finally cross Ben off that list is great.

TTM Stats
Date Sent 11/22/15
Date Received: 1/2/16
Address Used:

Ben Oglivie
1012 East Sandpiper Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85283

TTM Success - Paul Mirabella

It's been a while since I've done any TTMs.  I sat down a few weeks ago and sent Paul Mirabella a nice letter and a few cards and I found these in my mailbox this afternoon.

Paul played 13 seasons in the MLB.  Playing for the Rangers, the Yankees, the Orioles, the Mariners, and ended his career with the Brewers.  This is a great success for a couple reasons but most of all that I don't have any TTM success for the three sets I sent.  

TTM Stats

Address used
Paul Mirabella
15 Jenks Rd
Morristown, NJ 07960

Date Sent: 11/22/15
Date Received 12/5/15

Thanks Paul.

TTM Success - Matt Clark

I sent Matt Clark his only major league baseball card and got it back in record time.  Matt got called up last year and got 16 games in last year.  He's currently on the 40-man roster, but is sitting in Colorado Spring playing for Milwaukee's Triple-A team the Sky Sox.

Panini decided to feature him as one of the four Brewers cards in the Diamond Kings set.  I'm always appreciative of an auto, but a thicker Sharpie probably would have made this pop.  Not Matt's fault and I am glad to get a new TTM.

TTM Stats
Date Sent: 5/28/15
Date Recieved: 6/5/15
Address Used:
c/o Colorado Skysox
4385 Tutt Blvd
Security Service Field
Colorado Springs, CO 80922

TTM Spring Training Success - Brandon Kintzler

I have a pretty full mail box Monday. I had two huge trade packages, the David Goforth TTM return and this guy.

Brandon has been on the team since 2010, seeing his first Bigs action September 10th.  Since then he's been up and down, but had a break out season in 2013 becoming the set up man for Jim Henderson.  Brandon's rookie card is in the 2011 Topps Series 2 set.  I wish I'd have been able to dig out one of his rookie cards, but I'll settle for a nice auto on his 2014.  I might have to try him again in Milwaukee to get his rookie card signed and I can take that crappy Nyjer Morgan auto out of the spot.

Brandon's a great TTM signer.

TTM Stats:

Date Sent: 3/2/15

Date Recieved: 3/16/15

Address used:

Maryvale Park

3600 E 51st Ave

Phoenix AZ 85031

It's interesting both Brandon and David's envelopes were postmarked the 9th which means that they probably signed them almost right away.  I can't believe it's taking letters a week to get to me.

TTM Spring Training Success - David Goforth

Holy moley it's been a long time since I had any TTM successes.  It's also be a while since I sent any out.  But I managed 8 TTM's to the Brewers Spring Training park down in Arizona and got my first one back today.

David has been in the Milwaukee minor league system since 2011.  Last year he was a minor league all-star and at the end of the season was added to the Brewers 40 man roster.  We'll have to see if he starts the season there or not. David hasn't seen any Major League time and doesn't have a Topps card yet, but maybe he'll get one this year.

I sent him a couple of his minor league cards and he sent them back in about 2 weeks.

TTM Stats
Date Sent 3/2/15
Date Recieved 3/16/15
Address used
Maryvale Park
3600 E 51st Ave
Phoenix AZ 85031

TTM Success - Jimmy Nelson

Just got back my other TTM I sent out before I left.  The Brewers #1 prospect Jimmy Nelson.  Jimmy got called up last year and pitched in 4 games for a total of 10 innings, but made his big league start earlier this year. He got called up for his first start on May 25th replacing an injured Yovani Gallardo.  And he won.  

He's currently on the inactive roster and back down in Nashville playing with the Sounds.

A great signature and quick return.

TTM Stats
Date Sent: 6/2/2014
Date Received: 6/16/14
Address used:
Nashville Sounds
534 Chestnut St
Nashville, TN 37203

TTM Success - Jason Rogers - Milwaukee Brewers prospect

I sent out a few TTM's right before I left for my first job out in the field this summer.  When I got back today I had  one of my return envelopes waiting for me.

I sent Jason Rogers two of his 2014 Bowman cards and got them back in about a week.
Jason is currently playing for the Milwaukee's Double A affiliate the Huntsville Stars.

 Here are the TTM stats
Date Sent 6/2/14
Date Received 6/11/14


Address used:
Huntsville Stars
3125 Leeman Ferry Road
Huntsville, AL 35801

TTM Success Eric Farris Former Brewers Minor Leaguer

Well I think this one takes the cake for my longest wait for a TTM. Usually after a couple months I tend to write them off if they don't come back. I had to dig deep into my TTM records, yep I actually keep records, to find out when and where I sent this card off to. I sent this card off to the Nashville Sounds back in May of 2012 and 2 years later here it is.

Eric was in the Brewers system from 2007 to 2012 and is now playing for the Minnesota Twins AAA team the Rochester Red Wings.

Interestingly enough he plays in New York and sent this from his hometown of Sacramento. 

Still cool to get and just reminds you that you never know when you might get one of your TTM's back.

TTM Stats

Date Sent :5/18/12

Date Received 5/27/14

Address used:

Nashville Sounds Baseball Club

Herschel Greer Stadium

534 Chestnut Street

Nashville, TN 37203 

Spring Training TTM Success - Khris Davis!!

Look what I found in my mail box the other day!  I have to say if I this is the last TTM from Spring Training I get back I'll consider my effort a success.  I've already gotten back two of my three current favorite Brewers young guns back and getting Khris' back makes it all three.  He even signed it with silver sharpe!! A great looking signature, now I only wish I'd dug out one of his rookie cards, well there's always next year.

TTM Stats
Date Sent 3/19/14
Date Rec 4/4/14

Address used
Maryvale Park
3600 N 51st Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85031

Spring Training TTM Success - Logan Schafer

This is actually my third success from Logan.  I got him to sign a custom index card for me at Spring Training in 2012 and I sent him a Bowman card in 2013 at Spring Training.  Well Topps finally put Logan on a Topps card in its Update Series last year and Logan was nice enough to sign two cards for me.  

TTM Stats
Date Sent 3/19/14
Date Recieved 4/4/14

Address used
Maryvale Park
3600 N 51st Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85031