Monday, December 13, 2010

Recent TTM Successes*

I've mentioned before how I was a Pirates fan growing up. (And I've disclosed that I know this is strange for most O's fans because of the major Pirates-Orioles rivalry in the 1970's. But I wasn't born yet, so it didn't mean much to me growing up. And Sid Bream was from my hometown. Boom. Case closed.) 

Anyway, Doug was the best pitcher on those late 80's/early90's Pirates teams that I followed because of Sid. My parents would take me out to Three Rivers Stadium once every few seasons and I would watch the Pirates and try to get autographs. I have a few signed Drabek Pirates cards from back then, but I finally upgraded to an Orioles card. I know that Doug was pretty much dried up by the time he pitched for the Orioles in 1998 in his last season in the Majors, but I collect what I collect.

And yes, I find this card to be as ugly as you do, but it's his only Orioles card that I own, and he's a great TTM signer, so off it went. I also sent a few ticket stubs from his son Kyle's Major League debut against the Orioles in Baltimore, a game that I just happened to attend.

Doug signed and personalized my card in 49 days. I didn't get any mention for the tickets, but hey, I'm just glad that he signed the card. And an interesting note, Doug seems to personalize almost everything he signs, I guess as a way to prevent people from selling his autographs. I always request personalization to make the items in my collection mean more to me, so that 's great for me. Of the two signed Pirates cards I have from almost 20 years ago, one is personalized and one is not.



Randy Miller pitched in one game for the Orioles in 1977 and five games for the Expos in 1978. Let's just say that his brief Major League career didn't go as he might have preferred. The stats aren't pretty. But I'm glad that Randy is kind enough to sign TTM autograph requests.



*Typing the word successes feels funny. It just seems like a constant stream of c's & e's & s's. It's like it will never end. I get the same feeling typing the word bananas. I never know when to stop.

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