An Autograph a Day: Part 1

keeps the doctor away?

Probably not.  I spent some time Saturday over my parents' house.  My mother decided that the holidays would be the perfect time to do some major interior work, including ripping up all of the wood trim.  So I stopped by to help clear some space in my bedroom  memorabilia storage so she can shift some of the overflow furniture over there while finishing the other rooms.

My former room has become a dumping ground for all the non-card pickups that I just don't have room for until I have a whole house of my own.  Boxes of Starting Lineup figures, comics, and McFarlanes, and framed autographed pieces are piled up waiting for the proper space to be displayed.  And after typing that, I think the bedroom may sound more like that of a 9 year old than it did when I actually was 9.  But it really just looked like a storage unit with carpeting and a bed.

And in condensing all of this, I also came across intermitted stacks of white envelopes.  See, I still use my parents' address as the address on all of my TTM requests.  With the amount of moving I've done over the last few years, it's easier to have it go there than risk a return coming back long after I've moved and the forwarding order has expired.  I've had some TTM requests come back to me a year, two, or even as many as four years after they were initially mailed.  So instead there are typically a few envelopes waiting for me when I stop by.  I eagerly crack them open, check the contents, and then usually end up forgetting to take the pile with me.

So while doing the cleaning, I gathered together about the last 6 months worth of TTM requests and brought them back with me.  And since I've done such a poor job of showing off one of my favorite parts of the hobby here on the blog, so begins our An Autograph a Day feature.  I'll be posting one autograph a day until this stack is exhausted (in addition to my usual content - don't worry, this isn't a cop out).  There should easily be enough to get us through the end of the year.

I'll be posting the cards in the order they came back, one player per day.

And this Omar Olivares return is a great place to start.  It's a perfect example of why I love TTM autographs.  I sent this request in 2012, when I was still living in Morgantown.  Two states later, it reappeared in my mailbox.  Olivares bounced around for most of the 90's, and made a brief appearance during 2001's Pittsburgh Pirates Pitcher Carousel.   Better yet, these cards come from two of my all-time favorite sets.  While I've never had the patience or funds to work on a complete autographed set, I love getting autos on '93 Donruss, '00 and '98 Topps, and any Collector's Choice cards when the opportunity presents itself.