TTM Report: August 2020

The title of today’s TTM Report post may be a little askew, as August of 2020 was apparently private signing month. All four of today’s “returns” came from cheap private signings. So who did I shell out for? Let’s have a look!

Derrick May: 1/1

First up is Derrick May. He already had a card in the Astro-graphs binder, but it was a Cubs card I had gotten him to sign during his Astros tenure. May has a few Astros cards to show for his stay here, but I had yet to pick up some spares to try to get signed until shortly before this. This was a cheap signing, so I jumped at the chance to upgrade May’s slot, especially on one of my favorite sets for signing, 1996 Fleer. The non-glossy stock takes autos well and there are a bunch of nice cards in the set.

Carlos Pena: 1/1

Next was Carlos Peña, who finished his big league career with Houston during the dark ages. I remember him first as the “can’t miss prospect” with the Rangers who sorta missed, then made a nice career for himself after a renaissance in Tampa Bay. His signing was a tad higher than what I like to go for (20 or 25 bucks, I think), but from what I can tell he never signs, so I decided to pony up in order to cross him off the list.

Mike LaCoss: 1/1

This was more akin to the budget I like to keep, I think it was a $10 signing. I think of Mike as a Giant first, but prior to his time in San Francisco he spent a few seasons with the Reds and the Astros, as well as a one year stop in Kansas City. I do love my 1983 Topps. It’s interesting to note that Mike’s inset portrait is not actually a portrait, but rather a cropped action shot.

FRANK F*CKING THOMAS: 1/1

Oh, I’m sorry. I must have buried the lede. Our final signing return was none other than THE BIG HURT on a freaking 1990 Topps rookie card! No, it’s not *that* rookie card, but this is incredibly cool.

“But wait,” you may say, “at the top of this post you said these were all cheap signings. There’s no way Frank Thomas is a cheap autograph.”

On the contrary, my friends, this signing was just thirty-five bucks! Not cheap in comparison, to the rest of these, but thirty-five for an unquestionable HOFer and the lesser of two first baseman born on May 27, 1968 was a deal I wasn’t about to pass up. Who knew if it would come around again?

Well, I’m pleased to report that I’ve seen two more rounds of signings with Frank at $35 and $40, so if you’ve been pondering one, hop to it. I think there’s actually one coming up in February.

Alright, August May have been a little lean and all paid, but that gives me two more Astro-graphs, one Astro-graph upgrade, and one bonafide Hall of Famer. Not bad!

3 Replies to “TTM Report: August 2020”

  1. Thomas for $35 seems very reasonable. I love the way ’96 and ’97 Fleer were made for signatures.

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