Phillies TTM: The offseason plan
Without a baseball season to fill the day and nights, the months from November through February can seem to drag (especially the last two). I enjoy college football and basketball, the Eagles and Flyers and still watch a lot of sports through the winter but there is definitely a void left by baseball's absence. In recent years I have started a hobby of getting player autographs through the mail to help get me through to the start of Spring Training.
As a kid I did a little TTMing after getting a prized book of player home addresses from a local bookstore. I had pretty good success in getting baseball cards signed by some Phillies players from the 1970s and 80s - but soon lost interest and went on to other things in life. After graduating and getting a job I started to have the means to begin collecting Phillies stuff - especially autographs. I have really been active in attending card shows over the years picking up autographs here and there - but there was a good 15-year period where I got none through the mail. Sometime during the winter of 2009-2010 I stumbled onto a website that is essentially the digital version of my old address book. I was really surprised to see that there were a lot of "quality" former Phillies who were signing for free (or a small fee) through the mail - and it started again.
While I always keep a log running of what I send and receive back (see the Mail Bag tab on our site) - I have decided to detail the daily comings/goings here on the blog and through my Twitter account (shameless plug: Follow me @philscollector). My hope is that some of you will gain valuable knowledge and further (or start) your own TTM hobby - AND that you will be able to help me take my collecting to the next level! I look forward to hearing about what other collectors are sending! Below are a couple TTM projects I am looking to either begin or add to this winter:
Ongoing projects "hit-list" - a couple guys who I would like to sign items I am currently working on:
As a kid I did a little TTMing after getting a prized book of player home addresses from a local bookstore. I had pretty good success in getting baseball cards signed by some Phillies players from the 1970s and 80s - but soon lost interest and went on to other things in life. After graduating and getting a job I started to have the means to begin collecting Phillies stuff - especially autographs. I have really been active in attending card shows over the years picking up autographs here and there - but there was a good 15-year period where I got none through the mail. Sometime during the winter of 2009-2010 I stumbled onto a website that is essentially the digital version of my old address book. I was really surprised to see that there were a lot of "quality" former Phillies who were signing for free (or a small fee) through the mail - and it started again.
While I always keep a log running of what I send and receive back (see the Mail Bag tab on our site) - I have decided to detail the daily comings/goings here on the blog and through my Twitter account (shameless plug: Follow me @philscollector). My hope is that some of you will gain valuable knowledge and further (or start) your own TTM hobby - AND that you will be able to help me take my collecting to the next level! I look forward to hearing about what other collectors are sending! Below are a couple TTM projects I am looking to either begin or add to this winter:
Ongoing projects "hit-list" - a couple guys who I would like to sign items I am currently working on:
- Phillies Manager single-signed balls - Lee Elia, Nick Leyva, Pat Corrales
- 1980 Team Photo - Dallas Green, Del Unser, Larry Bowa, Herm Starrette, Lee Elia
- 1960 SI Cover - Art Mahaffey, Clay Dalrymple, Dave Philley, Al Neiger
New projects:
- 1977 Team Signed Ball
- 1965 Team Signed Ball
- Something for 1993 Team
- More to come. Stay tuned...