Today I received a neat ball signed by John McDonald. John has the unique experience of being traded for himself. He signed the ball with “Traded For Myself” and wrote the details on each trade on each side of the ball including the date, team, and general manager for that team. On the bottom he wrote “Traded 8 times in my 16 year career”. On the top he wrote that cash transactions completed each trade. Pretty unique situation that I don’t think ever happened since.
The Final Bartlett
Today I received a pair of 2014 Topps Update #uS-125 signed by Jason Bartlett. I had sent these to Dana D (er21 on SCN) for his private signing event. This card is the last one I need to complete my run of Jason Bartlett signed Topps Twins cards!
Big Sexy!
Today I received my debut ticket back signed by Big Sexy Bartolo Colon! I sent the ticket to Trent A (Albert2011 on SCN) who had a private signing with Bartolo. I paid to have him add “ML Debut” on it which he did. Bartolo made his debut on 04.04.1997 at Anaheim Stadium when he played for the Indians. Pretty fun little ticket!
A Greene Thumb
Wow! I received a really cool package today! Even though it was Columbus Day, my mail carrier still delivered a priority mail package (yeah USPS!). My collection addition today is a baseball from Todd Greene. You might say “big deal!” The guy played for six teams and has a negative career WAR. Well, one of those teams was the New York Yankees and the year was 2001. That year he was back up to Jorge Posada getting into just 35 games but what makes this one of my favorite baseballs in my collection is something that will not show up in a box score. Prior to Game 3 of the 2001 World Series, President Bush threw out the first pitch becoming just the third sitting president to throw a first pitch in the World Series. Who did President Bush throw it to? Yep! You guessed it! Todd Greene! I asked him to write about the event on the baseball and he did a great job on it. He wrote that Jorge Posada was supposed to catch the first pitch but “‘Rocket’ took a while in the pen” so Todd grabbed his glove and caught it. What a neat footnote to the event. Next time you watch the clip of President Bush throwing out the first pitch, know it was Todd Greene who caught it!
Here is a video of the event!