My 30 Greatest TTM Auto, 10-6

We've moved into the top ten now, as we continue with my Greatest TTM count-down list...
 

10. Bert Blyleven, 1988 Fleer

It was quite an unexpected surprise to get this one back, as Blyleven is not known for signing TTM – and with a nice inscription to boot! If you are unfamiliar with Blyleven’s greatness, you’ve missed out on the most interesting part of baseball over the past decade, so my recapping it here won’t help much.

9. Dave Parker, 1990 Score Traded

The Corba doesn’t have many Brewers cards, but damn if they don’t all look fantastic. I really dig this Score Traded look with the orange borders and Parker looks great mid-swing in the classic early-90s Brewers uni. Parker also has one of the nicest sigs around. I paid $10 for this one and it was well worth it.

8. Brooks Robinson, 1974 Topps

Earlier this year, Brooksie began signing TTM again pretty much out of nowhere. I got in pretty early, sending him this card for my currently-on-hold 1974 Topps project. I got a note back with the card this note:

I felt kind of bad for him, honoring a few autograph requests and then getting a deluge of others. I saw on the sportscardfourm autograph tracker that many other people got the same note around the same time I did. But people kept mailing him and getting replies. It seems now that he is telling people to go through his website, where he charges $60 per card.

7. Lou Whitaker, 1993 Upper Deck

It is an absolute crime that Sweet Lou is not in the Hall of Fame. I’ve been a big fan of his for a while now, coming to appreciate his career via his stats and highlights of the 1984 Tigers juggernaut. He has signed on and off for a while, charging a small fee most of the time. I think I got this one for five or ten bucks. Lou’s sig goes great on this card and the cameo appearance by Jimmy Gantner doesn’t hurt, either.

6. Nolan Ryan, 1989 Upper Deck

At $35, this is the most I’ve ever paid for a TTM auto. And I’m really glad I got when I did, as shortly after I got this back, he raised his flat fees to $60. This was a kind of iconic card for while, I remember it even being listed in price books as “Ryan, Nolan (football)…” I picked his card specifically to send to him and, due to the autograph kinda getting lost in the blue of his jersey, I regret it just a little bit. I wish he would have at least signed in the white area at the top. Anyway, it’s still a legendary card signed by a legendary pitcher.