SDre31's TTM Success Thread

[SDre31]

It's been some time since I posted on here, but I wanted to close out my 2014 returns before (hopefully) posting about 2015 successes.

This is a return from Randy Niemann, who pitched in 31 games for the 1986 Mets World Championship team. After retiring, he served several tours as the Mets' bullpen coach and minor league instructor.

Randy Niemann
Address: See TTM Database
Sent: 9/22/14
Received: 10/2/14

[awz50]

Good to see you back!

[SDre31]

Good to see you back!

Thanks, glad to be back!

[SDre31]

My final return of 2014 was from Dave Righetti, former Yankees pitcher and current Giants pitching coach. Dave was a successful pitcher with the Yankees, first as a starter, and later as their closer. A two-time All-Star closer, he pitched a no-hitter on July 4, 1983. He has been the Giants' pitching coach since 2000, guiding their pitching staff to three World Championships.

Dave Righetti
c/o San Francisco Giants
Sent: 9/22/14
Received: 12/6/14



Recapping 2014, I was 5 for 28 (18%). While I'm disappointed by the low number of successes, I realize that I sent far less TTMs in 2014 than in past years, and that most of the ones that I did send were to guys who did not sign for me on previous attempts. My favorite return was from Bob Keppel, one of only two additions to my Brooklyn Cyclones TTM project. Bob was pitching in Japan when I started my project, and to my surprise, I realized when sending out my TTMs last February that he was in Spring Training with the Reds. He was only there for a few weeks, but he managed to sign my card during that time.

[SDre31]

My first Spring Training 2015 return came as a complete shock. It's from Jeff Francoeur, an outfielder who is currently in camp as a non-roster invitee with the Phillies. The surprise is that I sent this request to him during Spring Training 2013 when he was a member of the Royals. The return came almost two years to the date that I sent the request. Jeff burst onto the scene as a member of the Braves, but has not been able to sustain his early success. He was traded to the Mets in 2009, where I watched him perform solidly for a half season, before eventually moving on to a number of teams.

Jeff Francoeur
c/o Royals Spring Training (2013)
Sent: 2/19/13
Received: 2/18/15

[SDre31]

My first Spring Training return of the requests that I sent out this year was from Brandon Nimmo, an outfielder who is currently ranked as the third best prospect in the Mets minor league system. Brandon was the 13th overall draft pick in the 2011 draft and played for the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2012. At the time, he was the highest draft pick ever to play for the Cyclones. Brandon is projected to start this season in Triple-A, and could make his major league debut for the Mets as early as this September. If he does make it to the major leagues, then this return will be a success towards my Cyclones project. But for now, it's a nice return from a top Mets prospect.

Update: Brandon debuted for the Mets in 2016, officially making this TTM success a part of my Cyclones project.

Brandon Nimmo
c/o Mets Spring Training
Sent: 2/14/15
Received: 3/4/15



Cyclones Career
Year: 2012
Games: 69
Batting Line (AVG, HR, RBI): .248, 6, 40

[SDre31]

To say it's been some time since my last post would be an understatement - it's almost been 2 full years. While part of the reason for my lack of posts has been that real life has gotten in the way, the primary reason is actually because my TTM successes have mostly dried up. These days, I'm sending out far less requests because I have either obtained the autograph I was seeking or I have given up on the desired player after multiple attempts (I've instituted my own 3 strike a.k.a. 3 failed attempts rule). I have a handful of old returns to catch up on, and with a number of 2017 requests out, I figured now is the time to finish 2015 and start/finish 2016.

My final return of 2015 was by far my favorite (although I did not have many successes to choose from). I was completely caught off guard when this one came back. It was from Joe Torre, the Hall of Fame manager. I sent my request to him in May 2012 and had long given up on it. With just 3 days remaining in 2015, this autograph appeared in my mailbox, making it my longest TTM success. As mentioned in this thread, even though I am a Mets fan, I enjoyed watching the 90's Yankees teams. Joe Torre was at the helm of this dynasty, managing them from 1996-2007 and leading them to 4 World Series championships and 6 pennants. For his success as Yankees manager, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014. After retiring as a manager, he joined the Commissioner's Office, which is where I sent my request.

Joe Torre
c/o MLB Corporate Offices
Sent: 5/19/12
Received: 12/28/15



To recap 2015, it was pretty much a bust. I was 2 for 31 (6%) in new requests sent. However, the best part was that I received successes that I had long written off. Jeff Francoeur returned 2 years after sending my request, and Joe Torre came back 2.5 years after sending my request. I'd never had requests take this long to return, so it is a little ironic to me that both occurred in this down year.