Mike Mussina Really Likes My Cards

Date sent: 3/13/09
Date returned: 4/8/09

I will start this post off by saying that Mike Mussina is one of the best TTM signers out there. You rarely find a modern day player of Mussina's stardom that signs so reliably. I've sent requests to him on three different occasions and each time received cards back signed in under 5 weeks. You can see from the picture that he has a very nice signature.

I thought it would be cool to get a couple cheap jersey cards and have Mussina sign those. As I've said before, I'm willing to send some nicer cards to players that charge for autographs, or in Mussina's case, are very reliable. So, I purchased two 2008 Topps Heritage jersey cards off eBay and sent them off. The cards only cost me a total of $10 with shipping included.

Here's where it gets a little odd... I had read some posts in the past on the sportscollectors.net forums that Mussina is a collector and tends to keep jersey cards that are sent to him. I'd read the same thing enough times to make me purchase two '08 Heritage jersey cards. Otherwise, I would have just sent one. I figured if I sent two that he wouldn't possibly keep both of them, I'd at least end up with one. I even said in the letter that I wrote him that he could keep one and to please sign one for me.

Well, on April 8th I opened my mailbox and there was an envelope with my handwriting and a return address of Montoursville, PA. I knew that it was my Mussina jersey cards. The minute I picked up the envelope I knew something was wrong, it just wasn't thick enough. I tore it open and found a 2006 Bowman Chrome and a 2001 Bowman Heritage.

I posted to the sportscollectors.net forums later that night asking if anyone had received my cards. I listed the cards that I had received and stated that I'd like to switch them out if anyone got mine. The only replies that came back were members that had sent jersey cards and received others in return, just like me. The rumors were true. Mike Mussina keeps jersey cards.

Am I upset? Not at all. I knew the risk and I'm thrilled to get back beautifully signed cards from Mussina each time I send a request to him. The signed Upper Deck rookie pictured above was a recent return from him. I'll just know not to send jersey cards to him in any future requests.