August was another great month for return but a little lighter than months prior. I had some days where I was not at home for July and August so my sending habits changed a bit, plus I shifted a little more towards current players and coaches. I tried to get a bunch out before the minor league season ended in early September. Now I’m shifting to current coaches and players before the end of the season. I try to mix in some just plain old former players at their homes to keep some more chances at steady returns.
Overall I had 34 different returns come back with seven failures coming back. The 34 returns had 101 cards in them and took an average of 109 days. However, there are a few returns that really drove that up:
- Ivan Nova – 374 days
- Jeff Banister – 187 days
- Delino DeShields, Jr. – 181 days
- Mickey Stanley – 103 days
- Shawn Green – 2740 days
The Shawn Green is I think the third return I got back this year that I sent when I lived at a different address almost six years ago. It’s amazing it came back and I definitely had written that one off.
As for the failures, some were just dumb mistakes. Bill Ripken returned from MLB Network and I’m thinking he doesn’t sign from there anymore. I sent to Brandon Finnegan again, but he’s in the minors and I sent to the Reds. Mikie Mahtook came back from the Tigers and they ask for a donation. I don’t think I will send to any Tigers anymore unless it’s during Spring Training.
But the ones that confused me a bit were Steve Buechele, Doug Jones and Jay Howell. I thought I had good addresses that I’ve used before but they all came back. I’ll check on them and try again but those guys are usually pretty reliable.