Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Zobrist Redeemed!

A month and a half ago I picked up this redemption...


for an autographed card of Ben Zobrist.  This is one of a very limited number of certified autographs he has had while with the Cubs.  I always get nervous with these redemptions because I've read horror stories of waits of more that a couple years.

Lo and behold on December 20th I got notification from Topps that the package was on the way.  Yay!

The package was coming via FedEx and would be delivered to the WW Headquarters on December 22.  Boo!  I was going to be out of town from the 22nd - 26th visiting family for Christmas.  I didn't want a package sitting on my porch for all that time, just asking to be taken.

I asked a neighbor to grad the package and put it between the doors.  He emailed me that no package was there.   

I went to the Fed Ex site and saw that it required a signature.  Since no one was home, the package went back to the depot.  I knew that if they tried again the next few days it would be the same story and I was afraid that they would then return it to Topps and I'd never see it again.

More digging on the Fed Ex site led me to see that I could have it held at a local Walgreens.  I could then pick it up from Walgreens when we got home after Christmas.  I put in that request.  It was going to be at Walgreens on December 27, the day after we got home.  Perfect.

All day on the 27th I checked the tracking.  It never got to Walgreens.  I did the same on the 28th and still nothing.  I was getting nervous.

I called Fed Ex and they made a call.  Turns out the depot where it was being held had computer issues and wasn't getting any customer service requests.  I'm not sure how they could function, but whatever.  The guy on the phone said that the package would be at Walgreens the next day.

I checked the tracking number in the morning and it showed the package was moving.  A few hours later it showed as delivered.  I zipped up to Walgreens and picked it up.


Ben needs to work on his penmanship!

The relic says "Walking Man" in reference to him setting a team record for walks by a switch hitter in 2016.

Ben is the 125 rule-following player in my autograph collection.  And he's not even at the bottom of the A to Z list.  That honor belongs to Julio Zuleta, and I don't think anyone is going to knock Julio out of that spot.


Terry AdamsMatt GarzaEric Patterson
Arismendy Alcantara    Leo GomezCorey Patterson
Albert AlmoraTom GorzelannyDavid Patton
Moises AlouKevin GreggCarlos Pena
Jake ArrietaAngel GuzmanBilly Petrick
Javier BaezJason HammelFelix Pie
Darwin BarneyTodd HaneyLou Piniella
Francis BeltranIan HappMark Prior
Milton BradleyBrendan HarrisAramis Ramirez
Roosevelt BrownKevin HartAnthony Rizzo
Kris BryantJose HernandezHenry Rodriguez
Scott BullettJason HeywardHenry Rodriguez
Freddie BynumBobby HillChris Rusin
Marlon ByrdRich HillAddison Russell
Andrew CashnerMicah HoffpauirJeff Samardzija
Larry CassianCesar IzturisRey Sanchez
Frank CastilloBrett JacksonRyne Sandberg
Welington CastilloReed JohnsonKyle Schwarber
Starlin CastroJacque JonesScott Servais
Ronny CedenoMatt KarchnerJorge Soler
Rocky CherryDavid KeltonAlfonso Soriano
Matt ClementBrooks Kieschnick        Sammy Sosa
Steve ClevengerBryan LaHairGeovany Soto
Buck CoatsJunior LakeSteve Smyth
Tyler ColvinDerrek LeeMatt Szczur
Willson ContrerasJon LesterRyan Theriot
Juan CruzCole LiniakOzzie Timmons
Wade DavisGreg MadduxSteve Trachsel
Blake DeWittDave MagadanJermaine Van Buren
Rafael DolisCarlos MarmolTodd Walker
Scott DownsSean MarshallTodd Wellemeyer
Jason DubuoisScott MooreRandy Wells
Carl EdwardsMatt MurtonTurk Wendell
Kyle FarnsworthRod MyersJerome Williams
Mike FontenotRoberto NovoaKerry Wood
Kevin FosterWill OhmanTravis Wood
Dexter FowlerAugie OjedaMichael Wuertz
Kyuji FujikawaMike OltCarlos Zambrano
Kosuke FukudomeRyan O'MalleyRob Zastryzny
Sam FuldKevin OrieBen Zobrist
Sean GallagherAngel PaganJulio Zuleta
Nomar Garciaparra Bob Patterson



7 comments:

  1. I had the same issue with Fed Ex with my iPhone. It was pretty annoying. Glad Ben finally landed in your possession/collection.

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  2. Nice addition. Gives me an idea for a custom design theme!

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  3. Highly possible that if you didn't ask on multiple occasions, that package would have been lost in the wind. Which is very possible there's a tie to some of those Topps horror stories about cards going missing for years. But I've seen and heard enough of them that Topps is also a large part of the blame. The soapbox is large and would need a ladder to climb.

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  4. Ben has long been one of my favorite non Pirates. Glad to see him signing some Cubs cards.

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  5. Sorry you had to go through all that unnecessary bs but congrats on the card.

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  6. FYI, just discovered 2 different Brooks Raley out of 2013 Panini (Select and America's Pastime). Both seem to fit your criteria.

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  7. Thanks for that. I need to check the unlicensed stuff more carefully. It just cost me $2.75 shipped to get a Raley select autograph!

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