Monthly Failure Report: August 2023

Nothing to report!

MLB Fan Packs

During the past two years, I've taken it upon myself to request fan packs from each of the 30 MLB teams each year.  Most of these requests were via e-mail, but the Yankees, Cubs, Twins, and Rangers still take requests via snail mail.  The results?  Theeeeeee Yankees win!  The Red Sox take second, and the Cubs take third.  Here are the full results with details (see photo as well)...

0-2: No success in 2022 or 2023 from the Diamondbacks, Braves, Orioles, Reds, Guardians, Rockies, Tigers, Astros, Royals, Angels, Dodgers, Brewers, Twins, Athletics, Phillies, Giants, Mariners, Rays, Blue Jays, or Nationals.  That's two thirds (20/30) of all of the MLB teams, which actually makes ranking the top ten, which I suppose I may send requests to again in 2024, a lot easier.

10th Place, 1-1: Padres - With a card, a sticker, and a decal in 2023, San Diego just made it into the top ten, but nothing in 2022 stopped them from advancing further.

9th Place, 1-1: Pirates - With an activity book, some postcards, stickers, and a temporary tattoo in 2022, the Pirates cracked the top nine, but they couldn't move up any further with nothing in 2023.

8th Place, 1-1: Marlins - With a letter, pocket schedule, pin, and decal in 2022, the Marlins solidified their spot in the Elite Eight, but a goose egg in 2023 prevents them from moving up any further.

7th Place, 1-1: Mets - With nothing in 2022, the Mets came roaring back in 2023, with a t-shirt, fanny pack, lanyard, and a pack of cards, which easily puts them at the top of the four .500 teams.

6th Place, 2-0: Rangers - A sticker, postcard, and schedule in 2022 was sans the schedule in 2023, putting Texas in the lowest position among the six undefeated squads.

5th Place, 2-0: Cardinals - With a sticker and three baseball cards in 2022, St. Louis replaced a baseball card with a postcard in 2023, bumping the squad into the top five.

4th Place, 2-0: White Sox - Back-to-back years with a schedule, temporary tattoo, sticker, and a pack of baseball cards puts the Chicago club from the South Side in the Final Four.

3rd Place, 2-0: Cubs - The squad from the North Side of Chicago sent a t-shirt, pencils, and a sticker last year, but a baseball card, a schedule, and two stickers this year kept them out of the top two.

2nd Place, 2-0: Red Sox - The postcard, sticker, schedule, and letter were nice to get two years in a row, and the Wally card was an added bonus in 2023, but Boston knew what it was doing here, because it was the dirt from Fenway Park two years in a row that lifted the Sox all the way up to second place.

1st Place, 2-0: Yankees - My favorite team takes the win here, and in an attempt to look at this as objectively as possible, it isn't particularly close.  This one got five returns rather than two, because three family members who are also Yankees fans also requested fan packs last year.  Two of the five returns were spectacular, and the other three were pretty good.  My personal favorite was the Mariano Rivera Captain America Bobblehead that I got last year along with a bunch of magnets, stickers, and commemorative tickets.  My fiancee's haul from 2022 was on par with mine, yielding a Don Mattingly bobblehead, purse, winter hat, cups, stickers, and commemorative tickets.  One other family member got an arm band, sticker, pencil, baseball card, and commemorative ticket, and the final family member got a decal, coozie, keychain, baseball card, and two pencils.  My haul for 2023 was still really nice, though less impressive than last year, as it yielded a 2023 Yankees Calendar, water bottle, two packs of baseball cards, and two pencils.  The Yankees are easily the champions here, even though their 2023 season on the field has been abysmal.

Anyway, thanks to all of the MLB teams who participate in this bit of free fun for fans, especially the Yankees!

Ken Macha

Ken Macha played parts of six seasons and managed six seasons in the majors.  Thanks, Ken!

Mailed: 8-8-23
Received Back: 8-21-23
Turnaround Time: 13 Days

Dual Dion James

Dion James signed a pair of his 1984 Donruss Rookie Cards.  Thanks, Dion!

Mailed: 8-8-23
Received Back: 8-21-23
Turnaround Time: 13 Days

Cris with no H

Cris Carpenter signed his 1988 Donruss The Rookies Card, as well as three parallels from the 90s.  Thanks, Cris!

Mailed: 8-8-23
Received Back: 8-19-23
Turnaround Time: 11 Days

Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong has quite the story.  He overcame cancer to win the Tour de France a ridiculous seven straight times, but then he was stripped of his titles due to usage of performance enhancing drugs.  He's still a legend though.  Thanks, Lance!

Mailed: 6-22-20
Received Back: 8-19-23
Turnaround Time: 788 Days

H Warren Moon

Here are two more from the great Warren Moon, who signed his 1985 Topps Rookie Card and his 1986 Topps Second Year Card for $10 each.  Thanks, Warren!

Mailed: 7-26-23
Received Back: 8-19-23
Turnaround Time: 24 Days

Bill Bradley (Football)

Bill Bradley made three Pro Bowl teams during his nine years in the NFL.  He did it all, tallying 34 regular season interceptions (one of which he returned for a TD), punting, returning, and even occasionally mixing in on offense.  Thanks, Bill!

Mailed: 7-26-23
Received Back: 8-8-23
Turnaround Time: 13 Days

Zachary Thomas

Here's one from newly-minted Hall of Famer Zach Thomas, who returned four of his 17 career interceptions for TDs and had 1,734 combined tackles in his regular season career.  Thanks, Zach!

Mailed: 7-26-23
Received Back: 8-7-23
Turnaround Time: 12 Days

Todd Bertuzzi

A one-time All-Star during his 18 NHL seasons, Todd Bertuzzi played for six different teams, scoring 314 goals and assisting on 456 goals, good for a total of 770 points.  He signed his Classic Rookie Card here.  Thanks, Todd!

Mailed: 7-26-23
Received Back: 8-3-23
Turnaround Time: 8 Days