Header - Baseball by the Letters

Year: 2010

Ex-Yankee Irv Noren’s Streak Ends

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Joe DiMaggio? Derek Jeter? Did they ever rival Irv Noren’s streak?

Noren, now 85, has seemed to call it quits on signing by mail. I received the note, “Sorry, Mr. Noren is not signing or writing his info now. Sorry. J. Noren.”

I looked him up on the first-class hobby website, www.sportscollectors.net. He had signed 186 consecutive TTM requests that were posted before another, “not signing any more” decline was sent.

Noren was great about adding requested inscriptions. He had filled out questionnaires for fans.

Is it ill health? Noren never wanted to sign blank index cards. Did the fan mail onslaught become too much at his advanced age?

Another sign that the hobby clock is ticking. Send to those 70-and-over retirees sooner, not later. It could be too late.

Pitcher C.J. Nitkowski Remembers Meeting The Faces On His Cards

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Writing my 2001 book Collecting Baseball Cards: The 21st Century Edition was fun. I still have a few copies left, if someone is looking for this out-of-print “classic.”

I tried to get lots of input for kids (the intended audience). Then-current pitcher C.J. Nitkowski was one of the first to help, replying:

“The funny part is, I go back and look at the few cards I have left, and I see cards of coaches I have had when they were players. Guys I never heard of at the time.

I picture myself eight years old, flipping cards. But now, I know some of these guys. Even though I didn’t know who they were at the time, it’s pretty funny to me.

I miss the gum, too. That was the second best part. The first, of course, was any New York Yankee card I got in my pack.”

Nitkowski has a Twitter account. His baseball gems get recapped at www.cjbaseball.com. It’s obvious he loves the game. Wouldn’t it be nice to think that every player, coach and broadcaster, like C.J., was a fan first?

“This is Bruce Kimm…I’m Calling From My Office…In Wrigley Field”

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I’ll never forget those words.

It was a short conversation. There was a game to play. A future to map. Nevertheless, he wanted to thank me for my letter of support.

In 2002, when I sent a batch of 100 thank-you letters to my favorite past and present baseball players in the shadow of a possible player strike, I used “official” stationery. My letterhead included my phone number and email address.

I did not enclose SASEs. I wasn’t expecting written replies, let alone phone calls. But the calls came. Ted “The Famous Chicken” Giannoulas, Jimmy “Toy Cannon” Wynn and fellow Iowan Kimm, interim Cubs manager. Others sent e-mail.

Well, why have I stopped adding that contact info with the current letters I send?

I never thought of saying, “Excuse me. I want to record this for posterity.” Or, I would hate to miss a meaningful impromptu call in the bathroom. Besides, I can’t imagine trying to tell a career highlight story on someone’s answering machine.

And e-mail? E-mail begs for brevity. I’ve gotten three page heart-felt letters from retirees. I have a hunch they’d never fill screens with as many details. I predict that someday collectors will have albums filled with e-printouts. But not me.

There’s something special, something permanent, about what comes in that return envelope.

How would you feel, readers, getting phone calls or e-mails, instead of replies in your SASE?

"This is Bruce Kimm…I’m Calling From My Office…In Wrigley Field"

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I’ll never forget those words.

It was a short conversation. There was a game to play. A future to map. Nevertheless, he wanted to thank me for my letter of support.

In 2002, when I sent a batch of 100 thank-you letters to my favorite past and present baseball players in the shadow of a possible player strike, I used “official” stationery. My letterhead included my phone number and email address.

I did not enclose SASEs. I wasn’t expecting written replies, let alone phone calls. But the calls came. Ted “The Famous Chicken” Giannoulas, Jimmy “Toy Cannon” Wynn and fellow Iowan Kimm, interim Cubs manager. Others sent e-mail.

Well, why have I stopped adding that contact info with the current letters I send?

I never thought of saying, “Excuse me. I want to record this for posterity.” Or, I would hate to miss a meaningful impromptu call in the bathroom. Besides, I can’t imagine trying to tell a career highlight story on someone’s answering machine.

And e-mail? E-mail begs for brevity. I’ve gotten three page heart-felt letters from retirees. I have a hunch they’d never fill screens with as many details. I predict that someday collectors will have albums filled with e-printouts. But not me.

There’s something special, something permanent, about what comes in that return envelope.

How would you feel, readers, getting phone calls or e-mails, instead of replies in your SASE?

Vance, Vern Law and Father’s Day

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Happy Father’s Day, Everyone!

Ever wonder how to give a lifetime present to a Dad? Look at the love Vance Law shared about his father Vern. Here’s a classic reply, one I shared in my book Collecting Baseball Cards: The 21st Century Edition:

“{On the 1985 Topps “Father and Son” card} I was honored to be pictured with my father. At the time, there were not too many father-son combinations to have played major league baseball. That was special. It gave us a special link to this great game, and I was proud that people would know that I am my father’s son.”

— Vance Law