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| Hobby news has it that Coates will sign for $10 per by mail. I’ll settle for the facsimile! |
As first reported on the http://www.sportscollectors.net/ forum back in March, former Yankee Jim Coates replied to a collector who sent $5 for an autograph that he had received a letter from the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.
According to the note from Coates, the MLBPAA was discouraging members from signing random fan mail, because autographs were being re-sold on the internet.
Some collectors speculated that the MLBPAA might try this to hype interest for private signings.
I’m going to write to Coates, not for an autograph, but in hopes of acquiring a copy of the letter. I’ve e-mailed the MLBPAA. A staff member replied, “Are you sure it was us?”
No, I’m not sure. If anyone gets a copy of this actual letter, I’d like to know just what it says. What group is the warning from? Who signed the letter? If I learn more, I’ll offer the actual accuser a chance to detail the supposed evil in our hobby.
Hi Tom!
My name is Dave Auwerda and like you I am an avid autograph collector. I’ve been collecting since I was a child in the late 1970’s, but have been a serious collector since the mid-1990’s.
In 2010, I started creating my own custom designs to send off for signatures, and I am running into the same request from a player to send via the MLBPAA… I’m trying to get Cleo James, who played for the Cubs and Dodgers. He apparently is requesting people use the MLBPAA to request his signature, but I can’t figure out how to go about doing that. I stumbled on your article about Jim Coates doing the same thing and was wondering if you have had any clarity on the issue.
If you’re interested, my website is attached and you can see some of my work.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
Dave