Header - Baseball by the Letters

Year: 2011

Collecting Major League Autographs In Japan

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How much do you love collecting autographs by mail?

Nod. Shrug. Grunt.

Ah, but what if it wasn’t so easy? What if the responses came in weeks, not days?

What if getting U.S. postage was a costly chore (or a challenge)?

Kohei’s vast knowledge of MLB
history has inspired me to learn
more of Japanese baseball,
starting with Americans playing there.
Bob Bavasi’s site is a great starting point!

What if you had to write your letters not in your native language?

I’m seeing some raised eyebrows out there.

It’s true. There are collectors who love the sport and the hobby every bit as much as we do. And they prove it by the efforts they go to in collecting major league autographs.

This blog has allowed me to discover such “above and beyond” hobbyists. This summer, I’ve been inspired by collector Kohei Nirengi in Japan. He, too, uses Harvey Meiselman’s incredible baseball address list. However, all the other hobby conveniences I take for granted aren’t as easy for Kohei. Nevertheless, he’s building a collection worth admiring by focusing on possibilities, not limitations.

Thank you, Kohei, for the example you’re setting.

Coming Friday: ‘Graphin’ the SAL…Tales from a Class A autograph collector!

Writing to Dodger Pitcher Carl Erskine: Time To Thank This Tireless Autograph All-Star

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Often willing to provide answers to
anything fans ask, Erskine even
adds a signed gift to most replies!

What’s right about the autograph hobby?

Yesterday, I indulged in a rubber-stamping rant. Today, equal time is required.

There are still kind, grateful men from baseball’s past. They aren’t all from the 1940s and ’50s. I discovered a heart-warming story about Giants pitcher Phil Nastu (1978-80) going above and beyond to fulfill a TTM autograph request. I’m hoping to salute him, getting details of why he’d be so dedicated to an unknown collector.

Other names on the latest batch of envelopes launched from BBTL-land:

Bobby Doerr
Boo Ferriss
Carl Erskine

I wanted to send a standing ovation to each of these three signers, too. Each of these men have decades of autograph heroics on Mr. Nastu. Along with saying thanks, I’ve just wanted to ask about their fan mail volume, why they keep delighting everyone who writes, and what we can do to thank them.

I saw on http://www.sportscollectors.net/ that Bob Wiesler and Fred Caligiuri had answered questions for other collectors.

I gasped at the lengthy post-baseball musical career of Dick Adams, a member of the 1947 Philadelphia Athletics. Likewise, I’m stunned at the many charity initiatives of Brewers bullpen catcher Marcus Hanel. I wanted to find out how baseball has inspired each.

I found a recent newspaper profile of pitcher Turk Wendell. I wanted to make sure he had a copy. Also, I’m hoping he’ll explain a couple of his mystical comments from that feature.

Lastly, I realized that former Angels and A’s manager Bobby Winkles may have grown up in the shadow of a Hall of Famer. I’m seeking details.

There’s the game plan behind my latest batch of fan mail. Stay tuned for updates. Meanwhile, I hope you find as many reasons to add names to your want list.

Thursday: Inspiration from Japan.

Rubber-stamped Autographs Aren’t Autographs, Mark Mulder (Even When Parents Are Stamping)!

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Never a pretty autograph…

Dear ESPN:

Mark Mulder, one of your baseball analysts, needs a little help analyzing collectors.

For years, someone has been defacing Mark Mulder cards, cards many collectors cherish. Vandals? Nope. The culprits may be Mark’s ma and pa.

A rubber-stamped reply is NOT an autograph. One collector tweeted Mr. Mulder, who replied:

ha sorry. Think my parents do that”

This doesn’t make the non-reply have any special value. I don’t care if the family pet has been trained to hold the rubber-stamp in its teeth! The result isn’t REAL! Some collectors have noticed a slight variation in the rubber-stamp, as if the parents each have a slightly different version. Or, one has a worse aim? Either way, still a disappointment.

Collectors have more respect for someone who sends cards back blank, or someone who just brands RTS (Return to Sender) on the envelope. This way, no cards are harmed in this abbreviated interaction.

Meanwhile, I’d rather listen to the analysis of another Mulder, Agent Mulder from X-Files.  I hope the former player will, too. That character’s motto:

“The Truth Is Out There.”

New York Yankees History Encounter Takes Mike ‘Tiger Nut’ Micho By Surprise

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Ruppert’s plaque resides in Monument Park in
Yankee Stadium. I found this at Bleacher Report.
The site makes a great case for the owner being
included in the Hall of Fame. Lots of great
Yankee insights here!

Here’s a great P.S. to the Mike Micho story. He likes the Tigers, but he LOVES baseball.

As Mike tells it:

“I also wanted to tell you about the surprise I got 3 days ago. I`m a Physical Therapist and work in an acute care hospital. I treat people with many different problems and ailments,which leads me to meeting many different people. During that time,you get to know & learn a little bit about each one.

Well,while working with a 94 yr. old gentleman,he noticed me wearing a pair of Detroit Tigers scrubs and asked me if I was a big baseball fan. Well,with me that`s like opening Pandora`s box! He and I sat and talked baseball for quite a while. Then he proceeds to tell me out of nowhere his uncle used to own the New York Yankees! At first I was sort of taken aback by this, then is daughter, who was present in the room, told me that, yes, his uncle did own the Yankees.

It was Jacob Ruppert, the man who bought Babe Ruth from the Red Sox! Instantly, I asked him “Will you adopt me!” He laughed and said ‘God no, I`ve got enough kids to worry about.’

He then started to tell me all about how when he was a little kid, his uncle would let him hang out in the clubhouse, occasionally be the batboy for a few games a year, and how he would play catch on the field with the Babe, Gehrig, Bill Dickey, Tony Lazzeri and others. I could have sat and talked with him all day, but of course there was work to do.

The next day I thought if he didn`t mind,I was going to have him autograph a Yankees logo card just for myself to keep with my other Yankees signed items. However, he was discharged home the night before. Another missed opportunity! Maybe I should keep Signature Cards or logo cards and Sharpie on hand with me at all times.”

Like any fisherman, hobbyists all have stories about “the one that got away.” Mike reminds us: baseball history can find you at any time. Are you ready?

Coming Tuesday: The Mystery of Mark Mulder.

Mike ‘Tiger Nut’ Micho Defines Detroit

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“Does ‘Tigernut’ know
where my catcher went?”

Mike Micho is my kind of collector. Let other collectors dive into the scrum to get the starting nine’s autographs. Mike, the self-proclaimed “Tigernut,” (his handle on the http://www.sportscollectors.net/ forum) is telling the team’s story by collecting the groundskeeper, front office folk — anyone who helps Detroit win.

As his team savors its division title, Mike relishes every Tigers-related autograph. He’s not limited by faces in card sets. Mike keeps Detroit history his way. Here’s his epic hobby tale:

Q: How did you get started with Tigers autographs?

A: I`ve been collecting Detroit Tigers and other baseball/football/hockey/basketball autographs since 1989, however, I began specializing in Detroit Tigers players,managers,coaches,announcers, and other Tigers personnel TTM in 2001 after reading a book about the complete history of the club. It got me thinking and put the idea in my head to somehow attempt to collect at least one signature from everyone who wore the old English D from the 1934-35 A.L. Championship teams to the present. I didn`t really know if I could achieve this, but once I got started I became instantly hooked!

A handful of my signatures over the years have been in person from ballgames and card shows, but most of them have came TTM and with other trades/deals with other collectors.

Q: What was Tiger Stadium like for an autograph collector?

A: When Tiger Stadium was the home of the Tigers, it was a great place to get players signatures from both the Tigers and visitors dugouts. The dugouts were small and easily accessible, along with the open bullpens down each foul line. You were so close to the field, it was really wonderful.

At Comerica,I have found it to be much easier to get Tigers players to sign compared to the visiting teams,however,I`ve never gotten as many at Comerica as compared to Tiger Stadium.

Q: Are you Detroit area?

A: No,I don`t live near Detroit. In fact, I live 150 miles away in Mid-Michigan, Essexville, MI, near Lake Huron. I`m lucky if I get to 4 to 5 games a year.

I`ve been able to obtain many former Tigers greats at cards shows throughout the state of Michigan over the years, especially at a place called the Gibralter Trade Center located in Mt. Clements and Taylor, Michigan. These use to be huge card shows that took place twice a month. However, there aren`t as many shows lately, due to the economy in Michigan the last few years.

Q: Who are some out-of-uniform Tigers family members you’ve collected?

A: The non-players I`ve collected with the Tigers organization have included former GM`s (Randy Smith, Bill Lajoie), announcers (the great Ernie Harwell, Ray Lane, Dan Dickerson, Paul Carey),and even the head groundskeeper Heather Nabozny. She`s one of the best in the game today. I sent Miss Nabozny a Signature Card to sign,and it came out great. Owner Mike Illich has also been kind enough to sign for me.

Q: Have you tried making Tigers custom “cards”?

A: I have on occasion made my own cards to have signed that simply have the English D on them. I found the perfect size on Google Images. Most of my signatures are on standard issued cards or Signature Cards. I`ve also got quite a few signatures on blank IC`s for some of the older players from the 30`s, 40`s,and early 50`s.

Q: What are the letters you mail like?

A: The letters I send are handwritten, always include how I became a lifelong Tigers fan, why I love the game and the Tigers so much, and what the team has ment to me over the years. I don`t believe “form” letters are personal enough, and I`ve even received notes back from mostly older players that say the same thing.
Most of what I send and ask to be signed are cards, but occasionally I have sent 8x10s, IC`s, and magazines (or photos I`ve taken at ballgames).

Q: Have you asked questions by mail? What answers have you gotten?

A:  I`ve received quite a few responses and notes from mostly the older players over the years, answering questions or thanking me for writing and being a Tigers fan. The strangest one I received was from  former pitcher Ron Nischwitz, who sent me a two-page handwritten letter,answering my questions and thanking me for writing. Then, two weeks later, I received another letter from Mr. Nischwitz asking me if I knew or knew how to locate a former player he had on his team when he coached baseball at Wright State University in Dayton,OH. in the 1980`s, who lived in Bay City,MI. (Essexville is a suburb of Bay City were I grew up). He stated this player was his catcher and was referred to him by Tony Lucadello, a scout for the Cubs and Phillies at the time. He then told me he`d really like to this players’ address or phone number, but never stated why? I loved it,he wanted me to play PI for him! I did look,but could never locate this player. Jokingly,I would have told him it would have cost multiple signatures for this information!

Q: Are you picky about what signed items you’ll collect?

A: Well, I feel “to each his own,” however, I don`t feel that way. I myself,am extremely happy if I can receive any former Tiger on anything. In fact,one former player from the late 20`s-early 30`s,catcher Ray Hayworth, I only have on a cancelled check,and I`m thrilled to death to have him!There are also a few players that only played a handful of games,or only played in the Tigers Minor League system that I have gotten a Tigers replica jersey that I`ve been getting signed since 1995 (it also contains HOF`ers George Kell, Sparky Anderson, Hal Nwehouser, Al Kaline).

Yes,I`d love them on cards,but just to have them is what`s important.

Q: Are you working on special hobby projects?

A: Well,since some of the Tigers signing has slowed down a bit,I`m currently sending out quite a few cards to have multi-signed by players, mostly RC`s of players from the 60`s and 70`s. Some also include former Tigers players/coaches that I still need.I`ve always thought multi-signed cards look great,and my favorite is a 1959 card of Pirates pitchers called “Buc`s Hurlers”,that I`ve got all 4 to sign. One player, Ron Kline (and former Tiger) was the first I got on it,and not long after he passed away. To me,it`s my favorite non-Tigers card I have signed. I`ve also begun picking up older Minor League cards of Tigers clubs to eventually get signed. As my wife says,”It just never ends!”

Q: Advice for team-only collectors?

A: My advice to anyone thinking of collecting a certain club: first, make sure you pick a starting point(year/season) of where to begin your collection, possibly the year you were born, last championship team,etc. Second, if possible, try to start with the oldest players (or other personnel) from that first season. I didn`t always follow that advice and ended up missing out on a few players before their passing. If you do miss out on some players,remember,always be on the lookout for possible trades or sales of former players on collector sites, it has helped me out a lot.

Thanks, Mike. I hope your Tigers give you some collectible October memories!