Header - Baseball by the Letters

Month: May 2012

Jewish Ballplayers Give More Than Autographs

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Worth watching!

His name is Alan. He doesn’t want his whole name or address shared. However, I’m grateful he was willing to share a great glimpse into his hobby past.

“I am a collector of Jewish Sports memorabilia. Back in the late-1990’s, I received a gift-certificate from one of the book stores. I decided to use the gift certificate on the book, When Boxing was a Jewish Sport. It was a fascinating history of Jewish boxers in the 1920s thru 1940s. After I read it, I decided to research & acquire autographs from some of the guys depicted in the book, who were still alive. Then, from there, (and I’m not sure how/why it happened) but I ended up interested in Jewish athletes from all sports, the major sports like baseball and football to the lesser popular sports like golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, tennis, swimming, etc,…

When I wrote to them, I wouldn’t so much ask them about their athletic achievements, but rather more of their “Jewishness”. My questions asked things like “how observant were you”, “what was it like being a Jewish athlete at that time”, “had you experienced any anti-semitism”, etc,… “

I read through a sampling of the letters he shared from his hobby heyday of 1998-2006. Gabe Kapler explained how he felt about Jewish jokes from teammates. Pitcher Andrew Lorraine wrote about the challenges of trying to keep an active faith with the rigors of a major league schedule. Hy Cohen, who pitched for the 1955 Cubs, told how “fastballs close to the body” could silence anti-semetic opponents.

I am not Jewish. However, I was moved by the recent documentary Jews and Baseball, one that’s becoming a public TV staple every spring. Alan found a way to see current and former players as people, not just as stat machines.

These days, Alan has returned to his previous hobby of basketball collecting. However, he understands the power of autographs. Whether it’s one faith, one team, one school or state —  there are so many ways to make your collection reflect YOU. You’ll appreciate the hobby more, as will the signers who give you remarkable results.

R.A. Dickey Book: Surprising As Any Knuckleball

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“Butterflies aren’t bullets. You can’t aim ‘em. You just let ‘em go.”

— Charlie Hough

The knuckleballer-turned-tutor may have done more than tutor R.A. Dickey’s pitching. Hough may have given a nugget of wisdom employed in the writing of Dickey’s Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest For Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball.

In writing his life story, Dickey uses the same approach. This is anything but a conventional baseball tale. Dickey lets it all go, telling about the abuse he suffered as a boy, his sometimes-shaky marriage and other challenges to what many might assume has been a storybook career.

Definitely, this book is a LIFE story, not just a baseball retrospective. Dickey writes chronologically (and in present tense, giving his writing freshness and urgency). Page 91 begins his pro career with the Rangers. He relives the heartbreak of losing the $810,000 signing bonus, when a Baseball America cover photo reveals that Dickey may have elbow problems.

Dickey’s evolution as a knuckleballer gets center stage in the book. He tells of seeking out Hough, Phil Niekro and Tim Wakefield for advice. Funniest moment in the book comes when Dickey breaks a nail. In full Mets uniform, he’s sneaked out to a manicure salon for some emergency grooming.

The press release from publisher Blue Rider Press included a revealing comment from Dickey, seen nowhere in the book. Here it is:

“Q: How did your interest in literature shape Wherever I Wind Up?

A: Well, I can tell you this: I did not have much interest in writing a straightforward sports book. This is my first book. It might be my only book. I didn’t want to just stuff it with a bunch of statistics and writes about ERAs and holding runners on and bore people with page after page of baseball platitudes. I wanted to write a narrative that was meaningful to me, that was completely honest and that would hopefully stand up as a quality piece of writing.”

This thoughtful book might lead fans to guess that Dickey has the insight to become a coach or broadcaster. Read closely, and you’ll discover that Dickey harbors the hope that he could be a high school English teacher someday.

Ultimately, readers will find the life and career of New York’s elder statesman evolving like his knuckleball. While his butterfly pitch deceives, Dickey delivers his whole life story with right-down-the-middle candor and truth.

Coming Friday: Memories of Jewish baseball players.

The Lesson of Pirate Frank Thomas

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Q: When is a fee not a fee?

A: When it’s an admission ticket.

Huh?

My efforts to get Yoda to do a guest post were futile. However, I think I’m starting to speak his language and decode such riddles. It’s a variation on banks calling loans “products” and not “services.”

I hope I’m making sense of some retirees are charging a “fee,” but are wowing collectors with quality responses that might include a card, note or other bonus. Think Frank “The Original” Thomas.

(Wait…I just heard thunder from Pittsburgh. Frank wants me to stress he’s asking for DONATIONS to his charities, not fees.)

In his case, it’s still an admission ticket.

The potential signer sees the intent of the request that includes money. A dealer would hope to maximize profits, taking advantage of a FREE autograph. That’s the conventional thinking.

Once the fee/donation appears in the envelope, your letter gets treated like a message from an old friend.

Of course, there’s the other category who charge. You are buying a product from an autograph factory. A family member or paid mail handler processes your request. The item is presented for a signature. Joe Cool signs it, never knowing anything about the collector getting the ‘graph. Assembly line stuff.

Therefore, if you’re intent on getting a signer in the $5 to $10 range, take a chance. Include a question. You’ll still get your autograph, even if the request is ignored. Asking is free.

Join www.sportscollectors.net and study the “successes” forum. The posting collector usually tells how much the required fee was, and if any extra items came with the response. As you decide whether you want to pay for a signature, ask yourself two questions.

1. How much?
2. Why are they asking?

Coming Wednesday: A Review of Wherever I Wind Up, by Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey

Happy 95th, Virgil “Fire” Trucks!

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Still smiling at age 95!

It’s time to slice up a cake brimming with thanks. Slices of gratitude go to collector friend Kohei Nirengi, When Baseball Was Fun newsletter publisher Bobby Hoeft, the folks at www.sportscollectors.net and YOU!

April closed out with Virgil Trucks celebrating his 95th birthday. His amazing daughter Carolyn Beckwith staged a surprise card shower. I’m grateful that she shared a report:

“I received 60 cards at my house and he received 50 plus at his house.  There were 25 brought to the party so he did get in all well over 95.  The mayor of our town of Chelsea also brought him a proclamation.  Also talked to my granddaughter, his great granddaughter Kristen via Skype who is stationed in Germany with her husband. We all enjoyed watching him interact on skype.

He was very humbled and appreciative of all of the fan cards which we do have a picture of and will send soon. The local newspaper came out and took pictures and did a story. The cards were displayed on the table in the shape of a “V”, along with a birthday cake made by my granddaughter his great granddaughter Ashley.

Thank you and the fans so much for making his 95th birthday so special. I am truly blessed to have him and look forward to celebrating his 100th birthday.  I know without a doubt his fans help keep him going.”

Cardinal Jim Lindeman Relives First HR

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1987 post-season?
“…kind of a blur.”

Jim Lindeman seemed like a working-class player. Not a hit-in-your-sleep kind of guy, but someone who’d use brains and determination to defy the odds.

I’m grateful for the insightful letter he shared. Here’s his memories:

Q: Your first career homer came off Jim Deshaies Sept. 5, 1986. What do you recall of that hit?

A: The HR off Deshaies was a high fastball and I hit it into the first few rows of left field in the Astrodome.

I still remember the crack of the bat.

Q: You racked up nine post-season hits in 1987. What moments stand out for you?

A: The 1987 post-season is kind of a blur. It all went so fast and it is hard to recall anything. I do remember Jeffrey Leonard and the ‘one flap down’ stuff and the intensity of the NL playoffs.

There was much less pressure in the World Series.

Q: You became a clutch pinch-hitter. Is one pinch-hit you’re proudest of?

A: I don’t have a particular hit in mind, but the 1991 season with the Phillies was my most successful pinch-hitting season.

Coming Friday: a Virgil Trucks birthday update!