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Brandon Phillips

Joey Votto keeps Cincinnati odd-ball autograph tradition alive!

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From August 27: Votto stares down a fan who battled him a foul ball. Votto would present the fan with a second ball, autographed! (Photo credit: ThatLostDog/Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons)
From August 2: Votto stares down a fan who battled him for a foul ball. Votto would present the fan with a second ball, autographed! (Photo credit: ThatLostDog/Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons)

For the Cincinnati Reds, an autographed baseball is the equivalent to the “get out of jail free” card in MONOPOLY.

Joey Votto’s anger over a fan who outdueled him for a foul ball was rectified by a post-incident autographed baseball. 

Brandon Phillips used signed-ball diplomacy previously. 

Votto has used autographs to make a statement before, explaining why he wouldn’t sign for Cubs fans.

The inspiring website www.sportscollectors.net notes that collectors through the mail have gotten 365 responses (69 percent success rate overall). However, the last recorded response came in June, 2015.

I predict this won’t be the last time the Cincy slugger depends on autographs to gain center stage.

One Heckle ‘Dear Drunk Guy’ Should Have Shouted At Cincinnati’s Brandon Phillips

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How does the 2nd baseman feel about his
most surprising autograph ever? The photo
was posted on Phillips’ official site,
www.datdudebp.com

Cincinnati’s Brandon Phillips can play, on field and off.

If baseball had an All-Twitter team, he’d be a captain.
Posing for fan photos. Sharing those photos. He does it all.
Almost all.
The always-amazing website www.sportscollectors.net provided two stunning stats on Phillips. He’s still at a 70 percent success rate for fan mail. However, members on the website haven’t recorded a TTM success from him since October, 2011.
Everyone’s grooving on the story about Phillips responding with kindness to a drunken Pirates fan last week, providing a humorous but pointed “personalized” autograph.
Will BP apply half the effort on his fan mail that he showed toward a soused heckler? Many sober collectors are waiting. And waiting. And waiting…