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Iowa Cubs

Fan Mail, Autographs Matter To Iowa Cubs

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WGN, are you listening? Randy is
Cubbie blue, through and through!

Randy Wehofer loves baseball.

Listen to him call just an inning of an Iowa Cubs broadcast and you’ll agree. You’ll forget he’s media relations director. Instead, you’ll think of him as one of the smartest, funniest fellow fans in the ballpark.

His signature home run call? “Get outta my yard!”

I’m grateful that Randy took time to give us an inside look at fan mail and autographs for a AAA team. Here’s our exchange:

Q: Do you see players reading fan mail? Does it make a difference to players?

A: I can’t say that I see the guys reading mail very often, but I try not to be hanging around in the clubhouse too often. I’m in and out several times a day, but I try to get what I need done in there and get out. As far as making a difference, I’m sure that all depends on the individual player and the sincerity of the note. Within any team, there is a wide variety of personalities, just like any office or a big extended family. Undoubtedly you’ll have some that love the attention and some that try to avoid it – just like your friend or cousin that tries to keep their birthday a secret every year and hopes everyone forgets.

Q: Estimates on how much mail I-Cubs receive weekly?

A: I don’t handle all the mail, but I see 5-10 envelopes a day for someone in the clubhouse.

Q: Without naming names, have you seen players ever practicing their autographs?

A: I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but I’ve never seen it. I have heard guys giving teammates a hard time for how their autographs look from time to time.

Q: I understand the MLB tutors the newest minor leaguers to avoid signing
blank index cards, due to a possibility of identity theft. True?

A: I’ve not heard that, but in this day and age that sounds like it would be good advice.

Q: Well, what would you suggest that a collector send (with their SASE, of course) to be signed, if they’ve yet to find baseball cards of that I-Cub?

A: There are photos of all of these guys all over the internet. I’d say if you don’t have a card, find a photo, crop it, print it out, and make your own card.

Q: The Iowa Cubs are famous for their autographed ball giveaway. Does the tradition continue in 2011?

A. It will be on Monday, August 22 this year. It is a huge undertaking to get all of those balls signed, stored, bagged, and distributed. It is one of the most labor intensive projects that we do for one promotion all year.

To learn more about Iowa Cubs promotions and tickets, go to http://www.iowacubs.com/.

Coming Wednesday: Who’s the next nine Tom has written to?

TTM Inspiration From Cub Bobby Scales

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I live near the Iowa Cubs. I’m not the typical minor league fan. Other fans dream of being able to say, “I saw superstars before they were super!”

For me, I’m happy to say that I saw Bobby Scales in action.

He was the American Idol contestant who didn’t care what Simon thought. He wasn’t looking over his shoulder, checking his age or surveying his future. He was happy playing NOW. The joyful utilityman had a plan. Goals!

It’s small wonder that Scales is a school teacher in the off-season. He taught by example.

I think about how some collectors might just “phone in” their autograph request letters. They are writing to goal-oriented achievers, yet the hobbyists don’t share any of their hobby goals.

Are you trying to complete a set?
Are you trying to collect autographs from all the members of one team?
Are you displaying the autographs in a unique way?
Are you getting the signatures for a friend or relative?

Don’t keep your goals a secret. No, spelling it all out isn’t a guarantee. It IS a game plan, something to set you apart from the many other aimless letter writers who make generic appeals for signatures.

Minor League Front Offices Yield Buried Treasure for Autograph Collectors

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The minor league season has one month left. Comb the minor league front offices for autograph signing bonuses.

Here in Iowa, I know the Iowa Cubs have Nate Teut in corporate sales. Pitcher Teut’s “cup of coffee” came with the 2002 Florida Marlins.

I wrote to him when doing an article for the team yearbook about minor league cards. Teut (pronounced TOYT) had great insights about how it feels to get your first-ever card, even if it’s in a minor league set.

He’s a class act, as evidenced by his page on the Iowa Cubs website.

There are former players stuck at desks for four more weeks. I think they’d enjoy nothing better than seeing some fan mail at their workplace. reliving more exciting times. Ask them a question. I’m betting the response you get will be big league, all the way.

Tuning in Broadcaster Randy Wehofer: Movie ‘Sugar’ Features an Iowa Cub

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I may have found the “Crash Davis” of baseball broadcasters in Iowa Cub voice Randy Wehofer.

Tune him in on Praise 940 AM, KPSZ, and you’ll see what I mean. Even after nine seasons calling class A Burlington Bees games, Wehofer still fills each broadcast with the fun insights of a real fan. Who couldn’t love his signature “Get Outta My Yard” home run call?

Wehofer plays the team broadcaster in the movie “Sugar.” On the radio or on the screen, Wehofer doesn’t disappoint.

Totally unexpected, totally enjoyable, Sugar
is my kind of baseball movie. I wanted to thank Wehofer for his broadcasts and his portrayal.

He sent an all-star response, writing:

“The movie was a great experience, but I’ve not heard about from many who didn’t already know me before the movie.

“‘Sugar,’ to me, was mostly a coming-of-age/immigrant story told against a baseball backdrop. I thought they did a good job depicting the challenges of young men – many without a lot of formal education – coming to a foreign land to play baseball and how much pressure they feel to make money to try to rescue their families from poverty. what he learned, that many don’t, is that baseball is a part of him, but it doesn’t define him.

Through woodworking, he could also make a life for himself and his family, like the business owner he met in New York. Too many young people, Dominican or American, think if they fail at sports, they have failed at life. In the end, Sugar realized he could succeed without baseball and the game became fun again for him.”

Wehofer is succeeding at sports, while keeping the fun. I hope a major league promotion isn’t far. I’d hate to hear him out of Iowa’s “yard,” but I know he’s earned his shot at the bigs.