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Pat Neshek

A great free resource for baseball photos

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Here's Pat Neshek, autographing all-star. Wikimedia rocks! (Photo credit: Eric Enfermero/Wikimedia Commons)
Here’s Pat Neshek, autographing all-star. Wikimedia rocks! (Photo credit: Eric Enfermero/Wikimedia Commons)

Do you want a free image of the guy you are writing to? 

Chances are, even that player may have never seen these images before!

Check out Wikimedia Commons. As I read their terms of use policy, there seems to be no conflict for collectors seeking something to get autographed for their own collections.

 

Pat Neshek is coming! Santa Claus joins the Houston Astros

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Santa Junior?

It’s not just the beard.

If you want to see the spirit of Christmas during the 2015 season, tell Houston fans to check out this guy. 
Scratch that. Free agent acquisition Pat Neshek is Christmas every day of the year.
Guaranteed, the Astros will have a league leader in “most autographs given” and “best signature” categories. 

Dan Cote Customizes Twins Collection for ‘Signs of Minnesota’

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Sure, Pat’s an autograph all-star.
However, I predict more
above-and-beyond signatures
for these Cote customs.

I swoon over customized cards.

It’s not simply a matter of seeing a photo for the first time. It’s showing the player depicted that you created a work of art, all because of him.
Dan Cote is creating some beauties for his Signs of Minnesota blog. Of course, he’s covering all Minnesota sports (even on the college level).
Here’s the second cool part of his project:
Check out his blog. If anyone wasn’t sure about signing, they could investigate him online. He’s adding a nice biography of each signer, even including playing stats.
If I was a one-year wonder or cup-of-coffee guy with the Twins, I’d be taking any immortality that I could get. Knowing that my autograph is treated as a bit of baseball history, not as just another tally for someone’s “world’s biggest collection” goal, would compel me to sign. Most players succeeded with goals. They should relate to Dan’s goals, too.
Furthermore, as the fear of everyone being a dealer grows, having such a blog proves that Dan’s a legit, sincere collector and fan.
At the risk of sounding like my old algebra teacher, I’ve got to say it: Keep showing your work, Dan!. It’s inspiration for us all.

Pat Neshek Spreads The Autograph Joy

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Even before the season started, Pat Neshek is making a difference for the St. Louis Cardinals.

I’d think that guys scrapping to make the 25-man roster would be so wrapped up in their own challenges they wouldn’t make a peep in Florida.
Not Pat Neshek. He’s encouraging other Cardinals to answer fan mail.
Imagine. A current major leaguer as a fellow collector, telling teammates that not every adult who sends fan mail is an evil dealer plotting to sell autographs for millions on the black market?
I loved seeing a picture on his Facebook page. Pat’s wife was surprised to see the pitcher in uniform without his trademark high socks for the first time in 10 years. 
They both appreciate every moment. Every fan and collector.
Who couldn’t cheer for someone like that?

Is E-Mail Collectible? An E-Autograph?

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Reliever Pat Neshek is an exception. By e- and U.S. Mail,
he dazzles with his responses.
 

It’s a different kind of envelope to open. No paper. Just an icon.

Including your e-mail address with a fan letter could be a mixed blessing.

I love the hand-written creation of a response. I ask questions and see a retiree’s thought process. The cross-outs, the additions in another color of ink.

I’ve never included an e-mail address, thinking that a former player would only hit SEND when the answer was perfect.

Former catcher Bob Barton illustrated this perfectly. Words in the margins of my letter. Arrows leading me from one burst of thought to another insight. It was so REAL, just like the same way he’d call a game.

I think autograph collectors purchasing an autograph, requesting a special signature on a special spot using a certain pen SHOULD include an e-mail address. Someone handling the purchase could reach you quicker to double-check your wishes.

However, I’m not ready to start printing out e-mails to keep with hand-written letters.

Your thoughts?