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Washington Nationals: the latest ‘poor us’ fan mail autograph tale

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Stephen Strasburg (shown from 2014) makes some claims about fan mail that many collectors might dispute. (Photo credit: Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
Stephen Strasburg (shown from 2014) makes some claims about fan mail that many collectors might dispute. (Photo credit: Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)

Want to collect something new?

Try assembling a team-by-team set of “fan mail exhausts us!”

The Washington Nationals are the latest addition to this cookie-cutter collection of questionable journalism. Reporters seem to write from the same blueprint. Players claim to adore letters from kids. Or, the weary major leaguers discuss a rare memorable letter from the last sincere fan in the universe.

However, readers are reminded that the players are taken advantage of every day by countless corrupt letter writers.

Players finish by claiming that they just can’t cope with all the demands.

In reality, current-player response rates have taken a nosedive in the last five years.

It’s hard to take these articles seriously. Just because a player claims it doesn’t make it so. These season-after-season puff pieces almost seem like paid advertorials devised by teams. As in “Buy our tickets and licensed products, but don’t expect anything in return.”

When will a reporter make the effort to seek out real information, like on www.sportscollectors.net, to see which standoffish players are trying to shine up their tarnished reputations with fans?

Goodbye to Giant autograph signer, Jim Davenport

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Davenport Jim 2When Jim Davenport passed away at age 82 this month, I remembered his polite bafflement.

In 2010, I received a reply (of sorts) to three questions.

I wasn’t alone. According to the ever-trusty SportsCollectors.net, Davenport replied to 298 of 314 documented letters. Best of all, even into this January, he was doing it with sterling penmanship.

While Davenport never seemed to be a quote machine or natural baseball storyteller, he inspired this impressive Alabama retrospective.

Pitcher Chris Hammond’s best team yet?

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Before it all began for Chris? This pic dates back to February, 1989. (Photo credit: KPMcClave/Wikimedia Commons)
Before it all began for Chris? This pic dates back to February, 1989. (Photo credit: KPMcClave/Wikimedia Commons)

Pitcher Chris Hammond logged 14 major league seasons for seven teams.

These days, he’s pitching for a different cause.

Collectors have adored Hammond for years. He’s been a faithful signer through the mail. The website SportsCollectors.net says he’s come through on 328 of 356 attempts, good for a 92 percent success rate.

When I saw on the site that some collectors noted they had sent $1 per autograph, I tracked down the hurler to ask about his fee.

His response:

“I never have asked anyone for money for my measly autograph,” Hammond replied. “But a friend of mine told me to ask for a $1 donation toward my Youth Foundation. I started a youth foundation over 10 years ago that helps underprivileged kids better prepare for life. The first area we try to help these youth is in the area of getting them to participate in sports. If not, anything they need to help them have the best life they can.”

What sparked his public service for his home state of Alabama? “I do the work I do, everyday, because of the presence of Jesus Christ in me, and the work of the Holy Spirit through me!”

Want to feel good getting some affordable autographs? Using the standard self-addressed, stamped envelope and other hobby guidelines, write to Chris Hammond, 55 Sneh St, Oxford AL 36203. Only $1 per autograph for a good cause sounds good to me. Everybody wins!

Pitcher Ken Johnson gone at age 82

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Besides a rare example of a non-personalized autograph, Johnson's Baseball Almanac page is filled with gems you won't find anywhere else. Bookmark the Almanac, and visit before you send your next player letter!
Besides a rare example of a non-personalized autograph, Johnson’s Baseball Almanac page is filled with gems you won’t find anywhere else. Bookmark the Almanac, and visit before you send your next player letter!

Pitcher Ken Johnson died on Nov. 21 at age 82.

I was intrigued by Johnson’s obituary. Baseball was a huge part of his life. So was his religion. I’d guess that someone who combined both passions in one letter might have hit the jackpot.

Johnson’s TTM responses listed on the amazing www.sportscollectors.net showed a spiffy 93 percent success rate. His signing stopped in 2014, when Mrs. Johnson started writing collectors that Ken’s Parkinson’s disease made writing impossible.

A few collectors grumbled through the years that Johnson’s insistence on personalizing autographs was done to make the signatures harder to sell online. 

Maybe. Or, he read every letter and wanted to thank everyone who wrote? He was answering questions for collectors. I think he cared about who wrote.

 

Remembering Virgil ‘Fire’ Trucks, super signer

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We miss you, Fire!
We miss you, Fire!

Where have you gone, Virgil “Fire” Trucks?

I’d like to imagine Simon and Garfunkel singing to the fabled friend of the hobby who passed away in 2013.

I was honored that the ever-so-kind pitcher shared his thoughts with me about autographs. 

Enjoy that epic conversation-turned-blogpost, one more time.