Header - Baseball by the Letters

Red Rudy Minarcin Mastered the ’55 Dodgers

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Even at age 80, I’m sure Rudy Minarcin can produce the same smile seen on his two classic baseball cards.

How?

Just ask him about the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers.

Based on June 15’s outcome, few would have thought the Dodgers would be that year’s World Series winners. Not after the pitcher nicknamed “Buster” beat Brooklyn with a four-hitter.

Looking at Minarcin’s letter, I think he may have enjoyed it. He wrote:

“The game against Dodgers was the best and happiest day of my life. It was great for me.”

Of course, the heroes at http://www.restrosheet.org/ have documented Minarcin’s milestone game.

Minarcin has kept smiling, despite his abbreviated career. He explained:

“My life in baseball was very enjoyable. I would play for nothing. That’s what I thought about the game of baseball. I got an ACL [injury] and the doctors didn’t know how to fix it back then. That’s what put me out of baseball. It was a very big disappointment for me.”

Cub Mark Prior Showed Good Letters Count

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Why would you have an autographed newspaper clipping?

Because a rookie sensation clipped it out for me.

In 2002, I had attended the Iowa Cubs AAA games that launched pitcher Mark Prior to Stephen Strasburg-like potential. I watched visiting players on their dugout steps, staring and gasping like fanboys. I picked out Chicago general manager Jim Hendry in a Des Moines skybox nodding again and again for each strike, grinning like he just hit the lottery.

I wrote all this to Prior the week Chicago promoted him. I told him how meaningful it was to be part of his ascent to the majors. Plus, I mentioned that I thought I’d never afford the autographs offered in the team gift shop. However, I was enclosing a 9-by-12 SASE. Please, would he have a couple of photos to send to me and my brother?

Enclosed were two carefully-clipped color photos, one from the Tribune, one from the Sun-Times. Both showed that famous pinched Prior signature.

The moral? Forget the form letter. Lose the canned paragraphs. Dream big. Be personal every time. There’s no better way to beat those major league odds.

Get Dawson, Herzog & Harvey HOF Postcards!

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(Courtesy Samantha Carr, NBHOF)

One of the biggest frustrations I’ve seen through the years comes from dealers reselling blank Hall of Fame plaque postcards.

Newbie autograph collectors think, “Wow! This dealer was at Cooperstown. He only wants a couple bucks per card. I can get them signed.”

It doesn’t take a road trip to get the postcards. Buy them direct from the Hall of Fame and save money!

For just 50 cents each, plus postage ($2 for up to 20 cards, $4.95 for 21 to 100 or $6.95 for 101 to 200) you can order the postcards by mail. Call the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum store at 607-547-0280 to request an order form. Or, if you have the names of inductee postcards you want to order, they should do phone orders with a credit card.

The days of members signing for free are fading fast. Bobby Doerr and Lee MacPhail might be the only non-charging exceptions. Nevertheless, the postcards are a link to my past as a fan and collector. They’re still a bargain.

Get Dawson, Herzog & Harvey HOF Postcards!

by
(Courtesy Samantha Carr, NBHOF)

One of the biggest frustrations I’ve seen through the years comes from dealers reselling blank Hall of Fame plaque postcards.

Newbie autograph collectors think, “Wow! This dealer was at Cooperstown. He only wants a couple bucks per card. I can get them signed.”

It doesn’t take a road trip to get the postcards. Buy them direct from the Hall of Fame and save money!

For just 50 cents each, plus postage ($2 for up to 20 cards, $4.95 for 21 to 100 or $6.95 for 101 to 200) you can order the postcards by mail. Call the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum store at 607-547-0280 to request an order form. Or, if you have the names of inductee postcards you want to order, they should do phone orders with a credit card.

The days of members signing for free are fading fast. Bobby Doerr and Lee MacPhail might be the only non-charging exceptions. Nevertheless, the postcards are a link to my past as a fan and collector. They’re still a bargain.

Trying Not to Go Batty Over Matt Batts

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I own more than one Bill Nowlin baseball title. He’s one of SABR’s finest researchers and interviewers. Enjoy his profile of Matt Batts on the SABR website here.

Nowlin got Batts to move beyond complaining about the Browns record in 1951. The catcher enjoyed hitting .300 there. Plus, Batts seemed to savor the team of characters, from Bill Veeck and Satchel Paige to Eddie Gaedel.

I tip my cap to my insightful wife for that educated guess on Batts’ cryptic autograph. Thankfully, Batts didn’t write, “Rosebud.”