Header - Baseball by the Letters

Mets, Orioles General Manager Frank Cashen Dies At Age 88

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This “Topps Archive”
blog shared this image
and a great headline
for the obit — one
that would have made
the well-read GM smile.
Check out the blog!

Frank Cashen earned five World Series rings as an executive. His death at age 88 raises a question for me as a hobbyist.

The Orioles and Mets are well-collected teams. I was stunned to check the always-amazing www.sportscollectors.net. The good news? Cashen was a 100 percent responder, signing for everyone who wrote.
However, only 16 collectors made attempts.
In fact,the general manager surprised a few collectors who wrote, sharing extras of the rare 1992 Topps card made of himself for a special ceremony. Miss the one-day event, and you wouldn’t have gotten the card.
The Hall of Fame will be selecting more owners and GMs in the future. Often, the men don’t get honors until they’re deceased.
The future is now.

Recalling Two Talks With Twins Second Baseman Bobby Randall

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Check out Randall’s
stats and philosophy at
www.baseball-almanac.com!
That piercing stare. Those eyebrows. That dramatic grin.
There was nothing minor league about Bobby Randall.
 I encountered him as a 1976 Minnesota Twin. I was in a Kansas City hotel lobby. I had my Twins collection in a small shoebox, alphabetized.
Guess what infielder stood nearby, poking a teammate, pointing at me?
“What are you going to do with all that?” he challenged. 
“Take it home and put it with the rest of my collection,” I answered as sincerely as possible. 
I produced his Topps card and asked for his autograph (please).
Pause. Smile. Signature.
Flash forward. I’m a journalism student at Iowa State University. I pitch a feature idea on the baseball team’s coach, former major leaguer Bobby Randall.
He’s polite during the interview, listening intently and acting like I’m The Sporting News editor. Every answer is sincere and detailed. His sole home run (off Chris Knapp) wasn’t a tape measure blast, so he made it sound like anyone could have cleared the fence. He became embarrassed when I asked about signing autographs and getting fan mail. 
At the end of our talk, I confide that I got his autograph those years ago in Kansas City. I tell him the story, thanking him again for signing. “You should have told me!” 
I was surprised, covering Cyclone baseball games for the Des Moines Register, that fans weren’t getting his autograph. Didn’t they know who he really was?
He volunteered to speak to my wife’s day camp group. A devout Christian, the coach taught by action and example. 
I like to think that I might have encouraged a Twins rookie to keep an open mind about autograph collectors. He expressed other thoughts that day at Iowa State — a great warning to in-person collectors. Nevertheless, I never saw him turn his back on a fan. Plus, I know that Bobby Randall remains a TTM all-star signer today. He’s a prize in my collection of stories behind the signatures.

Baseball-Crazy Cartoonist Scott Hilburn Shares ‘Argyle Sweater’ History

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From Feb. 11, 2011. Did the Flyin’ Hawaiian
ever know he was a comics all-star, too? Visit
www.theargylesweater.com to keep daily tabs
on this funny fellow fan!
Last week, I wrote about seeing Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt appear in the “funny papers.” 

I pondered whether cartoonists were well-connected folk who knew anyone and everyone. Would it matter saying to a major leaguer that you saw them honored in the comics?

Here’s the kind reply from creator Scott Hilburn himself:

“Hi Tom,

I’m not specifically a Dodgers fan – but a huge baseball fan in general.  

I’ve never been to a Dodgers game (I live in Dallas) but only because I haven’t had the opportunity yet.

I try to catch the closest ballgame when I travel and I hope to, one day, visit every stadium.

I’ve included a few players in my comic before. Shane Victorino immediately comes to mind.

No feedback from any of the players though.”

Thanks to Scott for his time, and for funny stuff worth sharing with any real-life counterpart.

  

Creativity Pays When Writing For Autographs: Grab Some Scissors & Think Comical!

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Players, past and present, are human. If you
see them mentioned in an offbeat way, share it.
Good luck finding more offbeat fun than what’s
offered by “The Argyle Sweater.”

Many new collectors ask the best way to write a letter to a former major leaguer.

The late Virgil Trucks told me once that fan mail writers tried to tell him things about his career. Rarely could someone surprise him with a factoid or stats.
I’m talking about SHOWING someone when you write.
How many people saw this 6/23 comic panel. It’s called Argyle Sweater, by Scott Hilburn. Funny stuff. Rarely does a cartoonist reference a specific person.
In case you can’t read the pitching coach’s number, Hilburn even has Honeycutt’s correct #40. Any Los Angeles Dodgers fan would love seeing broadcaster Vin Scully co-starring in the gag.
Cut out the comic (or print it out). Say you thought his family might like an extra. Send one to the coach.
Players and retirees think that collectors are all about taking. Give a little.

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…