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Dan Brunetti

Timing Bob Boone’s Signing Habits

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Keep chasing Boonie
before the HOF calls! If you think he’s
a streaky signer now, just wait…

One of the joys of this blog is finding all-star readers. These are the gamers of the hobby, those tireless collectors who do autographs their way.

Thanks to Dan Brunetti sent a great note with an interesting possibility:

“I have enjoyed your posts this month.

My “why won’t this guy sign for me?” is Bob Boone.  I have gotten RTS returns from him both through the Nationals and at his home address while the rest of the world seems to be racking up successes at both addresses with one or two week turnarounds.  I am chalking it up to bad timing, as I sent to the Nationals in January and to his home in California in May.

I have have a few others where I saw several cards mailed after mine show up in the success column of others while I was still waiting.  Bill Lee and Bert Campaneris are two good examples.”

Poor Mario Mendoza got a “line” named after his anemic batting average. Will the spot signers who vex a particular collector be assigned the pitcher’s name? As in, “The guy totally Santorini-s me every time I write!”

Lastly, here’s a grateful shout-out to Daniel Solzman. He shared…

“I had the chance to meet Wade Boggs on Wednesday when I went to the Rays-Red Sox game.  He was doing a charity signing at the Ted Williams Museum prior to the game.  It was $30, well more than the $5 he charges TTM but it was worth it as the money went to the Boston Strong fund as well as a military veterans fund.  Now I have a photo with Wade that I am getting made into an 8×10 to get signed!
 
Dick Vitale was also at the game, too.  He adopted the Stan Musial model of having pre-signed cards with him,  He posed for a photo in the middle of the 8th inning with me.  I’m also getting that made into an 8×10 and sending to ESPN for an HOF inscription.”
 
Speaking of Stan The Man, allow me to cheer for the writing of Dan The Man. Enjoy Daniel’s “Redbird Rants,” including this exclusive chat with Ozzie Smith. Well done, fellow correspondent!
 
I love all the feedback. We can learn so much from each other. How’s your baseball correspondence lately? Please, let me know.

C’mon, Chet Lemon!

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For many autograph collectors, it’s about the GETTING.

For others, it’s the GIVING.

And the HOPING.

Some hobbyists might nickname former outfielder Chet Lemon as “Lost Cause Lemon.” The always-awesome www.sportscollectors.net site says that Lemon’s last documented response came in 2007.

That hasn’t stopped Dan Brunetti and his son.

They decorated an envelope with tiny pics of all 54 of Lemon’s cards. The whole undertaking took more than an hour. Dan’s son wrote the letter. They just want one card each signed (for their Topps set projects).

Dan’s son told Mr. Lemon in the letter that he had a “cool name.”

He’s got two cool fans. Autograph or not, this pair have a classic shared memory that’ll deserve a lasting place in their collections.

Finding Inspiration In 1979 Topps

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Guys from the
first game Dan
ever attended!
 

Why?

I’m dazzled by the collectors who can answer that question. When I look at someone’s collecting specialty, I want to know how that emphasis (the year, teams, players, etc.) reflects that hobbyist.

Dan Brunetti, who is focusing on autographs on 1979 Topps, knocked the question out of the park. He said:

“That set is my favorite as it is the first year that I collected. My mom couldn’t figure out what order I was keeping them in. She would sort them by number, by team, or alphabetically and then I would put them back they way they were before she sorted them. It seems that I has memorized the order I had opened them in and kept putting them back that way. She also claims that I learned how to read by sounding out the player names on the cards. I suspect that the first story has a good bit more truth than the second.

I collected autographs for a time as a kid. My best through the mail has to be Cool Papa Bell. I got Nolan Ryan at an Astros game. Then Ernie Banks and Yogi Berra at a card show. I quit autographs until I got to college at Alabama and they won the football championship in 1992. I collected everything Alabama for several years after that. I got back into baseball autographs in 1999 sending mostly to minor league managers and coaches who were former big-leaguers.

I started back in November and have gotten Ed ” Too Tall” Jones, Charlie Joiner, Dave Kingman, and Greg Luzinski plus a few Alabama players (including Ozzie Newsome) since then.

My mom never threw out my cards and I still have the cards I opened that year. Most all of them have at least one crease in them. I thought about sending them out but have opted to buy nicer cards instead. I’m not sure that I made the right decision. I wish I had sent Kingman and Luzinski 1979 cards instead of cards from 1977.



Above: Dan appreciates
personalized responses.
Meanwhile, his son
is savoring TTM
success, too!

My son is collecting the 1986 Cubs by accident sort of. I give him cards for doing his chores and cleaning his room. I gave him Cubs team sets at first. He noticed that Ron Cey was in several years, so Ron Cey was his first TTM. Since then, whenever I send a player from the 1979 set that was on the 1986 Cubs we include that one and send both cards and we both write letters. Since the first note Richie Hebner has signed for us.

My mini-project within the 1979 Topps is to get the players who played in the first game I went to – the Sept 2, 1979 matchup between the Mets And the Astros. I got Kevin Kobel today. He is the Mets pitcher who tallied the win at the first game I went to. Other players from that game I have are Art Howe, Denny Walling, Andy Hassler, Terry Puhl, Ed Kranepool, John Stearns, and Richie Hebner.

My dad saved the program from the game and framed it for me. It has a couple of autographs on it too, looks like Luis Pujols and Jimmy Sexton. I also got the batboy, since he wrote BB underneath his signature.”

Two great collections reflecting two people having FUN. That’s true value. Thanks, Dan.