Dan Cote – Baseball by The Letters

Dan Cote Customizes Twins Collection for ‘Signs of Minnesota’

Tom Owens — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 21:38:00 +0000

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.

Grateful Pitcher Kurt Kepshire Pays Tribute To Fallen St. Louis Cardinals Catcher Darrell Porter

Tom Owens — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:07:00 +0000

Dan Cote dazzles again. I’m a weekly follower of “Signed DC.” Dan collected Kepshire in 2010.
The Portland picture is priceless. Smile, Kurt!

I took a chance writing to pitcher Kurt Kepshire.

This guy is a speed signer. I saw samples of his abbreviated autograph, combined with his speedy response time. He’s the kind of guy who might sign the cards before the postman gets the mailbox lid opened.

I worried that he might not take the time to respond to, or even read, a question in a letter. You know the type? The person who gets your e-mail and writes back HA HA before seeing the second sentence.

Impressively, Kepshire fielded all three of my three questions. When I asked about memories of batterymate Darrell Porter, Kepshire wrote:

“Him helping me with back-to-back shutouts. Great guy. Sad loss.”

The beginning and the end are the keys to Kepshire’s delight over beating San Francisco in his debut July 4, 1984. (Thanks, http://www.retrosheet.org/!) He replied:

“Taking the mound for the first time and getting a standing ovation at the end. Great memory.”

Lastly, the grateful hurler avoided any chest-thumping bragging when I asked about his back-to-back shutouts in September, 1984. Not only did he beat the Cubs (at home!) and Expos, he faced other call-ups, foes he couldn’t have extensive scouting reports on. How does he recall those wins?

“Pitching against some great players and achieving that goal with the help of my teammates.”

Free Minor League Player Addresses? It’s true!

Tom Owens — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 05:11:00 +0000

Jeff Signed in English
AND Chinese!

There’s an offer that can’t be missed.

If you haven’t ordered Harvey Meiselman’s unbeatable 2011 Baseball Address List, he’s sweetening the deal. Buy the baseball list, and he throws in FREE his minor league baseball list. This is an $18 value as a bonus!

Minor leaguers have major memories. They don’t get the same ton of fan mail guys in Topps sets do. Therefore, they have more time to give all-star responses.

Back in January, I featured Dan Cote’s “Signed DC” blog series detailing how he’s collecting the 1983 Visalia Oaks set signed — getting autographs from minor league teammates of Kirby Puckett. Dan would ask for the card to be autographed, then include a question about playing with a future Hall of Famer. Virtually every response included a lengthy tale of that magical season.

Dan just heard from that team’s general manager, receiving a lengthy letter telling about the team and the great set Dan’s collecting. No one else besides this former general manager would know the minor league set’s history! To learn why the card is autographed in English AND Chinese, be sure to check out Dan’s latest blog update.

Meanwhile, Harvey Meiselman is offering the perfect, affordable entry into minor league autograph collecting. Try his list. You’ll be gratified by the heart-felt responses that fill your mailbox.

Coming Monday: Insight from Sam Mele, skipper of the 1965 A.L. Champion Minnesota Twins.

Ten From Then: Get Signers While They’re Hot!

Tom Owens — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 05:11:00 +0000

I have a soft spot in
my heart for the
players Topps “decapped.”
Does Short look happy
with his “traded” pose?

I don’t know if any of these players were outgoing during their careers. Letters to each were “out going” this week:

Bill Almon
Cuno Barragan
John Hetki
Ted Kasanski
Buddy Lively
Hector Lopez
Rance Mulliniks
Curt Raydon
Bill Short
Ed Wojna

Why these 10? I was trolling the “recent responses” from http://www.sportscollectors.net/. It’s the best bargain in the hobby, I must repeat. They’ve signed for others, and they’ve signed fast. I wanted to float some questions the way of 10 receptive retirees. Stay tuned…

Meanwhile, I’d appreciate any reader feedback as to what I may (or may not) have to look forward to in my mailbox from these guys.

WEEKEND UPDATE: Here’s a P.S. from Dan Cote, creator of the autograph blog “Signed D.C.” The new dad/Twins fan snared a signed Michael Cuddyer photo for his newborn daughter, after the two watched their first Twins game together on TV. Dan’s update includes:

“I did tell the whole story and even asked for a personalization to her if at all possible.

For all I know, it’s possible he didn’t even read the letter, just signed the photo. But he did retweet my twitter thank you to him this morning and added the comment “Cool story. You’re welcome!” so at least he’s read the story now.”

Dan’s actions help all of us. Any time a major leaguer can be convinced that an autograph is a personal gift (not just an item to be resold), we all win!

Tomorrow: the mystery of 1960 Yankee pitcher Hal Stowe

Twin Michael Cuddyer’s Best-Ever Autograph? The Best Memorabilia Has Memory!

Tom Owens — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:39:00 +0000

He may sign a lot more photos, but
he’ll never know how special
this one is!

Congrats to Dan Cote of the blog “Signed D.C.”. His Michael Cuddyer photo may be worth more than any autograph the Twin will ever sign.

Worth more to Dan, that is.

I love the story of why Dan wanted the autograph. Someday, I’m hoping Dan gets a personalized signature for his daughter. Someday, I’m hoping Mister C learns this whole great story.

I encourage Dan to keep the tale of Charlotte’s birth next to the photo. Together, they’re worth more than any price guide can calculate.

Think this is a good hobby? Try sharing it with someone else and watch that good turn into GREAT.

Kirby Puckett’s Life Retold in Autographs

Tom Owens — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 06:11:00 +0000

A Favorite BASKETBALL
Teammate of Kirby Puckett!

I profiled Dan Cote and his “Signed DC” blog in the Jan. 15 edition. Then, I discovered exhibit A of why he’s a great hobby example to follow in 2011. He’s been harvesting history while getting the 1983 Visalia Oaks set signed. A guy named Kirby Puckett played his first full pro season with that California team.

As Dan tells it:

“The Visalia pursuit was kind of a happy accident. I did a lot of TTM collecting when I was a kid, from the age of 10 until I was about 15 (approximately 1987 to 1993). On a whim, I sent out a few letters last April. As it turns out, I awoke a monster that had been in hibernation for around 17 years! I was kind of directionless at first, but then my focus became clear.

1) Minnesota Twins
2) Minnesota North Stars
3) Minnesota-born athletes

While going through my old cards to find players to write to, I kept coming across Twins minor league cards from the late ’80s and early ’90s. The players addresses were harder to find, and I kind of enjoyed that challenge. It felt more rewarding putting the work into really hunting for an address rather than simply finding it on SportsCollectors.net or some other autograph site. Eventually I found my 1983 Visalia set locked away in a safe in my old bedroom at my parents’ house.

I was lucky enough to get the Puckett card signed at an appearance he made for a Hyundai dealership opening in April 1988. I started tracking down the other guys in the set, and after the first few responses I was hooked.

Phil Franko was my first return, on June 21. He wrote a great two-page letter talking about his career, playing with Kirby, and told me what he’s doing now. The very next day, Lee Belanger’s return came with another full letter. Two days later, another return and another letter, this time from Curt Kindred. A few days later brought another big letter from Erez Borowsky. It kept on going from there.

Not everyone in the set has included a full letter to me with their return, but most have. And that is really what makes the project so special. Most thanked me for writing them.

I really have utilized the internet for this project. A couple addresses were found on SCN, but whitepages.com and Google have been my greatest resources. Most of the addresses have come from searching whitepages and making educated guesses.

I found Ron McKelvie (the team trainer, who has a card in the set) on Facebook and he graciously sent me his mailing address. Googling Frank Ramppen eventually revealed that he is essentially Bobby Valentine’s sidekick. He was his bench coach in Japan and now runs Bobby V’s sports bar and his baseball camp. I wrote to him care of the restaurant.

After I found Bob DeCosta’s address on whitepages, he tracked me down on Facebook and hooked me up with an address for Jack McMahon (teasingly called “the best white basketball player ever” by Puckett, he wrote to Dan). They were minor league teammates and Jack was in Bob’s wedding, but they hadn’t seen each other in about 20 years. Bob told me that my letter inspired him to give Jack a call. They were going to get together for a beer for the first time in two decades, thanks to me. That’s pretty awesome.

Anyway, I seem kind of stuck on the project at the moment. I haven’t had a return from this set since September 20, when Jeff Arney and Craig Henderson arrived on the same day (after being out for over two months each). I have 17 of 25 done, including Puckett.

In some cases, just doing a google search for a player (sometimes while also entering keywords like “Minnesota Twins,” “Visalia Oaks,” or “baseball” will help. Especially if you use that in conjunction with whitepages. Sometimes a google search will reveal where somebody is now, and a whitepages search focused on that locale will give you an address. It’s especially helpful for common names.

In most letters I did ask what it was like playing with Kirby. I asked if he was the same larger-than-life personality then as he would become in Minnesota. I also would usually ask the players if they kept in touch with any of their old teammates and would ask what they are doing now and if they’re still involved at all in baseball.

The team finished 87-53. They won their division but lost in the league championship series.”

Once, the set sat unnoticed in a dark safe. Now, it’s unlocking stories of baseball history. Dan Cote may be “Comeback Collector of the Year” for 2011.