Talking with Frank “The Original One, 1951-66” Thomas, I marveled at his passion as a fan and collector. Look at his website to see all the sets he appeared in.

I first wrote about Frank May 6, telling about the causes he supports through autograph signing. The two charities supporting young cancer patients are in Charleston, South Carolina, he spotted. E on the blogger, says the official scorer.

Frank’s biggest revelation escaped me in the original post. He mentioned the messy or abbreviated signatures of stars like Frank “Big Hurt” Thomas.

I loved this answer. This big-hearted Pirates star can’t fathom scribbling for collectors. Do players want to conceal and disguise their signed identities? I could hear in his voice that he believes hobbyists deserve signatures showing every letter, first and last name. A fear of crime was the only possible explanation Frank the First could muster to explain half-hearted autographs.

Coming Monday: The day Jim Bouton “went to bat” for Tom Shopay.