Header - Baseball by the Letters

Kohei Nirengi

Negro Leaguer collects collector letters

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In words, in his own artwork, in two languages, Kohei Nirengi loves baseball!
In words, in his own artwork, in two languages, Kohei Nirengi loves baseball!

I am a Nick Diunte fan.

I read his great interviews and fantastic features at BaseballHappenings.net and examiner.com. Nick’s love for the game and his attention to detail set him apart from other writers.

His fact-finding talent resurfaced during a recent discovery he made online.

He found amazing footage in the documentary Extra Innings: Preserving the History of the Negro Leagues. (Please, take a look at the Youtube clip.) There’s former Kansas City Monarch Bill McCrary with a binder. He’s proud to show a letter he preserved from a fan in Japan.

That’s no ordinary fan. That’s blog reader and friend Kohei Nirengi.

Yes, so many retirees read our letters.

Many are thrilled more than you’ll ever know.

And this is the tricky part. I believe Mr. McCrary wasn’t stunned by a letter from another country. He was impressed seeing that someone made a special effort to learn his story and contact him with a personal letter.

Your postmark doesn’t matter. Your sincerity and dedication do.

Thank you, Nick. Thank you, Kohei!

(Secret?) Stamp Prices for 2013

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Note to USPS:
more baseball stamps
= MORE PROFIT!

Why does it seem that the official approval for U.S. stamp increases always get announced on a weekend?

The commission ruling on Friday (after Happy Hour?) was shared by sources like MSN on Sunday.

So the skittish decision makers can get a running headstart from possible protesters who don’t hear until Monday morning?

A one-cent increase isn’t that shocking. Even better, the USPS is doing one great move. There will be a FOREVER global stamp. Any country $1.10. I’ve seen the anguished looks postal counter workers flash when looking up the assorted rates to different countries. Plus, collector friends like Kohei Nirengi in Japan won’t have to ponder what to do about the multi-year responses from America costing more on their SASEs.

Kohei mentioned that pitcher Larry Andersen got back to him this month after a mere seven years.

Getting back to the postal service: be proud and loud. I can’t afford UPS or FedEx-ing former players. I’m not planning expecting retirees in their 80s and 90s to start e-mailing me. You’re the only game in town, in my book.

Coming Wednesday: sometimes-signers TTM.

Antiques Roadshow Reactions

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Thanks to all the blog faithful who responded about last week’s thoughts about “real” value in autographs.

It was not my intent to demonize this PBS staple. It’s great that people are interested in the backgrounds of their collectibles. I’ve hoped that more people would want to know who signed their baseballs, not just how many autographs are in the collection.

With that said, I wanted to add one comment and make one vow:

First, I’ve never disagreed with some collector who wants to keep quiet that he’s harboring a rare, exclusive autograph collection that could be worth zillions. I understand the fear that too much publicity could risk the security of valued memorabilia.

My problem? I’d be the person on Antiques Roadshow who hears the huge appraisal then poo-poos:

“That’s great. But I don’t care. I’d never sell it, no matter the price.”

I’ve imagined the director grimacing. “Get me more mercenary collectors!”

Meanwhile, I’ve hoped this blog would offer an alternative example for collectors. It’s my goal, even my hope, that you’ll see what I think real value is. I’d love to see all collectors bragging about the personal response they received from a retiree, how the reply exceeded all their expectations. Let the coin and stamp collectors brag about their net worth.

I take pride in finding former players who are fellow fans. Kohei Nirengi, my friend in Japan, notes in his letters that he believes that baseball is “the most beautiful game.” His sincere belief gets many letters of agreement and congratulations.

The best “autographs” in my collection today aren’t the rarest or signed by the most famous. The correspondence I’ve kept shows that my past memories of baseball are appreciated today. The response shows that I, as a fan, matter. No price guide can give me that.

Coming Friday: a Virgil Trucks update

Giants Pitcher Masanori Murakami: Tracking Down A Baseball Pioneer’s Elusive Autogaph

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David Patton’sprize!

Hobby tales always fascinate me. The best ones have morals. Here are three lessons I learned from the following story:

1. The power of the Internet.
2. The power of focus.
3. The power of ASKING.

I’ve always agreed with Albert Einstein, who felt that genius came not in knowing all the answers, but in knowing where and how to look for those answers.

I loved how hobbyist David Patton got a surprise Christmas bonus from Tony Oliva. Tony O appreciated David’s sincerity, and gave him a no-charge autograph with a greeting.

When David told me about his one big autograph project, I had a suggestion. He needed Masanori Murakami, the first Japanese player to pitch in the majors. But how? Japanese postage? What language should a letter be in? Are there other customs the retired star would appreciate?

I suggested he seek the advice of Japan’s Kohei Nirengi, a talented collector who excels in TTM autographs. Kohei is a bilingual fan with a thorough knowledge of American and Japanese baseball.

David adds:

“I want to thank you for introducing me to Kohei.  He is truly a great supporter of the hobby.  He was so accommodating to me and offered a few ideas which probably improved my chances of success.  I hope to meet him some day. 

I collected cards as a kid but didn’t do any autographing.  After my retirement in 2007, I decided to finish off a raw 65 set from my childhood.  That took about a year and then I didn’t know what to do next.  I was looking for a challenge which wouldn’t break the bank.  Then I found out about www.sportscollectors.net from a post on the CU message boards and soon I was hooked.

 I decided to sacrifice the 65 set for autographs and sent out my first card on 4/17/09.  I was fortunate to select a set with so many great TTM signers.  So far I have 489 different autos with 349 of those coming through the mail.  That’s71 percent!  I’m now down to about 12 or so living players who are all toughies.  I know that I’ll never complete the set, but I hope to get as many as reasonably possible and hope to break 500 this summer.

My quest for Murakami began at the National two years ago.  I was at a booth which sold Japanese cards and asked if they had any information about him.  Luckily there was another customer there who had been to Japan and met Murakami.  He said that he had a 65 Giants team card signed by Murakami which he would sell to me.  After months of searching he was never able to locate the card, but the experience did give me the idea of finding a connection in Japan to help.   I sent my letter to Murakami through Kohei and he included an interpreted letter along with mine.  I also included a rookie card for both Kohei and Murakami as well as an SSPC card for Murakami.

Currently I’m working on some 1950 Bowman cards.  There are a surprising number of players who are great TTM signers still living.  Their cards can be found on Ebay for about $5 with a little patience.  I am exploring some ideas to persuade some of the remaining players from the 65 set to sign.  Just this week I got a signed card back from Pedro Gonzalez (only the third reported on SCN).  That success was a little lucky and one I never expected.  That is what keeps us going.”

Coming Friday: Kohei A bonus letter reply? Nirengi tells more of the stunning Murakami success!

Surprise Virgil Trucks On His 95th!

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Let’s surprise ‘Fire’ on April 26
with OUR autographs!

Thanks to friend Kohei Nirengi, who shared this e-mail alert.

ON APRIL 26 VIRGIL TRUCKS, THE TIGERS OLDEST FORMER PLAYER WILL CELEBRATE HIS  95TH BIRTHDAY !!!
                                                      *************
A BIRTHDAY PARTY  WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE HOME OF HIS DAUGHTER.

SHE HAS REQUESTED THAT THOSE WHO WANT TO SEND VIRGIL A BIRTHDAY CARD PLEASE SEND IT TO HER HOME AND NOT TO VIRGIL’S ADDRESS. SHE IS PLANNING HIS BIRTHDAY AS A SURPRISE AND WILL ARRANGE ALL CARDS IN A SPECIAL HONOR TO HIM.  

HER ADDRESS IS:
                        MS. CAROLYN TRUCKS BECKWITH,
                        55  SALSER LANE
                        COLUMBIANA,  ALABAMA   35051

GO TIGERS,   bobby hoeft, founder & publisher of  WBWF

Past blog posts have saluted Bobby and his one-of-a-kind newsletter, When Baseball Was Fun. Bobby has an all-star plan here.

Please, do NOT send  to Virgil at HIS address. Help his daughter stage a special SURPRISE tribute to this super-signer and best friend to the hobby.

Coming Wednesday: Yogi Berra and Ron Guidry autographing details!