Header - Baseball by the Letters

Future Hall of Famer Marvin Miller’s Death: Lessons For Collectors

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The Hall of Fame has another mess to clean up.

Ron Santo was just one example. Marvin Miller led the Major League Baseball Players Association. For better or for worse, he helped pioneer free agency. Another worthy, overlooked part of baseball history.

From eBay: small sigs
were vintage Miller!

Inducting someone after their death has happened before.

Miller may have peeved as many collectors as owners in his lifetime. His final stats on www.sportscollectors.net say that he responded 126 times to 174 recorded TTM attempts.

I found the non-player in just two card sets: a 1994 Upper Deck issue and the 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites set.

Miller’s eyesight may have been failing for years, judging by his microscopic signatures.

In his defense, neither card offered a great space for an autograph.

I think he became irritated with the cumbersome nature of signing his book and baseballs. I believe that the final collectors who succeeded with Miller were ones who proved they were sincere, educated fans.

Another eBay example:
face-signed cards?

Look hard for other baseball pioneers. Find them before Cooperstown, or the Grim Reaper, calls.

Team owners
umpires
general managers
scouts

Readers: are other non-players Hall of Fame material, ready for autograph collections?

Coming Wednesday: Arizona Fall League insights from The Autograph Card

Is Your Glass Half Full? A Question For All Baseball TTM Autograph Collectors

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What’s right about baseball autograph collecting right now?

I ask myself this every day. Not just about the hobby, but about all walks of life. We know the problems. How can we celebrate what’s good in the interim?

I began my survey with Rich Hanson, one of the most ambitious autograph collectors I’ve ever known.

He said:

 About the only thing good about baseball card autograph collecting is the accessability of the players at the minor league level. In-person autographing is still fun. By mail is getting tougher, and the EBayers who sell signatures have lent a foul stench to the hobby. But I’m sure you’ve heard my complaints on that score already.

Readers, how would you answer?

Brother Beans 1, Hurricane Sandy 0; A Yankee Stadium Matchstick Masterpiece Endures!

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Saving Yankee Stadium from Hurricane Sandy
 

“One game. One day. One dream.”

On 12/12/12, we think of the concert to raise money for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Right now, let’s raise some hope.

Dear Baseball World,

Sometimes, we write letters to current or former players. We ask for an autograph or for a memory. A question answered.

Today, this letter is written for one of us, 86-year-old Bill Becker.

For years, he covered for his lack of remembering names by calling everyone “Brother Beans.” In turn, everyone decided Bill should have that name, too.

Well, our Brother Beans hasn’t asked for much. This eternal Yankees fan was widowed 11 years ago. He filled his void by remembering his other love. From matchsticks and Elmer’s glue, he constructed his own ballpark. The House That Ruth Build, meet The House That Beans Built.

Hurricane Sandy came calling for Brother. It got his house. But his masterpiece, and his spirit, remained, said granddaughter Kelly Herrington.

Brother Beans one wish is listed above. He wants his Yankee Stadium in the new Yankee Stadium. For one game, he wants to share with other fans.

He’s not asking for a zillion dollars. (Some artists won’t sell, for any price.) He doesn’t want his matchstick creation installed in Monument Park forevermore. Brother Beans is a Who down in Whoville. Despite death, despite Hurricane Sandy’s destruction, he’s shouting to the baseball world that he’s still here.

Baseball World, this letter his microphone. Hear him. Help him. December is the time of miracles. Let’s add Brother Beans to that list.

Start with a visit to his official Facebook page. CNN has noticed, too. A newsletter was one of the first online allies.

Now, it’s our turn. Know any Yankee front office folk? Any minor league employees? Cooperstown? Spread the word. This dream can come true. We all belong to Brother’s band of brothers. Baseball unites.

Coming Friday: What’s RIGHT about baseball autograph collecting?

Harvey Meiselman’s Address Inspiration?

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To get more than the
facsimile sig, hobbyists
needed special
help to find Alston!

I’ve always loved those “making of” documentaries. Everyone can see the movie. Seeing behind the scenes is another story.

That’s why I wrote Harvey Meiselman about his upcoming Baseball Address List that ships in just a few weeks. He’s at www.sportsaddresslists.com. He’s a tireless tracker of elusive baseball names, the guys who never stay put. Was it a shy superstar or humble Hall of Famer that he was proudest of pinpointing? Nope. His choice surprised me! Harvey replied.

“The player was Wendell “Dell” Alston who broke into the majors with the Yankees in 1978. When “that other baseball address list guy” in Ames IA first put Alston on his list in 1979 or 1980, he listed an address of 3 Granada Crt in White Plains NY. And there it stayed from that time until about 1999 when he started to list it as “Old Address.”
 
During that time I tracked him using my resources through 4 different addresses in MD. I had been working with Jack Smalling for a few years doing updates to his baseball addresses and I tried to pass this address update to him but he didn’t think it was accurate and never used it. I told Jack I wanted to do my own baseball address list and he asked me to wait 2-3 years because he was “afraid” I would use all his information which I found to be 55-60% inaccurate. I had been researching my own MLB addresses, from scratch, since 1988, and told him I would not use any addresses he had on his list unless I researched it myself and confirmed it was correct.
 
So, in 2002, I came out with my Baseball Address List and it’s now my best seller of all the lists that I produce. Well, to make a long story short, Dell Alston has moved 3 more times through this year but because of the address I found in MD a lot of collectors had successes with him and dealers were contacting him to do private signings and bring him in for shows.
 
If you look at what’s included in Jack’s baseball list and then check the addresses in mine, you’ll see that I took his idea 5 steps further than he probably ever imagined or was able to do (I include signing fees, ex-MLB players working for teams as coaches and managers, team addresses and websites and much more) that give collectors a much better contact point to get players autographs.
One last note Tom. I get a lot of emails from collectors who say they use Intelius, ZabaSearch and other free people search engine and found a few addresses so why should they spend the money for my list. And I tell them that in the past 10 years I’ve found over 50,000 addresses with databases that cost me between $3,500 and $4,000 a year to use.”
 
I believe in Harvey and his addresses. Make it a happy hobby new year. Get his 2013 edition today!
 
Coming Wednesday: Letters to help a deserving Yankees fan?
 
 

Secret Santa In Your SASE?

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Good signers have a little Santa in them.

I look at www.sportscollectors.net and see others who note in their tracked response: “Added small photo.”

I think that some of the hobby’s most generous custom card designers are these Secret Santas. Those of you adding an extra or sending some dupes on request are giving a retiree the chance to treat other collectors.

My one request of all of you? When you give, give freely. Add a post-it to a bonus card saying FOR YOU, so the signer doesn’t autograph everything in sight.

I see too many collectors saying, “I told him he could keep a couple if he wanted, but he signed them all.” That smells too much like, “I’ll make a half-hearted offer in hopes of getting lots of autographed extras because of the confusion.”

Someone like Freddy Schmidt loved rewarding the best letters. Help them help us.

Coming Monday: The Yankee who inspired Harvey Meiselman’s address directory!