An Overdue Christmas Thank You

I've somehow neglected to display all of the autographs I received for Christmas, so it seems like I better do it now that as it's already been two and a half weeks since the holiday. So here we go... (Don't worry, Paul, I haven't forgotten about you!)

I've already displayed two of the three unpossible autographs that my dad gave to me, but he also gave me a few other autographs.

I have a small-scale collection of signed Hall of Fame plaque cards, and I specifically try to collect the players and/or executives that have any connection to the Orioles. I don't have them all yet, but I have a majority of the HOFers who have ties to Baltimore.

The only player enshrined as an Oriole who was missing from my collection was Frank Robinson. You might remember that he's not my favorite person, but he was a great player who had some of his greatest years with the Orioles. My dad knew I was still trying to add this plaque card to my collection; it's pretty impressive how he can keep up with my need lists!

He also gave me a few assorted Orioles autographs to add to my collection or trade for something else I need. He knows that it's pretty hard to find any Orioles autographs that I still need. (Bert Hamric anyone?)

There are a very few collectors/bloggers who I have exchanged Christmas cards with over the past few years. Fellow Orioles autograph collector, Pol, is one of those people. This year, I sent him a card with no autographs or cards in it. Big mistake! Because in my card, I found these three signatures. 

The highlight of the three was definitely this Bob Feller signed HOF plaque card. I had a similar one of these but this one seems to be a different version or issue of the plaque card, so it's staying in the collection.

 He also included a cool Jack Fisher signed black and white photo/postcard deal. 

AND an autograph of Tommy John, who I mostly know for having the arm surgery named after him. But it turns that he pitched in the Majors for 26 seasons for six different teams. It certainly seems like the surgery worked for him!

Thank you so much Dad and Pol, I really appreciate the awesome additions to my collection! Merry belated Christmas!

2011 Spring Training Contest Information

Since it seemed like everyone enjoyed my spring training contest last year, I'm doing it again this season. The only differences this year are that you need to be a follower of my blog to enter and only one person can select each team. It got a little confusing on my end to have multiple people selecting the same team, so get your entries in soon! For your viewing pleasure, I've included some autographed Orioles cards that appear to show spring training scenes in the background throughout this post. I thought it might need some color.

Here's some more information on the contest and the rest of the rules.

Since spring is the time of year that any team can have the best record, the idea is for everyone to select the team that they think will have the best Spring Training winning % of all Grapefruit and Cactus League teams, including the results from split-squad games but not games played against college teams. In case two teams have the best record, as a tiebreaker, I would like everyone to select their team's record (team's play between 30-37 games as listed below).

As far as the prizes go for this, I was going to list a bunch of cards that the winner could choose from but I have decided to just say that I'll work with the winner to make sure that they are happy with their winnings. It will be something good from my selection of autographs, inserts, memorabilia cards, and base cards. Your prize will be something that you should really enjoy.

I will update this post as people join in on the contest but here is the list of teams and the number of games that they will play.

GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE:

Atlanta Braves (35) Captain Canuck
Baltimore Orioles (32) Ryan 20-11 (1 rainout)
Boston Red Sox (35)
Cincinnati Reds (33) Zach 22-11
Detroit Tigers (34)
Florida Marlins (32)
Houston Astros (35)
Minnesota Twins (32) dawgbones 24-8
New York Mets (35) Paul 25-10
New York Yankees (32) BA Benny
Philadelphia Phillies (35) Daniel
Pittsburgh Pirates (33)
St. Louis Cardinals (31)
Tampa Bay Rays (32)
Toronto Blue Jays (31)
Washington Nationals (30)


CACTUS LEAGUE:


Arizona Diamondbacks (37)
Chicago Cubs (34) Justin 24-10
Chicago White Sox (32)
Cleveland Indians (33)
Colorado Rockies (33) CPD 23-10
Kansas City Royals (32) Alvin 21-11
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (33)
Los Angeles Dodgers (37) Jonathan 25-12
Milwaukee Brewers (32) Matthew 22-10
Oakland A's (35) Nathan
San Diego Padres (31) Rod 20-11
San Francisco Giants (36)
Seattle Mariners (32) Mariner1 20-12
Texas Rangers (31) Play at the Plate 19-12

Last year the Rays, who went 20-8, had the best ST record, which made BA Benny the winner of my first ever contest. The 7-21 Pirates were the worst team of the spring.

Who will win it this year?

How Do You Do TTM?

I'm interested in talking to some other TTM seekers about how they go about their business.

Here's what I do:
-hand write a note, politely requesting their autograph. I keep it short but try to include something specific about them or their playing career.
-include SASE with Forever stamp in case they want to return my request years down the road
-include card in a top loader and penny sleeve to keep it safe
-add a small post-it note on the card, requesting that they personalize to me

How does that compare to what you do? I know that some people have had success with players who have not returned my requests or vice versa.

Before I send anything out, I use Harvey Meiselman's address list and cross check everything on SCN to make sure the address is current and that there is a reasonable chance that the player will return my card.

Overall, 119 of my 164 requests have been signed and returned to me, which is good for a 72% success rate. If you remove the 7 requests I sent out to current players before I used SCN to check the likelihood that my cards would ever come back, my success rate jumps up to 75%, which is pretty solid. You have to figure that some of my requests could have been accidentally misplaced or still could find their way back to me.

TTM is a great, cheap way to add new autographs to your collection. While it's more time-consuming than just buying a signed card, it's nice to add a bit of personal story to your autograph collection. It also reaffirms that there are plenty of former players that are kind enough to still respond to their fans.