Joe Mauer and Taylor Swift

Joe Mauer trots home with the 2009 AL MVP

Monday Joe Mauer became the 5th Minnesota Twins to win the American League MVP. November 11th Taylor Swift became the 29th person to win the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award. Mauer received 27 of 28 1st place votes and won universal praise from baseball followers of all varieties. Mauer was the first player in the American League since George Brett in 1980 to win what has been dubbed the “Modern Day Triple Crowd” (leading the league in batting average, on-base %, and slugging percentage). Mauer, who has won three batting titles, hit .365 this year while winning a gold glove playing the most important defensive position (catcher) in baseball. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who doubts Joe Mauer is deserving of the accolades he is receiving.

Taylor Swift has sold more albums than any other country artist this year. Her singles have major hits. Her concert tour was a huge success. She has helped usher country music into the digital age. It was Swift who was the first country artist to successfully use social media like MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook to bring her music directly to her fans, and hold an on-going conversation with them. In a changing music landscape, Taylor Swift has been out front of the rest of the country music world helping to keep country music relevant. Yet you will find many people who think Taylor Swift is undeserving of the accolades she is receiving.

It was once that way for Joe Mauer as well. When the Twins’ drafted Joe Mauer #1 overall in 2001, critics quickly denounced the pick claiming the Twins should have taken highly touted pitching prospect Mark Prior instead. When Prior beat Mauer to the major league then won 18 games to lead the Cubs to the brink of the World Series, Mauer’s critics howled even more. Today Mark Prior’s career is in ruins. He had one great season and since has battled injuries.Mauer has won three batting titles and is now a MVP.

Mauer’s critics have complained about his lack of power, his supposed health issues, and his lack of vocal leadership in the clubhouse. Funny how all those complaints have now disappeared. Mauer is not only the best catcher in baseball, he is one of the two best players in all of baseball (Albert Pujlos is other). Mauer hits for average, power, walks more than he strikes out, and is one of best defensive catchers in the league. He has lead a less then stellar pitching staff to overachieve, and helped the Twins win two division titles and come within an eyelash of another title in the last four years.

Taylor Swift’s critics claim she cannot sing. They say she writes fluffy songs about nothing but teenage love. They say she is only interested in crossing over to pop music. They claim she will destroy country music.

Sadly I have heard these criticisms in country music before. Shania Twain can’t sing and will be the death of country music. Alan Jackson is boring, Tim McGraw is a weak vocalist, Brooks & Dunn are all show, Reba McEntire has forgotten her roots, George Strait’s albums all sound the same, Brad Paisley’s music is bland, Toby Keith is all about image not music, the Dixie Chicks are traitors, Dwight Yoakam is an aloof troublemaker, Garth Brooks is ruin of country music. Funny how these artists have taken heat at one time or another in their careers, and yet all are now respected artists.

The CMA Awards voters often seem to cast the votes not for who the think was the best, but who they think would represent the country music genre best. Vince Gill did not deserve to be CMA Male Vocalist for five straight years (1991-1995) yet he won all five years. It was fairly obvious the CMA wanted to push Gill forward as representative of country music. He was what they wanted people to think about when they thought country music.

Taylor Swift will not be the death of country music as many people think. No more so than Kenny Rogers, Garth Brooks, or Shania Twain was before her. If country music dies it will be because of its way of doing business. Country music’s current business model has large record labels spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on developing artists who they then spending millions more on promoting to radio. Now these labels find they no longer have the money to sustain that model.

In a new model Taylor Swift helped create, artists will use the Web to promote themselves and work to gain a core following before sending their music to radio. This following will help promote the artist’s music to others who will then in turn help push the artist’s music when it finally reaches the radio. Lady Antebellum is an excellent example of the new model. I knew about them long before they ever released a single to radio. I was not alone. Now they are raising stars.

Music will be distributed via methods such as iTunes and Amazon.com. Artists will produce and promote music at lower cost. If your costs are lower, you need to sell less to make money. In his 2006 books The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More Chris Anderson explains the future of music is not having a few superstars selling 5-10 million copies of their albums, it will be several artists selling 250,000 or 500,000 or 1 million copies of albums. Artists will sell less, but more artists will sell. Anderson talks about a new model of doing business in the music world which is similar to the model used by Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift’s CMA wins had little to do with her singing. They were an acknowledgement that she is the future model of what a country music superstar must be – an artist who can not only write and sing, but be willing to engage their fans in an on-going dialogue on current and new mediums of communication.

You may not like her singing, you may think the songs she writes are fluff, you may think she is full of herself, but you cannot escape the fact that Taylor Swift has come to be the symbol of country music to an emerging audience that will not longer play by the old rules.

Taylor Swift is sustaining country music in terms of sales and exposure. Without her the life boats would be lowered because country music would be sinking. The CMA grabbed a hold of its biggest life preserver – Taylor Swift – and asked her to keep country music a float.

No one with the Minnesota Twins is thinking of lowering the life boats. With an exciting nucleus of Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Denard Span, Jason Kubel, Michael Cuddyer, J.J. Hardy, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn, and Joe Nathan the Twins have a chance for something big. Joe Mauer will soon be signing a long-term contract extension as the Twins will not let him leave. Mauer’s presence will make the Twins relevant for years to come. No one will argue Joe Mauer’s greatest. No questions will be asked about his game. Like other legends before him such as Ruth, Cobb, Williams, Musial, Mantle, Aaron, Mays, Bench, Jackson, Schmidt, Henderson, Griffey Jr., and Pujols, Joe Mauer’s greatest seems assured.

Joe Mauer and Taylor Swift now the banner carriers for two things I love – Twins baseball and country music - with Joe Mauer being universally loved and Taylor Swift anything but. I find the reaction to both interesting. Why is one of them so loved and the other not? Is it the perspective from which one views them? Ten years from now will people view Swift differently like they view Joe Mauer now or for that matter Shania Twain?

I have meet Joe Mauer multiple times in person. He is a great guy. He has shown his greatness on the field and yet remained humble. He is seemingly loved by everyone. I have never meet Taylor Swift in person, yet I have seen her accept her awards humbly. She has rarely complained the criticism she has received. Yet she is both loved and hated with intense passion.

Baseball and country music both inspired great passion. Much passion is directed toward who is greater and who. Is Babe Ruth greater than Hank Aaron? Is Alan Jackson greater than Garth Brooks? Yet two different standard barriers at the top of their games – Joe Mauer and Taylor Swift – inspire much different reactions. Joe Mauer seemingly can do not wrong; Taylor Swift seemingly can do no right. Perhaps one should step back and see that in fact Taylor Swift may not as bad as she seems. Joe Mauer has proved that you should wait awhile before passing judgment.

A Couple of Minnesota Twins Thoughts

The Twins Trade for J.J. Hardy

The Twins had traded Carlos Gomez to Milwaukee for shortstop JJ Hardy. I like this trade. We needed a great fielding, solid hitting shortstop and now we have one. Better yet we did not have to give up any pitching to get him.

Of course this trade renders my signed Carlos Gomez ball, photo, and three baseball cards worthless. I also had to get some JJ Hardy cards for him to sign for me, but it will be worth it.

One thought about Carlos Gomez. This town fell in love with him the moment he arrived. They loved his speed, his defense, his personality, his energy. However, no one could stand his hitting. It drove people crazy. In batting order already sporting the light hitting Nick Punto, there was no room for Gomez even if he is the best fielding outfielder in baseball. Good luck Carlos, welcome JJ!

I Went to the Twins Moving Sale.

I went to the Twins moving sale held on November 7. Evidently while packing their offices up for the move to Target Field, the Twins found lots stuff they did not take with them, so they held a sale.

I arrived an hour and ten minutes before the start of the sale only to find I was about the 300th person in line. I read that 15,000 people came to the sale. Most of those folks did not get much. In fact there was a lot of junk there.

I did secure some things I wanted though. I got a Jack Morris bobble head for $10. I also got a set of 4 bobble heads that were given away to season ticket holders in 2007 for just $25. Who were the four? They were Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Micheal Cuddyer, and Gary Gaetti.

I am a big Gaetti guy, so getting him was great. Mauer and Morneau are two of the all-time great Twins plus Cuddyer is a great guy and solid player. I rearrange the shelf above my TV so I could display all my bobble heads of which I have ten plus a mini bobble head. While not a huge collector I do intend to try and secure some more.

The next big Twins event is Twinsfest in late January. If this moving sale is any preview of the crowds that will be at Twinsfest, I better get in line now.

Goodbye Grandpa

Me and my Grandpa in 2007

My Grandfather died on Saturday, October 24, 2009. When Grandpa was in his 70’s and 80’s I did not want to lose him. I asked God to let Grandpa stay around a while. God answered my prayers and let Grandpa live till he was almost 102. Better yet, God let Grandpa stay mentally strong, so I was able to converse with him for most of his remaining time.

I spent a lot of time with Grandpa and Grandma over the last 20 years. I would drive down from the Twin Cities to their rural, small town home, and would sit and visit with them for hours. They would take me out to supper, and we would return home to watch the six o’clock on channel 12. I would leave to sound of the words “Thanks for Coming!”

Once at the restaurant we were eating at, an older waitress told me I would be thankful for taking the time to come down and visit with my Grandparents. She was right. I will always cherish those times and I am very grateful to had them.

Grandpa had a dry sense of humor. When I would go down to visit him he would often greet me with the line “are you lost?” I was not lost of course, and come to think of it I am not lost in my life either thanks in part to Grandpa whose strong Christian values and moral strength helped shape me for the better.

I will remember the line “are you lost” because it was how he greeted me when I went to see him on Thursday, Oct 22nd. He was starting to fade badly. Those words were the only real words other than “yes” and “no” that I got from him. I told him how much I loved him, and thanked him for all he had done for me. I did not know if I would ever see him again.

I did see him again that Saturday, but this time it was obvious it would be the last time. He could not respond to me, he did not have to. Grandpa had done enough for me. I will now do something for him. This Thursday I will help carry him to his final resting place. It is the least I can do for him.

Grandpa spent years telling everyone he disliked funerals where the dead person was endlessly praised as a great person. Grandpa would always tell my Mom and Dad that he wanted a simple funeral with little fuss made over him. Therefore I will end this post by not gushing about how great my Grandpa was. I will only state that I enjoyed my time with my Grandpa, and I am thankful to God for granting my wish that my Grandpa live for many healthy years; years I could spend with him and will always remember fondly.

Goodbye Metrodome

I have attended many Twins games at the Metrodome. My first game was in 1983. I attended 41 games in 1984 – most I would ever attend in one season. I attended anywhere between 5-20 games a season from 1985-1994.

1994 baseball strike alienated me from baseball. When the Twins threaten to move if they did not get a new stadium I was alienated all the more. I did not attend a game from 1995 to 2001. However, my love of the Twins had not died. When I read the now famous Sid Hartman Star Tribune column announcing the Twins were going to be contacted (eliminated) by major league baseball, I rose to my team’s side.

I returned to the Dome in 2002. A new group of players had made the Twins competitive again. I also returned to collecting autographs again, and made Twinsfest and Twins player appearance not to be missed events. For me the Twins have always been and will always be my number one sports team in Minnesota.

The Metrodome has been the home of the Twins for 28 years. I have so many memories. Among some of the more interesting:

• I nearly ejected by the Minneapolis Police from a game because I was smoking (no smoking is allowed in the Metrodome!). Only one problem I have never smoked in my life. I was with a group of friends that day and they could not stop laughing at the thought that I – last person in the world anyone would think of as a smoker – was not only accused of but nearly ejected for smoking. To this day whenever I see one of those guys they bring this up and we laugh pretty hard about it. Of course, it was not funny at the time.

• I saw Carlos Silva set the major league record in 2005 for few pitches thrown in a complete game. I actually did not know he set the record to till I got out to my car and listened to the postgame show on the radio. I did remember thinking during the game that Silva was really having some short innings. Indeed he was.

• In 1985 I saw Kirby Puckett hit his first career home run. At the time no one, including me, had any idea how great Kirby Puckett would become. What a great thought to know I was there to see this legends first home run.

• I saw Joe Mauer go 5-5 against the Dodgers in 2006. I realized then how good this guy was going to be.

• I went to Game 2 of 1987 ALCS. It is the only postseason game I have attended. I have tried going to others, but either I could not get tickets or I could not get off work to go. Still I will always cherish this experience. I heard on the day of Game 2 that single tickets remained. I going to the University of Minnesota at the time and after class I walked all the way over to the Dome, and was surprised to get a ticket. I sat next to two obsessed middle aged female Twins fans. I loved every minute of the game. I can still hear the sound of the after game chat in concourse of “Sweep!”
  

This year I went to two games. The first was on a whim. I went alone, and was able to secure the best seat I had ever gotten. 15 rows right behind home plate. The game was against the Mariners. I went early and got to see the legendary Ken Griffey Jr. take batting practice. He did not disappoint putting on an impressive power display. The game was a big Twins win. I saw Justin Morneau crush a home run. I had a great time.

The second game I went to was an afternoon game. I went with my friend Joel. He prefers going to afternoon games, and we have attended many such games together. We sat in left field, which where I have sat many a time. We were on the end of the row just on the fair side of the foul poll.

Twins have photographers who go a around before the game taking fans pictures. You can go view the pictures on the Web. One of these photographers took a picture of Joel and me with the field in the background. The Twins won that game. I have that picture of Joel and me. I printed it out and my mother frame it. It sits in her living room.

I thought about going to one of the last game at the Dome, but decided that the game I attend with Joel would be my last at the Metrodome. Too many things went right that day. I decided to make my last Twins game at the Dome one with happy memories.

I liked the Metrodome because I always knew there would be game played. The Dome was easy for me to get to. I always was able to find affordable parking – sometimes even free parking. The sight lines left something to be desired, but the Dome was always a comfortable place for me.

I have attended outdoor baseball games in Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Houston. I look forward to outdoor in Minnesota. Still I will miss the Dome. It was the place of the Minnesota Twins greatest moments – World Series wins in 1987 & 1991. I will always remember the Metrodome not for it flaws, but for the good memories. Win Twins!

Phil Esposito TTM Success

Phil Esposito was one of the greatest and most famous hockey players ever. He shattered the record for goals and points in single season in 1970-71 with 76 goals and 152 points. He became the NHL’s all-time leader in goals and points scored.

His records were eventually broken, but his star never dimmed. In 1984 Phil Esposito was rightly made a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

I owned one hockey card of Phil Esposito which was one of the first hockey cards I ever owned. It was 75-76 Topps; the last card of Esposito as a Boston Bruin. In 2007 I decided to send a card to Phil Esposito to see if he would sign it. I did not want to send my 75-76 Topps for fear I would not get it back. Instead I created a card on my computer and printed it out on some photo paper. It turned out pretty good, so I sent it.

700 days later that card came back to me signed by Phil Esposito. I was pleasantly surprise. Phil Esposito does not sign much through the mail, so to get it back at all was amazing. Mr. Esposito even took the time to personalize the card to me and include his number (7).

Retired hockey players tend to be the best signers of any sport. I have gotten Hall of Fame legends such as Guy LaFluer, Bobby Clarke, Bryan Trottier, Steve Yzerman, Jean Beliveau, and others for FREE. Some big names like Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, and Mario Lemieux charge big money while the “signed” Wayne Gretzky card I got may be auto penned.

Well my signed Esposito card looks very legitimate. It made my day to get it back. Thank you Phil Esposito!

Goodbye Brooks & Dunn

Though they were not official members of the genre altering Country Music Class of 89, Brooks & Dunn in many ways came to symbolize the “Hot New Country” movement of the early 90’s. Their boot scootin’ up-tempo songs, passionate ballads, flashy live shows, and even flashier cloths made stand out as something new, something different, something interesting. People took to them and Brooks & Dunn’s debut album Brand New Man sold 6 million copies. Its follow up Hard Workin’ Man sold 5 million.

Brooks & Dunn sold 26.5 million albums, scored 20 #1 singles, and won the 1996 CMA Entertainer of the Year Award. Their The Greatest Hits Collection released in 1997 still charts on the Country Catalog Album Chart and has sold 4.9 million copies. Not bad for a duo formed in 1991 at a lunch meeting hosted by Arista Nashville President Tim Dubois between failing solo artist Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn.

Brooks & Dunn survived the ups and down and the music business to be along with Alan Jackson the only artists of the early 90’s country movement to still be commercially viable. Now Alan Jackson is alone as Brooks & Dunn have called it quits after 20 years. They will release an album of their #1 hits this fall then stage a farewell tour in 2010.

Kix and Ronnie are in the mid fifties. They were always opposites in style and personality. That they made it 20 years is amazing. Ronnie Dunn did most the singing. Kix Brooks was the energy on the live stage. They both wrote songs– sometimes separately sometimes together. Kix and Ronnie share lead vocals on only one song. They alternated who would write the latest chapter of story of Slim and Howdy the mythical cowboy characters who a short story about would appear in each Brooks & Dunn album.

I saw Brooks & Dunn in 1995 with Trisha Yearwood at the Minnesota State Fair. 17,000 plus showed up and were treated to a great show. The up-tempo songs rocked, the ballads were moving. Ronnie Dunn’s voice was even better live, so for that matter was Kix Brooks’. And yes they had a huge balloon shaped like their logo of bleached out, dead Long Horn Steer skull.

I saw them again in 1996 at the Minnesota State Fair with Pam Tillis. Fewer people came (13,000), but the show was still good though not as good. Brooks & Dunn came to town several more times, but I never was moved to see the again. Maybe hearing their big hits “Boot Scootin Boogie”, “My Maria”, and “Neon Moon” on the radio all the time wore on me. I still like their music; they just were no longer a concert destination for me.

I did write them this and ask them to sign a custom baseball card I created of them. They did so showing yet again that some superstar acts like Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn still have time to respond to their fans. Maybe that was the key to their success – listening to their fans.

Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn has talked the last few years about recording solo albums. I hope they do. I think they will be very different from their Brooks & Dunn music. Whatever they do, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn can take pride in a great 20 year run as Brooks & Dunn.

RTS

When I send cards I send along a self addressed stamped envelop (SASE) for the player to return the signed card in. I put my address on the SASE, and also put my address in the return address field. Why do I put my address in both spots? Because I always worry that the postal service will find a reason why they can’t deliver my SASE to me and would then try to RTS (Return to Sender) it back to return address. I assumed I was being over paranoid. Well guess what?

Tuesday I came home to find one of my SASE had return with a RTS sticker on it. Yes, the postal service had determined it could not deliver my SASE to the person it was addressed to even though that person was me and the address on the SASE was the correct address. Well the postal service RTS it back to the person listed in the return address which was me as well. So my putting my address in the return address field of the envelop had paid off.

The only thing I saw that was wrong on the envelop was the there was no post mark. The stamp was from the post office so it was good, but for some reason the envelop never got a post marked.

In the end I got my signed card, and what a card it was. Football Hall of Famer Dick Butkus signed a card for me! Now I have the three greatest (in my opinion) defensive football players of all-time – Lawrence Taylor, Alan Page, and Dick Butkus.

And to think, I would not have gotten Dick Butkus if I had not taken a couple extra moments to put my address up in the return address field of my SASE.

More Twins Signings

Saturday I made the drive up to Elk River. Michael Cuddyer and Brendan Harris were signing autographs at the Cub Foods in Elk River. In fact Twins players were all over the Twin Cities area Saturday. Jason Kubel was in Maple Grove, Joe Nathan was in St. Louis Park, Denard Span was in Hudson, Wi (Hudson is right across the MN/WI border), Scott Baker was in Minnetonka, R.A. Dickey was in Roseville, and Brian Dunesing was in Apple Valley.

With all these players out and about and signing autographs at roughly the same time I had to choose where I wanted to go. I choose going to see Cuddyer and Harris because I had just bought some nice looking Allen & Ginter cards of Cuddyer, Harris, Nathan, Blackburn, Liriano, and Gomez. I have goal of getting all these cards signed. Since both Cuddyer and Harris are both in that group of cards, and I don’t really have a signed card of Harris, the choice of where to go was quite obvious.

The choice was made easier by the fact I knew I could mail Nathan his card with a SASE c/o of the Twins and he would sign it and send it back. Blackburn is also great at signing stuff sent to him, but I had sent him a Topps Heritage card in April, and I wanted to wait till at last August before sending him another card. I don’t want Nick Blackburn to think I am trying to spam him with autograph requests.

My hope for Saturday was to get to Elk River early, get through the line quickly then make the 40 minute drive to Roseville to get R.A. Dickey who I need to add to my collection. I got to Elk River at 10:15 for the scheduled 11:30 signing. A handful of people were there already ( and I knew many more would follow which they did), so I quickly got in line. I figured I would get through the line in 10-15 minutes and be able to get in Roseville in time for R.A.

Unfortunately things did not work out as planned. Michael Cuddyer, who is a class guy, arrived early. Brendan Harris was 10 minutes late. The line moved slower than expected, and I was left with only 25 minutes to make a 40 minute drive. Obviously R.A. would have to wait another day.

Instead I took the opportunity to drive around the area heading north to Zimmerman and Princeton. This area is fast becoming an area of growth as more people try to get away from the city. However as more people move out there it is fast become more a part of the city. Pretty soon these cities will be outer ring suburbs, but for now they are still country towns.

I did make it down to Roseville, but it was later in the afternoon. I wanted to stop at Three Star Sports Cards to get some more cards for signing. Dan, one of the owners, told me the 2009 Allen & Ginter cards had arrived. They were $5 for a pack of 8, and $100 + for a box. Ouch! I remember when packs of cards cost 25 cents and you got 12 cards and a stick of gum. Of course that was 30 years ago.

I will wait for Three Star to set out some single Allen & Ginter cards. Yes, they usual charge a $1 or $2 for each card, but I will get who I want instead of spending $5 and taking a chance on getting who I want.

I returned home to find I had mail. Joe Nathan had returned my signed Allen & Ginter card I had sent him in the mail. He had also signed a SPX card for me. Joe Nathan is just a class individual who remembers his fans. He has also been selected to play in his fourth All-Star game. Go Joe Nathan!

I ended up with signed Allen & Ginter cards from Cuddyer, Harris, and Nathan all on the same day. It was god day.

Third Time is a Charm?

Last Friday a received a signed baseball card from Andre Dawson. Mr. Dawson was the 1987 NL MVP and is a borderline HOFer. What interested me about this return is that it took me 3 tries to get Mr. Dawson to sign a card for me. Since starting to collect autographs via ttm (through the mail) I have seen people getting returns from Mr. Dawson. I liked Andre Dawson, so I sent to him and got no response. I waited about eight months while dozens of folks kept getting a response for him, many only having to wait a couple weeks for a return. I decided to send to Mr. Dawson again, and got no response again. Finally I sent a third time, and he signed one of two cards for me. I appreciate that Mr. Dawson sign a card for me, but I wonder what happen to the cards I sent to him before.

This is not an issue exclusive to Andre Dawson. I had to send to future Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, former All-Star Will Clark, and former Twin Dan Schatzader three times each in order to get a response from them. Mr. Schatzader sent back (signed) all the cards I had sent him over the years, while Mr. Larkin and Mr. Clark signed and returned only the last card I had sent them.

Why did it take three times to get a response? What happened to the other cards I sent? Were they lost? Did the player simply decide he did not want to send them back? Did the player just arbitrarily decide to sign for certain people and not others? I don’t know the answer, but what I do know is perseverance pays off.

Fernando Valenzuela, Geoff Zahn, Dale Murphy, Don Mattingly, and Don Sutton have refused to sign for me the first two times I have sent to them. I have seen many returns from Mr. Valenzuela, but not from Mr. Zahn, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Mattingly, and Mr. Sutton. Therefore I will be sending to Mr. Valenzuela a third time, while waiting on the others.

Why wait on the others? I have seen few if any returns from them lately. Mr. Mattingly is currently coaching while Mr. Sutton is doing some broadcasting. They just may be holding on to their mail while they work through the summer, and then they will return the cards in the offseason. It is unwise to flood a player with multiple autograph requests as they may think you are trying to take advantage of their generosity. At the same time though, if others keep getting responses from players and you don’t then it might be wise to try again. You never know what happened to your first one or two attempts. The cards may never even have reached the player. I try to wait 6-9 months before resending.

Of course I would prefer to have the player respond the first time I send to them. Having to buy multiple cards and stamps can get a little pricey. One way to ensure success the first time, especially with more famous players, is to drop them a little cash donation. Some Hall of Fame players have foundations, and if you donate to those foundations you are ensured a return.

HOFer Gary Carter has a foundation which I sent a donation to. I expected it would take 3 or 4 weeks to receive my signed card, but such was not the case. Instead a week later I had the card signed beautiful by Mr. Carter. He also sent me a typed note of thanks on which crossed out Dear Fan and instead wrote my name.

Nolan Ryan has a foundation too. He notes it will take 12 to 16 weeks to have a return from him, but you will get a return. I will be waiting eagerly as I have sent a donation to Mr. Ryan as well.

Mr. Carter and Mr. Ryan are using the fame to him help others. I have no problem donating to a player’s foundation in exchange for an autograph. Tim Raines, Dave Winfield, Frank Viola, and Harmon Killebrew are the baseball players whose foundations have received small donations from me. In return I have received wonderful signed cards. Funny, if you donate to their foundations, a player’s signs your card a lot nicer. Yet another reason to research a player’s signing habits.

Of course some players want donations for signing and the donation goes directly into their bank account. Steve Carlton, Phil Niekro, Brooks Robinson, Bob Feller, Al Kaline, Rollie Fingers, and Whitey Ford are the baseball players who I have “donated” to. All have been fairly reasonably priced ($10-$20). However some folks want a little more. Check out some of these prices to sign a baseball card:

Willie Mays $300
Rickey Henderson $140
Cal Ripkan $140
Frank Robinson $90
Tony Gwynn $85
Eddie Murray $85
Robin Yount $85
Willie McCovey $85
Reggie Jackson $75
Yogi Berra $70

Ouch! I loved getting HOFers to sign my cards, but those prices are just too high. I am going to be investing $40+ each on getting Mike Schmidt and Tom Seaver to sign for me, but that is about all the farther I am willing to go. I figure that Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Seaver will soon be charging in the $70-$100 as well, so I am getting them now while they are still somewhat reasonably priced.

Of course there is one way to beat paying those high prices. It is called “fine someone willing to sell you a certified autographed card for less”. Certified autographed cards are baseball cards signed by a player and then included in a random pack of baseball cards that sold at the store. There are usually very few of these cards, so you are one lucky person when get to open a pack of cards and find one of these certified autographed card. Most certified cards are of current players, but there are a few Hall of Famers out there too.

In 1995 Reggie Jackson signed a few such cards for Upper Deck who then included them in random packs of their cards. I found one of these cards at Twin Cities Sports Collector Club (TCSCC) show with a certificate of authenticity for $40. So I could pay $40 for certified autographed card of Reggie Jackson with a certificate of authenticity guaranteed by one of the large baseball card companies, or I can could send $75 to Reggie Jackson and hope he signs and returns my card in six months or so, or I could send $75 to a company that stages signing by folks like Reggie; include an extra $5 for a certificate of authenticity plus $5 mail order fee plus $10 for shipping for a total price of $95.

Let’s see $40 or $75 to $95. To me that choice was obvious which is why the certified autographed Reggie Jackson card is now sitting in my display case at home with the extra money I saved going to Mike Schmidt. I can now get two signed cards for roughly the amount I would have had to pay Reggie Jackson.

The moral of the story is show perseverance when trying to get a player, “donate” to a player's foundation if you want to guarantee a return, and if you find a players signing fee to high, look for a certified autographed card.

Twins Autograph Party

I attended the Minnesota Twins autograph party on Saturday. At the autograph party you pay one fee, all current players sign at the same time, and you are allowed to get autographs from as many players as you can in the hour and half they are signing.

In reality you either get an autograph from Joe Mauer or Justin Morneau or everyone else. I arrived at 8:30 a.m. to get in the Justin Morneau line. Morneau was scheduled to sign from 12:30-2:00. I got through the Morneau line with 10 minutes to spare. Yes, the line was so long that even arriving 4 hours early I barely made it through the line.

I knew this would likely be the case. In 2006 I spent all my time in the Johan Santana line to get him to sign a baseball. However in 2008 I avoided the Mauer and Morneau lines and was able to get 12 other players. It is an either or thing. Either you get Mauer, or you get Morneau, or you get a lot of the other players.

I wanted Justin to sign his 2007 Allen & Ginter's baseball card for me. He did so, and it looks great in my display case.

I like the Allen & Ginter's cards because they do have glossy coating that most Topps and Upper Deck cards have. The coating can sometimes cause smearing or create air bubbles in the player’s signature making the signature look bad. You can try “rubbing” the card down, but that does not always work.

For the record hitting coach Joe Vara was assigned the thankless task of signing with Morneau. Many people ignored Mr. Vara, but I did not as I needed him for my collection.

There are no Mr. Vara baseball cards that I know of, so I did had him sign a baseball card for the new Twins stadium.

Not able to get any more current Twins, I prepared to get some of the former Twins who were signing from 2:30-4. The Twins bring in the same former players every year. Why? Who knows for sure, but maybe they don’t want to pay too much in traveling expenses as the only guys they bring in from out of town are Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew.

With few new options available, I went with Rod Carew and Tom Kelly. Rod signed a 78 Topps baseball card for me, Tom an 87 Topps card. I had a few extra minutes so I went into the Roy Smalley, Tim Launder, and Ron Coomer line. I did not have a Coomer card, but a kind gentleman gave me one of his, so I was able to get all three players.

It was very hot day at the autograph party, but it beats getting rained on. All in all I had a good time, and look forward to attending next year.