A Lesson in Autograph Collecting

After winning the 2004 Cy Young Award as the best pitcher in the American League, Johan Santana was viewed by Twins fans as a lock to get into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. When he won again in 2006 people thought him destined to be an all-time great like Tom Seaver or Steve Carlton.

When Justin Morneau won the 2006 A.L. MVP he was viewed as the left handed hitting Harmon Killebrew. Morneau like Santana was on the path to the Hall of Fame. So too was Torii Hunter and maybe Joe Nathan. Joe Mauer meanwhile was going to challenge Johnny Bench as the greatest catcher in baseball history.

Those players also were the obsession of many an autograph collector. To get Santana, Morneau, Hunter, or Mauer’s autograph at Twinsfest you lined up outside the Metrodome a minimum of six hours before the doors opened (many camp out overnight to be first in line). Once inside you had to run for your life to get to player’s line where you sometimes had to wait another 2-3 more hours for the player to start signing, and even then you were not guaranteed his autograph. Of course everyone thought it would be worth it.

Santana, Morneau, Hunter, and Nathan have seen their careers come to an end. When National Hall of Fame voters casted their ballots in regards to Johan Santana candidacy, he got 10 votes (roughly 330 votes were needed). He will not make the Baseball Hall of Fame. Neither will Morneau, Hunter, or Nathan while Joe Mauer has a decent shot at baseball’s highest honor, but Johnny Bench is still viewed as the greatest catcher of all-time.

Yes, Santana, Morneau, Hunter, Nathan, Eddie Guardado, Michael Cuddyer, Brad Radke, and maybe a couple other members of the those 2000’s Twins teams will rightly elected to the Twins Hall of Fame, but they were not great long enough to be one of best in baseball history.

Maybe if Johan Santana never gets traded to the Mets and then injured his shoulder things might have been different. Same with Justin Morneau – if he does not get that concussion in 2010, he goes on to legendary status. Those things happened and the careers of two great players where impacted for the worse.

So what about all those autographs’ people worked so hard for, are they worth anything? Not as much as people thought they would be. It is one reason why I focus on getting an autograph from every player on the Twins not just certain ones. I do not value any of my autograph collection for its dollar worth. I valued it for the memories it provides. This allows me to enjoy my collection and rest my back and neck as I do not have to stand in line 6 hours before a signing event even starts.

Autograph Twins Baseball Card TTM Update for 2014

I was mostly neutral on the Twins bringing back Torii Hunter. I think he can still hit a little, and might not be as bad a fielder some people think, but I believe the Twins would benefit more from a younger player like Eddie Rosario playing in the outfield on a regular basis.

Ervin Santana on the hand is a signing I like. Santana is a quality pitcher who for the next few seasons should be able to at least keep the Twins in games early on, something the Twins have not been getting the last few years from their starters.

The one good thing about the Hunter and Santana signings is I will likely be able to get their autographs at Twinsfest (January 23-25, 2015). Players I am looking to get this year are Josmil Pinto, Eduardo Nunez, Jordan Schafer, Tommy Milone, Aaron Thompson, and A.J. Achter. All of these players are relatively new Twins who I need for my collection of autographed Minnesota Twins baseball cards.

I sent to the above players through the mail (TTM) this year and got no response. In fact my 2014 success rate is only 49% which is by far the worse year I have ever had. I did pick up first-time successes from Dan Serafini, Bobby Keppel, Shane Bowers, Danny Goodwin, Dan Graham, Mike Stenhouse (sent 2012), Wally Backman (sent in 2012), and Lenny Webster (private paid signing) so my efforts were not a complete loss.

2014 also brought my longest return ever - Mark Salas 1891 days (over 5 years). In the time it took Mr. Salas to get back to me on this one card, I had sent to and received back from him 2 others cards. I am figuring his misplaced this first card, found it, signed it, and sent it back to me.

I also got 2 RTS (return to senders) that were strange. One was from former Twin Rob Bowen who the post office evidently could not deliver to 1436 days after I sent to him. I sent a card then current Twin Jason Marquis during his only spring training with the Twins back in 2012. 985 days after I sent the card, it came back RTS not deliverable as address (the address was fine). Who knows what happened there.

I have signed cards from 513 current and former Twins players. There are 184 players I don’t have of which 107 I have contacted and have yet to receive a return. I hope to pick a handful of these players in 2015. Sometimes the going is slow, but there are surprise successes that make doing this worthwhile. 

Goodbye Gardy

Ron Gardenhire became manager of the Minnesota Twins in 2002. I started rooting for the Twins with greater passion in 2002 because of the spunky team he lead back to the playoffs. Since 2002 the Twins have won 6 division titles, but only advanced once in the playoffs (2002). Under Gardenhire the Twins won more often than not, and gave fans plenty to root for.  At least till 2011-2014 when 4 straight 90 loss seasons did Ron Gardenhire in. Now the Twins have to find a new manager who hopefully can turn the Twins back around.

Gardenhire lead teams that employed 2 MVP’s in Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, a 2x Cy Young Award winner in Johan Santana, and 2 other players (Torii Hunter and Joe Nathan) who were considered amongst the best at their position. Yet many fans felt Gardenhire lead teams underachieved. Others feel he got more out of the Twins than others would have.

I remember my interactions with him. I got 5 cards, 1 ball, 1 photo, and Twins banner signed by him. He was always pleasant with me. I even freaked him out at Twinsfest 2007 when I congratulated him on the new truck he had just bought (a guy in line who worked at the dealership Gardenhire bought truck from told me).

I liked Ron Gardenhire, but it was time for him to go. I will remember his successes more than his failures. I am not sure his successor will right the ship, but Gardenhire was no longer getting through to the players and a new voice was needed. Hopefully the new manager will be a person who is kind to fans like Ron Gardenhire was. Best of luck in your future Gardy!

Random Twins Thoughts and Autograph TTM Update

Some random Twins thoughts and my Minnesota Twins TTM Autograph Update:

Much has been made about Joe Mauer’s hitting slump, but no one brings up the obvious – he is still suffering from the lingering affects of his concussion from last year. This could be a serious problem as Twins fans remember all to well the lack of production from Justin Morneau even three years after he had “recovered” from his concussion. I worry Mauer could suffer a similar fate.

Another question with Mauer is what the Twins are going to do with him once top prospects Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas get here sometime in 2015. Sano plays third base while Vargas plays first base. One would think the Twins will want both to play and develop, so Mauer could find himself switching positions again and playing left field.

I like many was caught be surprise when the Twins signed Kendrys Morales, but wonder how much he will really help and whether he would even consider staying here long term. He will probably produce okay numbers then leave as a free agent. The Twins have no one who is any better at DH, so Morales will have job for the rest of the season.

So far this year, my TTM autograph collection has not been I would have hoped. I was able to finally get successes from Dan Serafini and Bobby Keppel. I also finally got Bill Campbell to sign a Twins card for me. I miss the boat when I saw Ricky Nolasco and Jason Kubel signed during spring training and when Kevin Correia signed earlier this year. None of the three has ever been reliable signers, so it is hit and miss with them.

The Twins have had only one free autograph signing event this year, so picking there has been slim. 2014 All-Star Fan Fest will be in Minneapolis this year with a lot big name former Twins players appearing. However, I have heard autograph lines are long and it cost $35 to get in the door and that is not counting the parking and food expenses that will be probably another $40. Will I go? I think I will wait and see.

If you are looking to get an autographed baseball card from either Torii Hunter or Justin Morneau you can do so for only $30 for Hunter and $25 for Morneau. Hunter signs for the Detroit Tigers Foundation’s Autograph for a Cause program. Morneau signs for the Colorado Rockies Foundation. I sent to Hunter last year and it worked great. I also received a signed card from Miguel Cabrera through Autographs for a Cause in 2010. I used the Colorado Foundation program to get Troy Tulowitzki in 2011 so I know both programs are legitimate. You do sometimes have to wait a while for your card to come back signed, but you get a letter stating the foundation people watched the player signed the cards. Also private signing with these players would cost you more than double what the foundations are charging.

I sent to Hunter again this year, and we will see if I can scrap together enough money to send to Morneau. Hopefully my TTM successes will pick later this season, and hopefully the Twins will pick up some more wins this season.

Twinsfest 2009

I attended Twinsfest last weekend. I go every year to this celebration of all things Minnesota Twins, but this was the first time I went all three days.

Friday night was bitterly cold out. A lot of people were waiting outside the Dome before the doors opened because they wanted to run the Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau autograph lines. I tried waiting outside, but it was to cold. I retreated inside a parking ramp where it was warmer.
I return to stand in line, but only for a short period before they let everyone in.

Once inside I got Rod Carew to autograph a 1970 card of him. I even brought a fine point sharpie for him to use. After that I headed down the field where I got Scott Baker, Mike Redmond, Alexi Casilla, and Matt Guerrier. Casilla is a favorite of mine. I got him to sign a ball. It was the only ball I would have signed all weekend.

I spotted former Viking All-Pro RB Chuck Foreman at a sports memorabilia collectors table. For $10 he was signing pictures of himself. I asked if he would sign my football card of him. He said he would, but he did not have a blue or black sharpie to sign it with. Luckily I had one which he used. The lesson here is that you should always bring a sharpie to these events as you never know when you might need one.

With Foreman’s sign card I now have signed cards from ten Vikings from their Super Bowl teams including Tarkenton and Page.

I happened upon a friend who told me Al Newman was on the field signing for charity. I have cards signed by all the living members of the 1987 World Champion Twins team except for Al and Dan Schatzader. For a $5 donation Al not only signed my card, but graciously humored me in conversation. Al is a real nice guy.

I found out that Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young, and Nick Punto were not there. Cuddyer and Young were both sick while Punto missed his flight to Minnesota. This altered by plans as I was going to get into the Delmon Young autograph line.

Instead I went and got Paul Molitor to sign a card of him as a Twin. I recently received a sign card of him as a Brewer in the mail. I noted the one in the mail and the one I got signed in person were different. The one in person has an “m” which looks like an “m” while the on in the mail has an “m” that looks like an “n”. He dotted the “I” in Molitor on the one in person, but on the one in the mail. I am wondering if he signs differently for one in the mail in order to save time, or where the one in the mail ghost signed (i.e. signed by someone other than Paul)?

Paul seems like to nice of a guy to have someone else sign his stuff. He may alter the way he signs stuff in the mail to save time. I would have like to ask him that whether that was the case, but you are not encourage to hold up the line at Twinsfest, so I had to move on.

I headed by to the field ran into a big surprise. I spotted Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins. He was there signing for a cancer charity he supports. He told me for $10 he would sign a card for me. I did not have a card of him with me. He offered to let me choose from some he had along. I asked him how much for the card and he said the card was free. Wow! For $10 I got a 1979 Topps card of Mr. Jenkins and he signed it adding his HOF year. Great deal!

I was about to leave for the night when I decided to check out the Twins Pro Shop area. I was amazed to find they were selling Torii Hunter replica Twins jersey that once cost $100 for only $25. Granted Hunter does not play here anymore, but it is still a nice jersey for cheap. I bought one for myself.

Saturday was even colder than Friday. I refused to go early and stand outside the Dome in that frigid weather. This cost me a chance to get autographs from Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau as those line were filled by the time I got there. People are obsessed with these two guys. It is amazing. Luckily I have signed balls and cards for these men already.

I settled for signed cards from Nick Blackburn, Mike Redmond (again), and Denard Span. Then I was able to get Jason Kubel and Glen Perkins. I added Ron Gardenhire and Jesse Crain. Gardenhire was especially friendly to everyone including me. He is a class guy. Perkins was signing in place of Delmon Young who was still sick. I needed Perkins for my collection so that worked out great. I had Kubel sign a picture of him getting Gatorade dumped on him by Michael Cuddyer after hitting a game winning home run in 2006. I had Cuddyer sign it last year, but Kubel was not at Twinsfest last year, so I got him this year. He thought the picture was great.

I head down to the field to get Jim Mudcat Grant, Tom Johnson, Joe Morales (the younger), and Scott Leuis. Sadly Mr. Grant decided to skip his appointed signing time and fly to AZ to attend a card show where he was paid to sign items. While he has the right to make his own decisions, I thought it was a classless move. He had said he would be at Twinsfest. Several people came just to get him, and they left disappointed. I stayed because I wanted the other three, but was disappointed as well that Mr. Grant was not there.

I always meet interesting people at Twinsfest. Men, women, and young people who are great fans of the Twins are there. Lots of folks from outstate and the Dakotas. I always enjoy the conservations. I meet one guy who said he was the second person in line Saturday morning. He had arrived at 6 a.m. When did the first person arrive? He said it was 3 a.m. 3 in the morning in -10 degree weather. Doors opened at 9. Why would someone stand outside the Dome in -10 degree weather for 6 hours? I don’t know.

Saturday ended on a high note. I found a collector who has a certified autograph card of Johan Santana. A Donruss Playoff, number 47/100. I normally don’t buy the autograph cards that the card companies produce, but the only Santana signed item I have is a ball he signed for me. I wanted an autograph card of him. The collector had card for only $40 which is cheaper than I have seen such cards go for around here. The collector let me check it out, and after some thought I bought it. It is a beautiful card.

Sunday was as cold as Saturday, so I went in late again. I got Corey Koskie and Phillip Humber. Good to see Mr. Koskie again after all the health problems he has had. I hope that he becomes more a part of the Twins organization now that it looks like his playing days are over.

Delmon Young was feeling better and in attendance on Sunday signing with Jason Kubel. I got them each to sign a card for me. I wanted to get Michael Cuddyer to sign a card for me, but the word was after he had gotten over the flu his wife got it, and he had to stay home and care for there child. Cuddyer has always been generous to fans with his time, so I will cut him some slack.

Exhausted after three days of standing in line and running up and down the stairs of the Metrodome, I called it a day, but not before making one more purchase. Some years ago I bought a grab bag from the Twins. For $15 you get whatever is inside. That year my big items were a Twins Media Guide (which was great reading) and a Torii Hunter mini-bobblehead.
This year I decided to buy another grab bag. I got a Michael Cuddyer kid’s bat that they had given away last season to kids 14 and younger. Nice bat which I may get him to sign for me. I also got a red baseball hat with Twins on the front that looked nice, and a mystery bobblehead. I say mystery bobblehead because it was in a bigger box and that box was tapped shut. I did not get a chance to open it till I got home. Who was it? Of course it was Torii Hunter! It was the official one they gave away in 2006 of him holding the gold glove trophy. I put it up on my shelf next to my mini Torii Hunter bobblehead had gotten years early.

I really had a good time at Twinsfest and look forward to next year. First though we have a baseball season to play. Win Twins!

Goodbye Torii Hunter

Torii Hunter gave the Minnesota Twins everything he had for nine years. A 2 time All-Star, 7 time Gold Glove winner, Hunter helped the Twins to four division titles.

Last night Torii Hunter agreed to a 5 year $90 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. With the Angels Hunter joins a championship contending team with a fine owner, and manager.

Torii Hunter leaves me with positive memories. He helped restore the Twins to winning ways and for that he deserves props. He got a chance to get big money, and play for a championship contender, and he took it. That is his right.

The Twins could never match $18 million a year he got from the Angels. The Twins could never give a 5 year to the 32 year old Hunter. As hard as it is to lose Hunter, the Twins, given the situation the found themselves in, did the right thing by letting him go.

The Twins have much work to do this off-season, especially with Johan Santana who I expect is unsignable and will need to be traded. However, I remind myself that Justin Mourneau is the most valuable Twin. More than Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, and Torii Hunter, Mourneau is the key to the Twins winning or losing. Mourneau’s tailspin at the end of the 07 season was the main reason the Twins lost. Morneau’s MVP effort in the second part of the 06 was the main reason the Twins won.

The Twins must build around Morneau. All moves should be gear to that idea. Still it is sad to see Torii Hunter leave. Good luck Torii. May the Angels and you win your division and lose to the Twins in the playoffs.

Torii Hunter Gave Twins Fans Hope

Torii Hunter, more than any other Minnesota Twin player, came to represent the Twins revival during this four division titles in six years run. His strong play was supplemented by his likable personality. Hunter was the best and most important Twins player from 2000-2003. In 2004 Johan Santana replaced Hunter as the best player, and in 2006 Justin Morneau became Twins’ most important player. Still, fans had a special place for Torii Hunter and he remained the team’s dominant personality.

On Sunday, September 24, 2007 Torii Hunter likely played his last home game as a member of the Minnesota Twins. His contract is up, and while I think the Twins will try to resign him, I fear another team will give him more money and years.

Hunter correctly received standing obviations and chance to take a bow in his final home game. Hunter played hard every game. Sure he wasn’t always the best hitter, and he did not always pickup that needed rbi, but he always played to win. That is why he will, if he indeed leaves, be missed. I want to extend a personal thank you to Torii Hunter. Torii, you maybe did not help us get to the World Series, but you gave us hope that we could.