Two More Enshrined

Baseball Writers have voted outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. and catcher Mike Piazza in to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Griffey will be the first to go in as a Seattle Mariner, and Piazza, only the second to be enshrined as a New York Met.

Ken Griffey Jr. is definitely a player I grew up cheering for. Piazza... well, maybe not. Reading his biography did nothing to help his cause. Of course I don't have an autograph for Griffey, but I do for Piazza. This election gets me another one for my collection in Piazza, but also adds a tricky one to track down in Griffey.

Congrats to both of them. 

Failure #25: Pedro Martinez

One of the newest members of the Hall of Fame, pitcher Pedro Martinez, apparently does not accept forwarded mail. I sent this request to the Hall, only to get it back in the mail several days later. The upside is that I also sent out 7 other requests to the Hall, and none of them have come back to me as unsuccessful attempts (so far).

Rest in Peace, Monte Irvin

Baseball's Hall of Fame has lost another living legend with the recent passing of Monte Irvin. Irvin was a pioneer in professional baseball as one of the first African American players and executives. At the time of his death he was the second-oldest living member of the Hall.

I obtained Irvin's autograph through the mail in 2010, and he was nice enough to sign a blank 3x5 card for me.