Tony Gwynn (1960-2014)

I found this one on eBay - only a few dollars, but no guarantee that the sharpie autographed card is legit. For now, I will count it as the next success in my collection.

Tony Gwynn was definitely one of the biggest stars as I was growing up. His style was less about mashing the ball, and more about finding ways to reach base.

I tried once or twice to get his signature through the mail, but had no success.

18 signatures out of 62 living Hall of Famers, gives me my highest percentage yet - 29%!

Update: Mr. Gwynn passed away on June 16, 2014.  

Ryne Sandberg

Finally! Another "through-the-mail" success! It has been months -- quite literally, since Jim Bunning returned my request last July -- that I have had a successful autograph attempt through the mail.  I'm wondering if it helps that this particular player, Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, is a coach for the local Phillies ball club.  It makes me wonder if I should try again for some other former Phillies/current Hall of Famers through the team.

"Ryno" played for many years as an All Star secondbaseman for the Chicago Cubs.  Like Nolan Ryan, another former player serving in another role, he sent a blue sharpie autographed photo of his current job, rather than when he played.  He also returned the baseball card I had included for him to sign.

Lou Boudreau (1917-2001) and George Kell (1922-2009)

An affordable eBay auction caught my eye last week and I was able to get two (hopefully legitimate!) Hall of Famer autographs.  Lou Boudreau and George Kell were both incredible infielders for their respective ball clubs and moved to the broadcast booth once their careers were over.  Boudreau also managed in the big leagues.  Both signed on 3x5 index cards (which had been printed with their names) in blue sharpie pen.

Neither counts toward my collection of living Hall of Famers, but they add to my overall collection, which at this moment stands at 25 of the 300 players who have been elected.

Non-HoF Autographs: Miguel Batista

At a minor league baseball game last week, I met journeyman pitcher Miguel Batista, and was able to get his autograph on my ticketstub.  Our conversation stood out in my mind despite how short it was.  He commented on how beautiful my daughter is, and encouraged me to have more kids!  He is currently in his second tenure with the Toronto Blue Jays organization, battling to make it back to the bigs.

Failure #24: Paul Molitor

I was a bit sad to get this one back.  I sent a request to Paul Molitor (who happens to be one of the few former Toronto Blue Jays in the Hall) via the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  It was then forwarded to John Boggs and Associates (Molitor's professional representatives) who opened my letter, and returned it with with the letter you see informing me that they do not forward mail to their players.

You would think the Hall of Fame would simply send it back to me, instead of forwarding it to someone who is going to open and reject my request, but that is the way it goes sometimes!

Tommy Lasorda

Update from the original post: I made a big trade and ended up with a nicer Tommy Lasorda autograph - on the unlined side of a 3x5, and without the "To Mark" personalization. This works much better for me, and now I have an extra Lasorda autograph to trade or sell (hopefully to someone named Mark!)

My final purchase from Randy's Sportscards in Quakertown, was this blue pen autographed index card from Dodger bleeding-heart, Tommy Lasorda.

I met Tommy at a Dodger community event one time and had been lamenting that I never got his autograph while we lived in Pasadena. This is a nice consolation prize - even if it is personalized to someone named Mark. I've tried a few times to land his autograph through the mail with no success.

Rich "Goose" Gossage

Update from the original post: I made a big trade and ended up with a Gossage autograph on a normal-sized baseball card (and frankly, a card I like better than the jumbo one I originally obtained. This works much better for me, and now I have an extra Gossage autograph to trade or sell.

The second HoF signature i found on my recent visit to Randy's Sportscards in nearby Quakertown, was this oversized card of Rich "Goose" Gossage, signed in black marker. Gossage was an incredible pitcher, and I have already had a failed attempt to get his signature through the mail.

The giant baseball card has a bit of a crease, but the signature is clear (if not a bit faded).