Roberto Alomar

I was so happy to get this autograph today.  First, it has been almost five months since I last received an autograph request in the mail, and second this autograph is from a former Toronto Blue Jay and one of my favorite players while I was growing up.

Roberto Alomar was an All-Star second baseman and certainly a fan favorite in Toronto.  He is set to be inducted this summer along with Bert Blyleven and another member of the Blue Jays family, general manager Pat Gillick.  Alomar will be the first player inducted as a Toronto Blue Jay, and has recently signed on in the front office with his former team.

Alomar was nice enough to return a baseball card (which I did not send him) signed in black sharpie.  I originally thought it wasn't real, but on closer inspection it appears to be an actual signature.  I originally sent an autograph request to Alomar's home address, but never got anything back.  After the announcement that he was being inducted, I sent a request to the Baseball Hall of Fame address, and almost 100 days later, got the response I was hoping for.

Angels Fan Fest

This year the Angels are hosting a fan festival to promote the organization.  This event looks to be pretty sweet if you are an Angels fan with plenty of events scheduled including an autograph signing.

I'm not sure if there will be any Hall of Famers present, but I won't be able to make it for a few different reasons.  Tickets are only $5, and you get in to the preseason game later that day.  Seems like a pretty amazing deal to me.

More details can be found right here...

Rest in Peace, Duke Snider

They say no news is good news.  I guess I should have been happy that nothing was happening on the autograph collecting front, because today I recieved the news that Dodger great, Duke Snider passed away at the age of 84.

Duke was one of the first Hall of Fame autographs I received, and he becomes the 3rd Hall of Famer to pass away while I've been working on this project.  Ironically, all three were Hall of Famer's that were willing to send me an autograph.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family in this time of mourning.  The baseball community, and the local LA baseball community, will certainly be saddened by this news.

All Quiet on the Western Front

It has been a bit quiet in my pursuit of every living Hall of Famer autograph.  Nothing - good or bad - has shown up in my mailbox for quite some time. 

I'm hoping that when the Dodgers announce the schedule for their winter caravan, that Tommy Lasorda will be on the list signing somewhere.  It was where I got Andre Ethier's autograph last year.  We'll have to wait and see.

2011 BBWAA Hall of Fame Election Results

2011 Hall of Fame voting
Name	Votes	Pct.
Roberto Alomar	523	90.0%
Bert Blyleven	463	79.7%
Barry Larkin	361	62.1%
Jack Morris	311	53.5%
Lee Smith	263	45.3%
Jeff Bagwell	242	41.7%
Tim Raines	218	37.5%
Edgar Martinez	191	32.9%
Alan Trammell	141	24.3%
Larry Walker	118	20.3%
Mark McGwire	115	19.8%
Fred McGriff	104	17.9%
Dave Parker	89	15.3%
Don Mattingly	79	13.6%
Dale Murphy	73	12.6%
Rafael Palmeiro	64	11.0%
Juan Gonzalez	30	5.2%
Harold Baines	28	4.8%
John Franco	27	4.6%
Kevin Brown	12	2.1%
Tino Martinez	6	1.0%
Marquis Grissom	4	0.7%
Al Leiter	4	0.7%
John Olerud	4	0.7%
B.J. Surhoff	2	0.3%
Bret Boone	1	0.2%
Benito Santiago	1	0.2%
Carlos Baerga	0	0.0%
Lenny Harris	0	0.0%
Bobby Higginson	0	0.0%
Charles Johnson	0	0.0%
Raul Mondesi	0	0.0%
Kirk Rueter	0	0.0%

Congrats to Alomar and Blyleven

Second-baseman Roberto Alomar and pitcher Bert Blyleven were both elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America today.  They will join Pat Gillick in 2011's induction ceremony.  I've already sent out an autograph request to Alomar, but I may try through the Hall of Fame this time to see if that works better.  Blyleven has charged for his autograph for years, but I may as well try sending him an autograph request through the Hall of Fame too. 

There are certainly a few players on this ballot I would have voted in if I had that power, but alas, that is not how the system works.

Congrats once again to these two great players.  ESPN's press release can be read right here.

Hall of Fame Vote Prediction

I found this article very compelling - both in the way that the predictions are made, and some of the subtleties of the voting committee.  Check it out...

Wednesday's Cooperstown Results Today