Autograph and Fan Pack Success

[north dakota]

Sorry if this is not the right forum to post this thread in. I am going to send out cards to get autographed and try to get fan packs from teams. I was just wondering what athletes send back autographs and which ones don't send back autographs. Thanks.

[Brass]

I haven't done fan packs since 2004 or 2005, but from what I remember, a lot of teams send good stuff, especially Nashville and Toronto. The Rangers are usually pretty bad, though. They used to send back cards, unsigned, no matter what player they were intended for. If you "care of" most other players on teams, they'll probably get back. Again, I haven't done autograph sending and fan packs for a while, so it might have changed, but from my years of doing it, that's what I gathered.

[north dakota]

Thanks Brass 97

[ElwoodCuse]

Check Beckett and maybe some more specialized collecting sites, people keep databases on which players do TTM signings and how long it takes for a response.

Try retired players too, they often have an agent or place of business or even home address that they answer mail from, sometimes fairly quick.

[Brass]

Might wanna look up Harvey Meiselman's (sp?) list of players. Well worth the money!

[BaltimoreFan]

Definitely go for highly rated prospects, while they are still in the minors. I've gotten Evan Longoria, Clayton Kershaw, Brian Matusz, and Matt Wieters all TTM. I haven't sent anything in a year or two, but I don't imagine any of them sign anymore. Not all prospect sign, but some do and its cool to get them before they stop.

I'd also suggest looking into Hall of Fame players. Quite a few sign for relatively cheap. I've gotten guys like Duke Snider and Bob Feller for $10 or less (some are even free if IIRC). Also don't hesitate on getting the older guys. I got Bobby Thompson a few years ago, glad I got the chance before he passed away. I still regret not trying to get Johnny Podres. I saw an old card of his for $10 at a card show. I thought it was a little too much so I figured I'd wait for a cheaper reprint card. He died a couple of months later, before I could find one.

Virgil Trucks is a great guy to get too. He sent me a bunch of cards and wrote a little note. Try to get him, his getting pretty old.

Also, look for TTM websites if you haven't already. There are quite a few. They're good places to see whos signing and what they're address is.

[north dakota]

Does Virgil Trucks sign for free? And what can I send that I can fit in an envelope for him to sign that's not a card.

[A-Train]

Here's advice coming from someone who's pretty good at getting autographs. Your better off getting them in person. Here's a list of autos I got in person: You just got to know how to do it

Barry Zito

Matt Holiday

Freddie Sanchez

Kaz Matsu

Jack Wilson

Hunter Pence

Jason Bay

Jim Edmonds

Chris Burke

Maurice Jones-Drew

Ike Taylor

Ziggy Hood

Larry Johnson

Matt Capps

More but I can't remember

[BaltimoreFan]

Does Virgil Trucks sign for free? And what can I send that I can fit in an envelope for him to sign that's not a card.

He does sign for free. I sent an index card. He signed that and sent me 4 signed cards too. He's definitely a guy you want to get if you're in to TTM.

Here's advice coming from someone who's pretty good at getting autographs. Your better off getting them in person.

Thats not always true. You'd be surprised at what you can get through the mail. All you need is a little patience. I actually got CC Sabathia. It took about a year, but he signed for me (I sent it to spring training his last year in Cleveland and got a return right before his first spring training with New York). A lot of very successful athletes do read their fan mail. Its a really cool hobby I suggest more people look into.

[Brass]

In-person autographs are always a gamble. I did it between 2003 and 2005 after Springfield Falcons (AHL) games and got a number of good ones. One of my most positive experiences was from this young prospect playing for the Albany River Rats named Zach Parise who signed a card I had of him, chatted with me for about 15 minutes and even left with saying "Are you sure that's all you want signed? I'll sign more for you if you want." Dean McAmmond was also a great guy who actually came up to ME to sign something. Probably noticed I was holding a card of him and tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I wanted it signed.

However, there's always bad experiences. Pascal Pelletier was a complete jerk when he was playing with the Providence Bruins. I asked him for an autograph and he looked at me like I just asked for a kidney transplant. Andre Deveaux was kind of a snob, too. He usually just made fun of the autograph hounds asking if we had anything better to do after a game.

[FamousAtticus]

Man, that brings back memories of when I was a kid in the early 90's. I used to send letters out to NBA and MLB teams and random NBA and MLB players in which I had cards for. Some of my success stories include:

-David Robisnon returned back a signed rookie card that I had sent him/Spurs. He used to be in the Navy and at the time my father was as well, so I sent him a letter w/ my card telling him about my life as a Navy kid. He sent back a personal letter thanking me for being a fan and personally signed it. He will always be one of my favorite athletes of all-time, he is an overall great person.

-I sent numerous letters to the Chicago Bulls throughout 1991-1995 asking for fan packs as well as autographs. They finally sent back a cool fan pack the year MJ returned in 1995, it had a team media guide, stickers, a screen printed signed team photo, and a banner of their 3-Championships. That was pretty cool receiving that as a kid.

-I sent various cards to the New York Yankees, and in 1993 I got back a Don Mattingly card signed that I had sent a year before, along with a team photo and fan guide.

Those are the three that stick out the most.

[north dakota]

Bump

[CC97]

I had quite a bit of success in the early part of the Century, sending out mostly to Canadian MLB and NHL teams...

A few notables I got signed 3x5 cards from...

- Vladimir Guerrero (c/o Expos)

- Sparky Anderson (home)

- Mike Vernon (c/o Flames)

- Matt Stairs (c/o Cubs)

- Buck Martinez (c/o Jays)

[BaltimoreFan]

Here are a few of the sites I used for sources to see who was signing. Unfortunately my old computer crashed so I lost alot of the site. But here are the good ones I remember:

http://www.autographsthroughthemail.com/index.cfm

-Good database that combines the success of some other collector's sites

http://www.sportsautosttm.com/

-This is just one collectors site. He sends out alot from all sports, so he's gives a pretty good picture of who is signing. He also posts pictures for all his success which is cool.

http://baseball-fever.com/

-This is a group of baseball message boards. Go to the Card Collecting board and they have a thread every month where people post their successes. Some posters will also PM you addresses (just don't get greedy, only ask for one at a time, every few weeks).

And of course, if you are curious about a specific player just google it (ex. "Virgil Trucks TTM"). If they sign you should see results. You may also find another cool collector's site to use as a resource.

[north dakota]

Thank for everyone's input. I got a fan pack back from the Bisons today it came with 3 cards, a mini schedule, and a team photo.

[ElwoodCuse]

In-person autographs are always a gamble. I did it between 2003 and 2005 after Springfield Falcons (AHL) games and got a number of good ones. One of my most positive experiences was from this young prospect playing for the Albany River Rats named Zach Parise who signed a card I had of him, chatted with me for about 15 minutes and even left with saying "Are you sure that's all you want signed? I'll sign more for you if you want." Dean McAmmond was also a great guy who actually came up to ME to sign something. Probably noticed I was holding a card of him and tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I wanted it signed.

That's pretty awesome. I never begrudged any athlete limiting to one-per because (a) they're busy people and (b ) the multiples dudes are usually the "sell this on ebay tonight" crowd. It really is cool when a guy is just as happy to sign for you as you are to get something signed.

Tell you what, of all the collecting I've done I've found that hockey players are the nicest to people.

[north dakota]

I sent Virgil Trucks an index card and he signed the index card, sent back a letter, and autographed two baseball cards. I also got some oversized cards, some stickers, a pocket schedule, and a tiny bag of Fenway Park dirt from the Red Sox. I got a comic book, two baseball cards, a pocket schedule, and a team picture from the Buffalo Bisons. I also got two stickers, a pocket schedule, and a pencil from the New Orleans Saints.

[north dakota]

I sent out a card to Bucky Dent, a card to James Starks, and a fan pack request to the Jamestown Jammers.

[Magnus]

Pinball Clemons signed my shirt a couple years ago.

Tessa Bonhomme signed a Wolves program when she came back with her gold medal.