TTM Beginner Tips

So I'm finally going to get back into sending out some more Through the Mail Requests, which I have been slacking in in the past year. I'm probably going to be sending out a lot of Minor League cards and retired players (since I missed out on my big Minor League boom in autos with not going to Spring Training). This all brought up a few arguments I hear a lot with TTM requests:
-Handwritten vs Typed Letter
Let's be honest, most players don't read the letters you send them. I say most because I know players such as Pat Neshek and lower minor leaguers do enjoy fan mail. But through my (and others) experience, handwritten does not boost the chance of getting a TTM request. For the most part it is luck of the draw, your package just happened to be put in the signed pile rather than the RTS pile. A person in a forum put it best: "It is what you say, not the type of ink you use." So instead of Dear "Insert player" you are my favorite "insert position" on the "insert team name", try to make personal letters. If they do happen to read your letter, that will resonate more no matter what form it's printed.
-Include your own sharpie/pen?
Only if you want the item signed in that particular ink (and that's not a guarantee either). Most players have lot's of sharpies and pens available so you do not HAVE to send your own. However sometimes you will get signatures with poor inks because of the pen the player is using. Case in point I got 2 horribly signed cards from Eric Hinske who used a fading thick black marker. I appreciated the sigs and can't really complain considering his signing habits aren't the best, but I can't help but wonder "what if I sent my own sharpie"
-Spring Training vs. Regular Season
Lot's of players who don't like to sign will sign more (remember 1 auto is MORE than none) during spring training. Big names like Ortiz, Manny or Schilling in the past would sign a few TTM requests, but definitely not all. Also, most players will not take their mail with them, so if they don't sign it in Fort Myers, chances are it won't come back to Boston. So like any TTM request, it is a gamble, just don't send anything you aren't willing to lose.
-Where do you get Home Addresses?
Home addresses can be a great way to get some signatures in the off season. I have gotten Pedroia, Bowden, and Timlin among others through their home addresses. The best lists are Harvey Meiselman and Jack Smalling. If you google those names you'll be able to find what I'm talking about.
That's a few tips to help you with your TTM requests, tomorrow will be question from a fan day, so stop by then too! Thanks for stopping by!

How Sweep it is!

What a weekend for the Sox. Sweeping the Yankees is a cause for celebration in Boston whether it's in April or October, and that's what I love about the Sox/Yankees Rivalry. While the players don't get wrapped into it too much anymore (free agency killed most player rivalries), the owners love to push the whole Evil Empire vs. Rebels. What I find ironic, is that for the most part the Red Sox haven't been far behind the Yankees in payroll for years. Granted they may spend 60-80 million more, the Sox are always up in the top 3 or 4 in payroll, so we aren't exactly the Florida Marlins payroll wise. But it's still great to have a playoff atmosphere in Fenway in April, and clearly the rivalry is here to stay. I'm interested to see how Andy Petitte pitches to Ellsbury next time around. Stealing home isn't exactly a compliment to a pitcher. Well, seeing as how the Yankees were in town featuring such former Sox as Johnny Damon and Mike Myers in recent years, I thought I would provide a list of a few recent former Sox who are good TTM signers c/o their respective teams or home addresses:
-Doug Mientkiewicz
-Johnny Damon (his signing habits are like his hitting....streaky)
-Mike Myers
-Bill Mueller (Dodgers front office)
-John Olerud (Sometimes takes a while)
-Jamie Moyer (he played for the Sox for half a season in 1996, is almost automatic TTM)
-Dustin Hermanson
-Eric Hinske (he's streaky like Damon)
-Mike Timlin (will only sign one item)
That's a few to start with.....thanks for stopping by!

My non-Sox thought of the week....

I am SO excited for the new Ghostbusters game that is coming out June 16th. I was reading some previews and I cannot wait to get this game. Of course I do not have PS3 or an XBOX360 , but my laptop is pretty kick-ass so I'll get it for the PC when it comes out (which is usually cheaper too which is nice). If you haven't heard, the game is apparently the closest thing Ghostbuster fans will get to a third movie. All of the characters are voiced by the original actors, and you play as the 5th newest recruit on the team testing out some new weapons Ray and Egon have designed. The game takes place a few years after the 2nd movie, and visits a lot of familiar settings and has enemies from the first 2 movies. The graphics look ridiculously good and the player models are really close to the actors. Needless to say, excitement doesn't exactly cover the gambit of emotions I have for this game, but enough nerd-boy writing. I'll probably try to post at least one non-Sox post a week just to keep things interesting. Thanks for stopping by!

No Hobby For Young Men

So it occurs to me that Red Sox fans are the victims of their own love of the home town team. As a person in the Autograph and Memorabilia hobby, the goal is to get close to the players. However, due the recent success and huge following of the Red Sox, this has become close to impossible. In small markets such as Pittsburgh and San Diego, players travel in the off-season in "Caravans" stopping at local places and signing autographs and meeting fans. And some of these are big name players like Jake Peavy, Trevor Hoffman, etc. Now the reasons the team do this is to drum up support so people will buy more tickets and spend money at the stadium and buy Padres products etc, etc. But because the Red Sox are so popular, the team has no need to sell the Red Sox to the masses, because we're all already buying. There are times when I wish the team was in a re-building phase just so players would be available and willing to meet fans rather than worry that they will be mobbed if they step outside. Of course, having a perennial playoff team is nothing to complain about. But it is well known that the Sox are some of the worst in person autograph signers in the league, and very few of them sign TTM. I was told by Sox minor leaguers that coaches push signing autographs on them because the Major League Players don't sign at all. Part of that is the massive amount of mail I'm sure the major leaguers get as apposed to the small amount minor leaguers get, but the fact remains, that too many people jumped on the Sox bandwagon after 2004, and now the brand is so popular, it's crushing the relationships between the players and fans. That being said, I have been asked numerous times who some of the best TTM signers are on the Sox, and here is the most reliable list I could come up with for current 25-Man Roster Red Sox who sign TTM:
-Manny Delcarmen
-Hideki Okajima
-Nick Green
-Chris Carter
-Javier Lopez
-Justin Masterson
-Takashi Saito (Occasionally)
-Terry Francona
None of these are a guarantee of course, but these guys are usually pretty reliable. Thanks for stopping by!

Hello!

Being my first blog entry I feel I might need to explain myself. My name is Brian, and I recently moved out to western Massachusetts (waaaaay west, like in the Berkshires), so I find myself 3 hours away form my hometown team. While those of you in the larger states like Texas, and California, etc don't see it as THAT long of a drive, for us Northeaterners, 2 hours in almost any direction usually means out of state. SO....to fill the void of a lack of Red Sox in my life (THANK GOD I still get NESN as my cable provider is in Albany New York), I thought I would attach a blog to my Brian's Red Sox Autograph Website. Hopefully I can update this much more often than my site as a blog doesn't need as many scans of autographs and multiple page updates, and I apologize to any of those who check every so often or regularly for updates, now you will have updates to read more often. On my blog I'll post my thought's and musings and post questions from people who are asking me about the Sox or Sox Autographs. I'll also post projects I'm working on, TTM tips and helpful hints. Also the few times I get a chance to actually get an IN Person Sox Autograph, the story will be posted here. Also once a year will be my big Spring Training Update where I'll blog about my week in Fort Myers with the Sox and all the autographs and occasional stories that occur there. I'll also post my contest through here as well to give away a Sox Autograph every month. So, with that, thank you for visiting Brian's Red Sox Autograph's Blog! Thanks for stopping by!