On the Path to The Impossible

As some of you may or may not know, I am focusing my collection on getting the autograph of every living Yankee and Giant.  This task is impossible since people like David Wells, Derek JEter and Alex Rodriguez are impossible to get.  David Wells for instance is doing a show in NJ soon but has a standing order that he will not sign cards.  Well, that sucks.  

Still, despite the impossible feeling around it I can't help but feel encouraged, especially after a mail day like today.  Today I received Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, Mark Whiten, Brad Arnsberg, Horace Clark (you remember the Horace Clark Years references), Bill Burbach, Billy Traber, and some eBay pickups of Roger Clemens (yep it is real as far as I can tell), Joe Girardi (he has been a bit of a white whale for me as he doesn't sign TTM), Larry Milboune (he charges for his auto and I got it for less with shipping on ebay), and Dioner Navarro and Donzell McDonald.  Total haul cost was less than $17.  

I have over 200 Yankees now on cards which includes some guys who never made it out of the minors like Raul Chavez and Omir Santos.  When coupled with balls, jersey's, and 8x10's I can push that total up to about 250 different players.  It is painstakingly fun and I love the chase.  

My New York Giants collection is not as robust as my Yankee one.  However, there are quite a few gems in this one as I have gotten Phil Simms, Lawrence Taylor, Eli Manning, Tiki Barber, Jeremy Shockey, Mark Bavaro (jersey), Pepper Johnson, Gary Reasons, Brandon Jacobs, Antonio Pierce, and many others on cards and 8x10's.  I have received several letters wishing me luck from former Giants players like Joe Danelo, Tom Mullady, and Gordon King.  Those are always interesting and fun.  It is always amazing when a player takes the time to write a letter thanking you for being a fan.  

For those of you who are wondering how I get the home addresses of all these players I use the Harvey Meiselman lists.  I also use the database of Sportscardforum.com under the Autograph Central Link.  There are many tools out there on the internet to use.  However, I have heard some disturbing stories lately about fans actually calling players using numbers they find online.  This is disturbing in several ways.  I do not condone such behavior as this intrudes on the personal space of the players.  I also do not use personal email addresses as some others have done.  I will, however, use a work email address which I have done to get some of my most prized autographs.  When using an email address, which for me is very rare, I always put "Autograph Request" in the subject line.  This way the personal can open it at their leisure or forward it to a secretary who puts pre-signed photos in envelopes and send them off.  The world of autograph collecting is not unlike the real world.  There should be morals and ethics involved and the collector must always respect the player's privacy and their decision on whether to sign or not sign.  If anyone would like a link to Mr. Meiselman's list of home addresses I can provide that for you if you desire.   Happy Hunting to you and your collection.