Home Office Archeology
February 1st, 2010 by slangon
As I was cleaning up my desk over the weekend, I unearthed a small pile of custom cards that I had sent out to get signed at some point or other and consequently had returned, unsigned. My small pile of failures. It occurred to me that I’ve more or less fallen into this habit of only showing off the custom cards I’ve been making when I get them autographed. It also occurred to me that these particular failures that I found were some of the nicer looking customs that I’ve made. Why do I need to have them signed in order to share these cards? No reason I can think of.
2009 SlangKo Award Winners Al Kaline
Anyone who has ever looked into doing TTM requests is probably aware of the fact that some players expect to be paid for their signature. I have absolutely no problem with this practice. I’m well aware of the fact that by signing whatever piece of memorabilia, that player is automatically adding worth to it. I’m also well aware that some players, especially some old time players and Negro League players do not have the luxury of having made a ton of money while playing, and now have to rely on getting paid for their signature. Either way, I fully understand and appreciate the practice of asking for money in exchange for an autograph. Al Kaline happens to be the first (and so far only) player I’ve ever sent money to. For whatever reasons, Mr. Kaline sent that money back to me, along with both cards I sent, unsigned.
2009 SlangKo Heroes of the Diamond Moose Skowron
This one was sent back to me as well. I did not send any moolah along with this, but upon further investigation, it seems like I might have a bit of luck if I do. Maybe once all my spring training TTM requests are done, I’ll give Moose another try. This time I’ll send Mr. Lincoln along to see that things go a little smoother.
2009 SlangKo Sport Stars #31 Mike Piazza
Unlike the other two failures, this one I wasn’t really surprised by. I knew when I sent it that Mike wasn’t a big through the mail guy, but I figured why not take the chance. I’m disappointed that it didn’t work out because like any Mets fan, I’d be insanely psyched to get Piazza’s autograph, but I’m glad I at least tried.
All in all, of course I’m a little bummed that none of these cards were able to get signed. I’m fairly certain that none of them would’ve ever gotten made if I weren’t planning on sending them, so even though I don’t have the signatures, at least I have 3 pretty cool looking cards.
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