My 9 year old wants to collect TTM Autographs....would appreciate advice.
 

Good morning,
So I am not an autograph collector, I do have a couple that I've picked up over the years but it has never been a focus of my collecting. My 9yo son is a huge baseball fan and loves all things baseball related. He loves autographs so I took him to a few shows and local signings, and he recently learned that you can mail players and ask them for their autograph.

Honestly, aside from your standard google searches, Im not really sure how to start or the best practices to go about baseball TTM. His favorite players are from the Astros, Dodgers, and Boston (what can he say, he likes the winners! As a military brat, we've moved quite a bit and haven't had a chance for him to get a true "home team").

Any chance the community here can offer some advice or best practices?

Thank you in advance!

Here is his first 8 list he wanted to write to:
1. Nolan Ryan
2. Bryce Harper
3. Hank Aaron
4. Cody Bellinger
5. Jose Altuve
6. Alex Bregman
7. George Springer
8. Jack Marisnike (sp?)

** I know its a who's who list in a lot of areas. I didn't want to discourage him from at least writing a letter. I think its part of learning about life and the hobby.

I am not an active TTM'er, but kind of follow the scene a little. I keep saying I will do more, but have only sent off maybe a couple dozen requests in 20 some odd years. Frankly, I'd rather buy them then go through all the work and the waiting. Maybe some day...

There are a few sources of TTM autograph addresses that seem to be most popular. These are all fee based (join the site, buy they list, etc), but seem to stay the most current with who does and doesn't sign, how much they charge, etc. A lot of players still will sign for free or there are recommended donation amounts. Of course, anyone can look up addresses on their own or send c/o teams and try to send for no cost, but the odds drop considerably. Out of the few I have done, several were obscure players I tracked down online and reached out to directly.

Jack Smalling has an address book

http://www.baseballaddresses.com

then there is Harvey (can't remember the last name)

https://sportsaddresslists.com

and then SCN

http://www.sportscollectors.net

Pastpros is a newer site that seems to be growing with players:

https://pastpros.com

A kid sending letters will probably have better luck than an adult writing or typing a letter, but some of these guys get so much mail that it may not matter either way. I do know that Ryan does have a mail in service that is relatively cheap considering his contributions to the game and his superstar status. Want to say around $25 per signature.

Sports Card Forum has a great data base for addresses in all sports, and it's free to join.It also shows you the success rate of the players.

Sportscollectors.net, as mentioned above, is a great resource. You can look players up by name and see what kind of responses folks are having.

For example, you may see that no one is getting replies from Hank Aaron (he used to send items back ghost-signed) and that Nolan Ryan has a foundation and signs for a fee. There are also a lot of traders and folks conducting private signings (for a fee usually).

I would recommend writing them to at spring training, usually they are better TTM right when spring training starts. I used to do TTM with minor leaguers with a pretty good success rate.

Sports Card Forum is the best way to go.

I think best to start with retired HOFers... Jenkins, Boggs Sandberg, gossage sutton. Fingers. Neikro. Even al kaline signs for a small fee.

Active players are very hit or miss with best bet being during spring training.

Where we had a tonnn of success is with the newly drafted payers in the Bowman Draft Set. You can the entire set for like 10 bucks on eBay when it comes out. And just send them all out during spring training.

Good luck!!!

These are excellent comments! Thank you all very much for taking the time to reply.

I set up an account with SCN and I think we will start with some of the older players first. Thank you for all the great recommendations. I'll post some of the success stories as they unfold!