Yankee IP Auto-Graig Nettles

I was able to get Graig Nettles to sign this card at a Long Island card show at Hofstra University a few years back. I was very excited to meet Nettles because, growing up, he was my favorite Yankee. Unfortunately, he was the prime example of how disapointing it can be to meet your idols.

Graig Nettles was traded to the Yankees from the Cleveland Indians before the 1973 season. He was a main clog in those 1970 Yankee teams, appearing in the World Series 3 times and winning 2. He was considered one of the best defensive third baseman at that time. He also set an American League record for career home runs by a third baseman. His best season was in 1977 when he had 37 home runs, 107 RBI's, won the Gold Glove and won the World Series. He was traded to San Diego and appeared in one more World Series in 1984, losing to the Detriot Tigers. He retired in 1988 as a member of the Montreal Expos.

As a kid, his diving stops on ground balls thrilled me. Whenever I played baseball, I would always man third, my number was 9 and I would dive for ground balls, even if they were routine grounders. I remember being so upset when he was traded and rooted for San Diego in the World Series. I always wanted to meet him and when I found out he was appearing on Long Island, I jumped at the chance. My girl friend at the time lived in Brooklyn, so driving from her apt to Hofstra was not a problem.

I remember waiting on line, being real nervous too. I finally got to the front of the line and handed him my card. I told him how big a fan I was and how much he meant to my childhood. He looked at me and said, "Great, kid." and looked back down at the card. Signed it and passed it back to me and I was hurried away by the attendent sitting next to him.

Great, kid? That was all he could say to me? What a rip! I was so upset by it. My girl friend tried to cheer me up, but it was no use. I got the brush off from my favorite childhood ball player. Not even my favorite cheeseburger could cheer me up. Since then, I have soured on Nettles. I have met him twice after at diffrent functions and he was always the same crabby guy each time. Kinda stinks when you expect a person to be one way and you get something totally diffrent. I never heard any horror stories regarding Nettles, so it was a huge surprise to me. I had met a lot of players before him and they were all nice to me, so having your first bad experiance at a signing and getting it from your childhood idol really sucked.

Needless to say, I won't be going out of my way for Nettles anymore.

1/30/2010

No mail makes me a sad collector. I haven't gotten a TTM success in a while. I am hoping for some of the batch I sent out a couple of weeks ago to start trickling in this week.

I also made up my mind regarding my collecting. It seems to me I have been concentrating more on getting hockey and basketball autos. Yes, I enjoy watching The Devils and Knicks play and am equilly happy when one of their players (former and present) will sign an autograph for me. But, in the process of working to write letters, create customs, I have neglected the one team I truly love, the New York Yankees.

I have been a Yankees fan since 1976. In fact, the first game I watched was Game 5 of the '76 ALCS when Chris Chambliss hit the walk off home run to put the Yankees back into the fall classic since 1964 only to get swept by the Big Red Machine of Cincinnatti. I have been a follower of the Yankees since. My love for autographs started out in the 80's when I was old enough to go to Yankee Stadium by myself. I would wait outside for the players to come out. Some were awesome signers like Lou Pinella, Don Mattingly while some seemed to take glee in turning down a kid like Graig Nettles, my former favorite Yankee. He was mean then and is still pretty nasty to this day. Back then, the metal bars seperating you from the players walking in was not far at all. As the years past, the metal started getting further and further back from the entrance until they were right by the Yankee Clubhouse Store at the old stadium! If you are at all fimilar with the old Yankee Stadium, you know how far away that is. You needed binoculars just to see who was entering the stadium. Now at the new stadium, The players can just drive in to a private parking garage that is built inside the stadium. Earlier this year, you werent even allowed to go downstairs to watch batting practice or try for autos like in the old stadium. That changed though thanks to the public outcry. I guess the people who paid 2 grand for their seats didn't want a ham and egger like myself standing in their area, trying to get Teixiera to sign.

It seems I went off on a tangent. Fact is, the Yankees are my favorite team. When I started to write for autographs, I wanted to concentrate soley on the Yankees players, past and present. Over time, I started to add players who played for the Jets, Knicks, Devils and Islanders. I think it was because I was buying and trading for certified autos on baseball cards that I didn't need the ones who were signing ttm. Plus, there were some players that I just didnt have cards of. Now that I have learned to create custom cards, that shouldn't be a problem. Anyway, my quest to get as many autos of the players who played in Yankee Pinstripes has officially rebegun. Doesn't mean I will stop ttm'ing my other teams. It just means I will make a more concerted effort on the Yankees.

Anyways, thanks for reading my tangent. I hope to have some successes to report this week.

Mike