I have been an avid baseball autograph collector through the mail (TTM), off and on for the last twenty years. Collecting autographs through the mail can be very fun, very tedious and often disappointing. It can also be very rewarding to build an autograph collection of 1,000's of cards, but you have to be patient and fairly relentless. Below are a few tips for beginners, or for collecting veterans looking for other ideas:

1) Buy a copy of Jack Smalling's Baseball Autograph Collector's Handbook (#14 is the most recent edition), as well as the Baseball America Directory. Baseball America sells both of these books, and updates the directory every season in the spring. Smalling's book is an invaluable resource for retired and active players, coaches, and umpires. The BBA Directory is a great resource for current MLB front office personnel, managers, coaches,announcers,etc., as well as MLB team addresses. The Directory also includes the names of all of the minor league and independent league managers & coaches and mailing addresses.

2) When writing to players or coaches, always include a self addressed stamped envelope w/ your return address on it. I find that hand writing letters adds a more personal touch to the person to whom you are writing. Be complementary and polite, and always ask for the player to "please sign the enclosed cards" and "thank you". It is okay to be short and sweet in your letter, but always be polite.

3) It is acceptable to send 3 cards to be signed per attempt. Do not send the cards in soft plastics; I hate to say it, but the older retired players will often sign the plastics and not the card. Do not be surprised to receive bent or smudged cards from the player - it is part of the risk. Do not send cards that you cannot afford to lose. Commons are readily available at your local card shop, eBay or Beckett.com.

4) The best players to write to are minor leaguers, and retired semi-stars. Minor leaguers can be promoted rapidly, so make sure you keep track of what team they are on (MLB.com or Baseball America are great resources). Superstars seldom return cards through the mail - especially active players. If you are a Yankee fan, don't bother with Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, Whitey Ford, and other Hall of Famers - unless you do not mind paying $25 - $50 per signature. Instead, focus on players such as Luis Tiant, Moose Skowron, Don Larsen, Gil McDougald, and Bobby Richardson - all of whom are great signers.

5) Managers, coaches and front-office personnel are among the best signers - don't forget them! I once received 3 signed cards from Oakland A's GM Billy Beane 5 days after I mailed my letter. You can also ask them to send you a signed business card, which many will return with your cards.

6) Keep a log book of the players you have written to, the date sent (and hopefully returned), and which cards you sent to the player. You will find that players addresses will often change, so you may have better luck writing to the player "care of" the team to which they are affiliated. Example: Instead of sending cards to Joe Torre's home address, you might try writing to him c/o Los Angeles Dodgers.

7) Be patient, and enjoy the hobby. I collect autographs for the fun of it, and have built quite a collection over the years. I do sometimes sell duplicates on eBay, but seldom sell a card if I do not have another in my collection. I once made the mistake of selling 3 David Wright autographed cards I received through the mail, figuring I could easily replace the cards by writing to David again. Now Wright is a superstar, and cannot guarantee I will ever receive another autograph from him - BIG MISTAKE!

8) Hall of Famers that will sign through the mail: Al Kaline c/o Tigers (1 item per letter), Duke Snider/home (1 item per letter), Sparky Anderson/home (2 items per letter), Bobby Doerr/home (3 items per letter), Carlton Fisk/home (1 item per letter), George Kell/home (3 items per letter), Tommy Lasorda c/o Dodgers (2 items per letter), Paul Molitor c/o Twins (1 item per letter), Ernie Harwell c/o Tigers (2 items per letter).

Hope this helps - enjoy!