Returns from four very good players over the past two weeks. (And a RTS)

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montserratplay

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So I have been away for a couple weeks because of a bunch of stuff to do with work and because my car was stressing me out. (Did you know that cars can now have software problems? No fooling.) I received the following returns that you folks might enjoy hearing about.

2011 Monte Irvin Topps Lineage 158 Giants

I was also motivated by metrotheme to write Mr. Irvin. (What a pleasant epidemic.) The guy played in the ***** Leagues and has been an amazing advocate for all of baseball for 50+ years. (I'm pleased that, in the past several months, I've also been motivated to write to folks like Ron Teasley, who are not as familiar as Monte Irvin. I wish there were some collected list of ***** League folks...I'll bet there is.) I included a donation to his college and Mr. Irvin signed my card in thick blue marker. I also included one of the foil-looking parallels from Lineage and told him to keep one if he wished; he chose to sign the base card for me. (The card itself is pretty cool. I don't like the backs of the Lineage, but boy, do I love that old-timey photo.) The marker is a tiny bit smudged on his last name, but it doesn't matter to me, as I love knowing that a Hall of Famer signed my card.

1987 Greg Gagne Topps 558 Twins
1986 Greg Gagne Topps 162 Twins
1989 Greg Gagne Upper Deck 166 Twins
1988 Greg Gagne Topps 343 Twins

As a kid, I didn't like Greg Gagne because he was always playing the Tigers and always hitting against them. I am currently a little bit mature, so I can respect the gentleman, regardless of what his Twins did to my team. He's another one of those guys who put together a great career in a somewhat quiet manner. Of the thousands of men to play in the majors, he was the 795th-best hitter ever.

A member of the Twins Hall of Fame, Gagne is the head baseball coach at Bishop Feehan High School in Massachusetts.

1988 Jeff Reed Score 408 Expos
1987 Jeff Reed Topps 247 Twins
1991 Jeff Reed Fleer 78 Reds

Jeff Reed was not one of the all-time greats, but he had the kind of respectable career we all wish we had. He debuted in 1984 and retired in 2000 and got to play in two completely different eras of baseball. The catcher was well-traveled, playing in Minnesota, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Colorado and with the Cubs. While he had a career .250 batting average, he was a respected mind behind the plate. Reed even caught Tom Browning's perfect game.

1988 Mark Eichhorn Score 198 Blue Jays
1987 Mark Eichhorn Topps 371 Blue Jays

Mark Eichhorn played for the Blue Jays in the 1980s, which means he made his way through Syracuse. The Chiefs were the long-time AAA affiliate of the Toronto club, and I loved seeing them play when my father would take me. (As an adult, I get to go whenever I want now, ha ha.) Further, he was a sidearm pitcher and I LOVE those guys.

Mr. Eichhorn had a very respectable career. In fact, Baseball Reference puts him at #544 all-time in terms of pitchers. How many of us will get close to that? Aside from a year in Atlanta, Eichhorn played in the AL with Toronto and the Angels and the Orioles. According to Wikipedia, he is the pitching coach for a high school team near his home, which is probably very fulfilling. Additionally, his son Kevin is currently playing ball in the Tigers organization.

Unfortunately, I received a return to sender. Greg Mathews seems no longer to be at the address in the TTM database.

As a postscript:

I remember reading some posts about collectors who want cards from players who include Bible quotes in their signature. While it's not my thing, I certainly don't mind pointing out that Greg Gagne and Mark Eichhorn are folks who are on your team. (I remember some post from a nice collector who wanted to put together a collection to frame for his or her pastor. What a nice idea.) Mr. Gagne included John 3:16 on all of his. Mr. Eichhorn did John 3:16 on one and Philippians 4:13 on another.
 
thanks for sharing...I met both Gagne and Eichhorn when i was about 13 or so(1988ish)...i remember both being awesome guys and it's not surprising they are both excellent ttmers...congrats on Monte as well!!
 
1988 Mark Eichhorn Score 198 Blue Jays
1987 Mark Eichhorn Topps 371 Blue Jays

Mark Eichhorn played for the Blue Jays in the 1980s, which means he made his way through Syracuse. The Chiefs were the long-time AAA affiliate of the Toronto club, and I loved seeing them play when my father would take me. (As an adult, I get to go whenever I want now, ha ha.) Further, he was a sidearm pitcher and I LOVE those guys.

Mr. Eichhorn had a very respectable career. In fact, Baseball Reference puts him at #544 all-time in terms of pitchers. How many of us will get close to that? Aside from a year in Atlanta, Eichhorn played in the AL with Toronto and the Angels and the Orioles. According to Wikipedia, he is the pitching coach for a high school team near his home, which is probably very fulfilling. Additionally, his son Kevin is currently playing ball in the Tigers organization.

Thanks for update on Eichhorn. I live in Syracuse and remember waiting after games for autos as a kid. He would sign for us all and then joke around w/ us. He actually did the greatest Popeye impression I've ever heard!!

Congrats on your successes.

Adam
 
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