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Get autographs through the mail

I love baseball cards. It's an expensive hobby, but it's one I've done since I watched my brother and cousin trading Mets and Yankee cards back and forth when I was a child.

Baseball cards have changed tremendously over the years, but one of the coolest aspects of the hobby is getting players to sign your card, shirt, picture, or anything else. Players down in the Minor Leagues are great for this.

I was in Trenton on Monday, where I spoke with a couple of the Phillies prospects and wrote a story for today's Press. However, I also picked their brains for a few minutes about signing autographs through the mail.

Most of the guys read letters fans send them. They don't get overwhelmed with mail and it helps with the long road trips. These guys don't fly like the Big Leaguers, they are taking seven- or eight-hour road trips. In that time, they are reading and answering mail.

If sending a letter and getting an autograph back in the mail is something you want to try, here are a few tips.

1. Send a self-addressed stamped package or envelope, so this way the player can just put the card or picture in the envelope and send it right back to you. It's easier for everyone this way.

2. Write a letter and just be honest. It doesn't need to be crazy long, just something as to why you're writing and include a couple of facts about yourself and why you like the player. Don't pretend to be someone you aren't.

"I don't like getting letters from adults pretending to be kids," Reading outfielder Michael Taylor said. "You can tell from reading the letters that they are trying to fake the handwriting, but they are using words you know an eight-year-old isn't going to use."

3. If a player doesn't send something back, don't get mad. Just move on and try someone else.

4. When addressing the letter, write the stadium address and then c/o PLAYER (fill in the name of the player you want to send it to)

Here are addresses for Philadelphia Minor League stadiums

Lehigh Valley Ironpigs

Coca-Cola Park

1050 IronPigs Way

Allentown, PA 18109

Reading Phillies

1900 Centre Avenue/RT 61

South Reading, PA 19605

Clearwater Threshers

601 Old Coachman Rd.

Clearwater, FL 33765

Lakewood BlueClaws

FirstEnergy Park

2 Stadium Way

Lakewood, NJ 08701

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