One of the best and cheapest ways to get autographs from your favorite players is through the mail.  Sometimes a short complimentary letter, a baseball card, and 66 cents in U.S. postage (double postage for mail to and from Canada) can get you a player's autograph that is usually not easy to obtain.  What makes getting autographs through the mail so great is that you aren't risking or paying very much (i.e. versus going to a baseball game for upwards of $15 a pop) and you can occasionally get the sigs of players the only way possible, because they prefer not to sign in public.  To help you out, I've provided a few do's and don'ts on who, how, and when to send out autograph requests through the mail :

Do's
#1 - Always include a SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope or for those of you that have been living in a box, a second envelope enclosed in your request letter that has your address on it so the player can mail you back) in your request.  Although you may think, "What's 33 cents to a millionaire football player anyway?", he or she may not want to spend the time to get postage stamps him- or her- self.  Not including a SASE can sometimes cause a nearly complete autograph request to fail before it even hits the mailbox, so never forget to enclose one.

#2 - Make sure you have the correct information in your letter.  You should always research the player that you are trying to get before you write a request.  Even though you may think you know everything about John Elway, there's always something that the back of his cards or the back of a box of Wheaties doesn't tell you.   And the worst thing that you can do is compliment an athlete about something he or she didn't do or something that he or she is not proud of.

#3 - Hit 'em where it hurts (a.k.a. play on their pasts).  Always compliment their previous accomplishments, especially those that occured while they were in college (if they went to one).  If nothing else, just say that you're a fan of the school they went to or you've been a fan of theirs since they've been in college, etc.

#4 - Write current players via their team, minor leaguers (baseball only) via their major league affiliate, and retired players via the last team they played on.  For example, write to Tony Gwynn in care of the San Diego Padres, write Seth Etherton in care of the Anaheim Angels, and write Mario Lemiuex in care of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  For all the team addresses in the world, go here.

#5 - Include cards instead of index cards whenever possible.  Cards of a certain player are just more personal and he or she would be more inclined to sign them.  8 x 10 photos are also good to send, but the problem is that you have to mail them in larger envelopes, which can sometimes cause the postage to go up.

#6 - Discuss common interests if you want to; just remember to respect theirs if yours happen to differ.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

#7 - Send requests to players that are injured.  Because they don't need to practice as much (if any), they will have more time to respond to fan mail.

#8 - Last but certainly not least, always thank the athlete in your request.  He or she is using their free time to reach out to you instead of playing an easy round of golf; the least you can do is show your appreciation.

Don'ts
#1 - Don't insult the player or be too critical of him or her.  Would you sign an autograph for a punk kid that won't shut up about how slow you run to first base?

#2 - Don't expect athletes to always respond in due time or even at all; remember, they have their reasons and their own things to do in their spare time.

#3 - Don't send cards that you aren't willing to lose.  Once you send cards off, you may never see them again.

#4 - Don't scare the athlete by telling him or her stuff about them that you shouldn't know (i.e. personal info meant to be kept private).

#5 - Don't write players in care of their home address unless it has been confirmed that he or she will sign that way.  Otherwise, it's just rude.  Besides, when you send requests to athletes in care of their team, the team will automatically take care of getting it to the right address.

#6 - Don't enclose cards in top loaders, in some cases, people have received smeared autographs simply because the athlete they wrote didn't know how to use a top loader.  If any, use poly sleeves; at least they'll keep the card safe from some water damage.

#7 - Don't refer to the athlete just by his or her first name,even if you think you know them very well; it's just impolite.

#8 - Don't write requests to players or teams that have just suffered a death or a big loss (i.e. after a player discovers he or she has a fatal disease, after a player's team loses the championship game, or after a player is convicted for marijuana possession for the third time in two weeks).

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