New Forum: Open Letters

I've been getting a lot of submissions directed to particular players. Some ask me to forward the messages to the players, others are just letters that they guess will get to them via some sort of magic inherent to the Internet. For so long, I would e-mail a reply to these senders asking them to read the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) about how to contact teams/players. I would reiterate that I have no official connections with any teams, and that no teams, to my knowledge, have contact e-mail addresses. Yet, I still get letters to players from family and friends.

I've now heard back from one person who tried to send a message to the BayStars' Steve Cox via the method outlined in the FAQ, and hasn't gotten a reply in over two months. Either he's too busy (actually, Cox is in the U.S. right now after having received surgery or theropy - don't remember which - for an injury) or that method doesn't work. I've heard from several former foreign players and many players' families, so perhaps this site can be used to get messages through to players more effectively than snail-mailing the clubs. Then again, the player may not get your message until years after he's retired. It's hard to say which will be the case.

In an attempt to create such a bridge between fans and players, I've opened an "Open Letters forum" to post open letters to players and/or management. Everyone can read these, so don't make them too private. SPAM-bots collect e-mail addresses from every site on the Internet, so protect your e-mail address by spelling it out or other armor plating technique if you're going to post it. Also, keep the posts nice. It is possible to critisize someone without attacking them - develop your language skills if you have something negative to say. And finally, in every open letter, begin with these words:

I have read the FAQ and understand that this may not get to the person to whom it is addressed.

Any letter that doesn't have that, or something similar, will be rejected. [That line will be removed from the letter before being approved.]

One more thing to keep in mind: there is no way to verify who is sending a message. Use your best judgement in determining if the person replying is who he/she says he/she is.