I grew up a huge baseball fan. It was my favorite sport, by far.
I also enjoyed collecting baseball cards. To this day, if you tell me a player’s name, I can visualize one of his cards.
In the summer of 1996, I read how people were sending cards and a self-addressed-stamped envelope to players in Spring Training and getting autographs in return. I had to get in on this craze.
I didn’t just want an autograph though; I wanted a connection. On my computer, I typed up dozens of letters to different players all across the majors. These blue pieces of paper not only had a personal touch on them, but they had a few questions and the address to a Baltimore Orioles web site I created.
In my head, I figured out how long, at the earliest, I would get one back. Three days, max, to get to Florida, two days to sign and send, three days on a return flight. Eight days.
Every day I couldn’t wait to hear the hum of the mail truck as it was coming up the road. I would run the 100 yards down the driveway and open the mailbox to either heartbreak or excitement. I must have received close to 50 back over the years. One of them was from Rick Krivda, a young starting pitcher with the Orioles.
The top of my letter was ripped off and Krivda answered the three questions I had for him. He even wrote a short note: “I’ll be sure to check out your web site.”
I was impressed. How could you not be? A big-league pitcher that was actually interested in my stuff.
Krivda spent three seasons in Baltimore before splitting the 1998 season in Cleveland and Cincinnati. He won 11 games and struck out 165 in 72-career games. In 2000, Krivda won a Gold Medal playing baseball for manager Tommy Lasorda in the Olympics.
Years went by and I began my career covering pro sports. I was interacting with players more than I could have ever imagined and loved it. Then, in early 2003, I checked my email and saw this: “Somerset Patriots Sign Former MLB Pitcher Rick Krivda.”
I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to meet Krivda and tell him the story. My chance came during the Patriots’ pre-season luncheon. It was near the end of my time there, and I spotted Krivda sitting at a table near the front of the section we were in. After introducing myself, I proceeded to tell him the story (not nearly as long as this one you’re reading).
“Was it one blue paper?” Krivda asked.
“Yes, it was,” I responded.
“Yea, I remember that letter. I checked out the site. It was cool. How crazy is that?” Krivda said, to my excitement.
Krivda and I became friends from that moment. We talked often in the clubhouse and I was upset the day he was released. (I was in Trenton, got the news and sped to Somerset to try and catch him before he left. I got a ticket and never saw him.)
He re-signed the next season and we spoke on the phone a few times after that. He’s a great guy, with great stories. Krivda would tell of how he played fantasy football with Mike Mussina and where he kept his Olympic Gold Medal.
It just comes to show, what a small world the sports world is sometimes.
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