Tag Archives: baseball

Day 280: Anonymous letter left in New York’s Penn Station

Don Pepi's Pizzeria at Penn Station.

Don Pepi’s Pizzeria at Penn Station.

Today’s letter was scrawled quickly as I rushed to write it on the back of my laptop before I hopped on my train back to Washington. My quick draft didn’t come out as elegantly as I had hoped. I left it on the counter at Don Pepi’s Pizzeria at Penn Station.

I grew up watching the New York Mets on WWOR, I was a huge fan in the early 80s and was rewarded with a miraculous World Series victory in the fall of 1986. I could tell you any statistic about Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Mookie Wilson or Gary Carter (RIP my friend!).

Times have changed and so has my location. Living in our nation’s capital, I’ve become a strong fan of the Washington Nationals. In fact, I haven’t missed an opening day game since they moved the franchise to DC in 2005. This year didn’t end up the way we had hoped, but my old team, the New York Metropolitans are still in the race. So, here’s to them, LET’S GO METS!

Day 280

I tried to stamp the glove blue in honor of the Mets, but I may have used purple ink. I can’t tell. #BeingColorblind

Dear New Yorker,

I grew up a Mets fan – then moved to Washington, DC and became a Nationals fan. We lost this year to the Mets – their World Series Dreams are still alive. I wish them lots of luck in the playoffs!

Reed Sandridge
Washington, DC

P.S. LET’S GO METS!

Day 272: Trea Turner, Washington Nationals

trea

Turner heads for the dugout after hitting his first big league home run.

Trea Turner is a 22-year-old professional baseball player. He’s one of the fastest players in the game. When he played at NC State, he stole 57 bases which was more than the team total of 158 Division I teams. Tonight he proved not only is he fast and a good defensive player, but he can also hit the ball out of the park.

You’ve got to check this guy out. It’s not just that he’s talented, there is something about him that seems to embody the love of the game. It was a lot of fun to watch him hit that home run tonight.

Day 272

Dear Trea,

First and foremost, congratulations on making your big-league debut back in August and for hitting your first home run tonight. As I live in DC, I was watching the game on MASN – what a great shot. Seeing how happy you were made my day!

When you get on base, the game gets exciting – it reminds me a bit of one of my childhood heroes, Mookie Wilson. He was a great base stealer – but I’m pretty sure you’re faster.

I’ve written to Clint, Jayson, Yunel – heck I even wrote to Teddy about the Presidents Race. So far, none have responded. Maybe you’ll be the first! I believe in you.

Best of luck to you – the future looks bright,
Reed

P.S. Who was the first person you called after you hit the home run?

Day 233: Julie

I love it when the people who find my anonymous letters follow up with me – especially when they do it with a handwritten letter like Julie did. She found letter number 215 that I had left on the upper concourse at Nationals Park on August 3rd.

It’s just an interesting way of connecting with our community and I truly hope that Julie and her husband Ian join us at the year-end celebration on January 5th!

My letter and Julie's card.

My letter and Julie’s card.

Julie,

The other day I went to the mailbox and found your letter – I’ll be honest, I had no idea who it was from when I saw the envelope. That’s kind of exciting.

Opening it up and seeing that you found Letter 215 made my day! Truly. I’ve left a half dozen or so anonymous letters throughout this letter-writing journey and I think you’re only the second person I’ve heard from. Thank you for taking a moment to write back.

Day 233-2I appreciate your kind words. You and Ian sound like good people – I mean your Nats fans, so you’ve gotta be good people. Unless of course you were there rooting for the Diamondbacks!??!

I’ll post on YearOfLetters.com details about the year-end party but it will most likely be in Dupont on January 5th. It should be fun. I did a similar event at the end of the Year of Giving – it was a blast!

Again, thanks for taking time to write and say hello. I hope to see you and Ian on January 5th!

Cheers,
Reed

Day 224: Carl

Today I dropped a thank you note to the father-in-law of a colleague of mine who writes for the Dallas Morning News. He generously took time to talk to me about Street Sense, an organization where I serve as a board member.

Day 224

Carl,

I’ve always enjoyed reading the paper, but sitting down face to face with someone who’s been writing for a newspaper for 35 years is fascinating. I appreciate you taking time to talk with me – I enjoyed it immensely and appreciate the advice. By the way, this morning I picked you up a copy of the latest edition of Street Sense.

I look forward to reading more of your column,
Reed

P.S. I stayed up last night to watch the Nats lose 5-0 to the Dodgers. Let’s hope they can hang on!

Day 215: Anonymous letter left at Nats Park

I’m leaving this note with a ten-dollar bill somewhere at tonight’s Nationals vs. Diamondbacks game.

Day 215

“Play this game like the 8 year old you used to be, dreaming to play in the show! Heart, passion, and fire! Remember where you came from!”Bryce Harper

Ballgames have become more expensive – here’s a few bucks to help you out. Enjoy a hotdog, pretzel or drink on me. Or buy something for fan sitting next to you.

Enjoy!