Oisk delivers

It seems like every blogger except the Dodger fan is pulling Clayton Kershaw autos. Am I jealous? Sure. I buy retail. I buy hobby. I get squat. Lately, anyway.

But I have something they don't have. Or at least I think they don't. Maybe they do. Maybe they're just waiting to spring it -- ah, never mind.

Behold! An autographed 1974 TCMA Boys of Summer Carl Erskine card! Mr. Erskine signed and returned this card to me in a mere eight days! Erskine is one of my favorite all-time Dodgers, especially from Brooklyn's golden age of the '50s. He's also on my list of favorite Dodgers to collect.

Erskine's accomplishments are well-known. He once held the record for most strikeouts (14) in a World Series game, set in 1953. He is one of the few Major League pitchers -- Mark Buehrle was the latest -- to throw two no-hitters in his career. He pitched in five World Series, appearing in 11 games.

Erskine was a prominent figure in Roger Kahn's "Boys of Summer," a book that revealed that one of Erskine's children, Jimmy, had been born with Down syndrome. That was quite a big deal back then. Folks just didn't talk about people with disabilities the way they do now. Thank goodness that has changed.

Erskine pitched only until he was 32 because of arm trouble, but became a successful businessman and noted leader in the community of Anderson, Ind., where he grew up. Now 82 years old, he works to help those with developmental issues, but also dedicates time to a wide variety of community projects. He has his own Web site.

I enjoyed his book, "Tales From the Dodger Dugout," quite a bit. I told him that in the letter I wrote. I haven't read his book, "What I Learned From Jackie Robinson," yet, but I hope to someday.

All those reasons were why I sent this card to him to sign. And not only was he nice enough to sign that card, but he signed and sent another one, too:

I didn't even know these Diamond Signatures cards existed until last night, when I read about it on Carl Crawford Cards. And then there's one in my mailbox the very next day!

Apparently these cards were made and given to players so they could give them to their fans.

I feel fortunate to have signatures of four players from the 1955 World Champion team -- Erskine, Snider, Koufax and Podres. And I'm now 5-for-6 on TTM tries. A big thanks to Mark and Kris who both sent me an address for Erskine after I misplaced the first one.

And a major thanks to "Oisk."