Here’s something you don’t see everyday. And by everyday, I mean any day… ever.
Any fan who has ever cared about a favorite baseball team has undoubtedly spent countless hours cooking up trades that they would like to see their team make. It’s ok, you can admit, we’ve all done it. Most of us are also so certain that this trade is such a fantastic idea that they can’t believe their team’s GM hasn’t already made it happen. Most of us are probably wrong about how great the idea really is; in fact, your trade ideas are probably really terrible. Nothing personal. That’s just what happens with fans because they often overlook the all-important factor that the other team must also agree to the trade. This is why your grand scheme to acquire Evan Longoria and Matt Moore in exchange for the fat, 31-year old back-up first baseman in Double-A for your team hasn’t been made. That being said, making up trades is fun and will always exist in abundance as long as people have ready access to the internet.
What isn’t as common is a fan feeling so strongly about their trade that they sent a letter to their team’s general manager, yet that is exactly what the Angel fan known as Of Maicer and Men did. But that isn’t the amazing part. Well, other than someone actually writing something by hand and mailing it, like, with a stamp and envelope and everything. That just seems like a lot of work compared to sending an e-mail, but that’s just me.
No, the amazing part is the Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto received the letter, proceeded to read it and then wrote a hand-written reply! Don’t believe me? Allow to present Exhibit A:
Great fan relations, Batman! That is just unbelievable. Maybe this shouldn’t be such a surprise since Dipoto is the man who managed to simultaneously sign Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson for a combined $300 million in one night, so the dude knows how to multi-task, but one would think he has better things to do.
If you want to see the content of the letter, click through to the fan’s post at Halos Heaven (have to give credit where credit is due). Major kudos to Jerry Dipoto for being so cool and so accessible as a I can’t imagine that many other MLB executives would even read the original letter, much less respond to it. That being said, I feel bad for the people in the LA Angels mailroom because I imagine they are going to have a whole lot more mail to sort now.
