KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Chris Thomas opened his mailbox, he was surprised.
Inside was a hand-written envelope addressed to him from Springfield. Inside of that— a typed letter with a simple request.
“It turned out just to be a really sweet letter,” said Thomas.
The letter was from a father and his 9-year-old son, who both loved sports.
“I grew up without a father so I am spending every chance I can with my son to show him how to be a dad,” the father wrote.
One of the ways they were spending “father-son bonding time” was by collecting baseball cards of their favorite players and sending them, hoping to get the cards signed and sent back.
“Immediately, I’m pretty much laughing because it starts about how I am your biggest fan and I am an IT guy and we don’t normally get fan mail,” said Thomas.
While the letter was addressed and sent to Thomas, it was the wrong Chris Thomas.
So the Thomas who had the letter started searching for the right one and found the former professional baseball player on Twitter. He sent him a message.
“It was definitely cool to see him take the time to find me and track me down and let me know,” said Chris Thomas from his computer in Florida.
The baseball player grew up in the Kansas City area before he was drafted by the Cardinals. He played for five years and moved away.
“I’ve been out of the game for two years so it was kind of surprising to still be getting fan mail, he said.
Thomas who has the letter said he plans on sending the correct Thomas the letter and baseball cards.
But he plans on adding something special too, like some of his favorite baseball cards and a letter to the father and son explaining what happened.
“As a kid, my dad and I also collected baseball cards. I kind of remember going to the shops and getting to see a Babe Ruth card for the very first time. And knowing how good that feeling felt, I want to give [the 9-year-old] the same feeling.”
