Thank You, Dewey #24

A good friend of mine has some sort of connection to Dwight Evans through Evans’ sister Denise. And so a couple days ago out of the blue I got a signed 8 x 10 glossy of Evans and a baseball, both signed by Evans: “To Toby, Best Wishes, Dwight Evans #24”.

My friend relates: “According to Denise, he doesn’t sign much stuff anymore.  Apparently he was surprised anyone remembered him and would want it.”

I’m 39 years old and this is the first autographed anything I’ve ever had. I don’t think it’s going to impel me to seek out more, but I’m thrilled to have this. I grew up with the 1970s-1980s Sox, and Evans was a major part of most of those teams. He was a very good, very reliable, very consistent player who seemed always to be underrated, perhaps because he was always in the shadow of at least one other star outfielder on his own team (Yaz, Lynn, Rice, I’m looking at you).

Dewey always seemed like a class act to me. I was surprised to hear that “he was surprised anyone remembered him and would want it”. Red Sox Nation is huge, and Dewey was a Sox lifer (well, yes, he did end up with the O’s, but I don’t hold that against him).

I’m going to write him a thank-you note. I want to dispel this idea that no one remembers him. What should I say?