Don't Send Anderson Hernandez Your Baseball Cards

When I was young I used to send glossies and cards to many athletes hoping to get them signed. Most did, some didn't. Of the ones that didn't return, most of those have been athletes of higher stature than light hitting second baseman Anderson Hernandez. If you had done the same when you were young, or if you have children that send baseball players cards in hopes to be signed, then what you're about to read is disappointing, and slightly upsetting:

The young infielder pulled a large garbage can up next to his locker. Seated on a stool, he spread the mail out on another stool and meticulously tore open each envelope.

With his right hand he shook each piece of mail and let the baseball cards inside -- cards that had his photo on them -- float to the clubhouse floor. Without even glancing at the remaining contents of the envelope, he quickly tossed it into the trash -- stamped, self-addressed, return envelope and all. Then it was on to the next one.
The baseball cards were collected from the floor later, once the rest of the mail had been discarded, and stored in his locker. Only Anderson Hernandez, who failed to survive the Mets' final roster cut and is headed for Triple-A New Orleans, knows why he refused to answer his fan mail. An otherwise nice young man with limited command of the English language, the 24-year-old Hernandez shook his head and declined to comment when asked about his behavior.

So why did Anderson Hernandez fail to answer his mail? Was he hoping for money in the envelopes? Is he keeping the cards to sell on eBay to supplement his salary now that he's going to New Orleans? Is he so worried about the environment that he decided to quickly recycle the paper to help stem global warming? Or does Anderson Hernandez not like children?

You do like children ... don't you? Anderson?