This is the kind of gift everyone deserves. It's a gift of faith, of confidence, of achievement. Of giving to others that can uplift the giver and the recipient.

I wrote a book on the knuckleball. No kidding. I wouldn't have thought it possible until I exchanged emails with someone who, bolt out of the blue, suggested a DVD on the subject. For economic reasons, the idea came up to produce a book, first. In case you haven't been on this Earth too long, note that many wonderful and useful things can happen with sufficient money, and little without. The saying is, "the LACK of money is the root of all evil". Often, the evil presents itself as simply nothing -- no tools, no job, no benefits, no health aids, nothing to provide a better quality of life, nothing to give those who want or need.

The team soon came apart, but the groundwork laid for the proposed book had a glimmer of life left. An important and professional publisher indicated some interest in the book manuscript, so I discovered through a third-party. Contact was made, emails exchanged, and the book has found fertile ground, after all. It will arrive Fall of 2005.

It's forthcoming birth is not all the benefit. This book would not have been as complete and polished if it had arrived earlier. As all good things go, I discovered that some things have a natural gestation period that can't be hurried, even though you may think they're ready to make their appearance.

I have a copy, double-spaced and marked up by the publisher himself, not an editor. The big guy himself is acting like the GM coming down out of the stands and volunteering to pitch nine innings, if you want a sports metaphor. The book's my baby, and it's confusing and a bit troublesome to see all those edit marks and sticky notes all over it, until I realize that this is an infant with potential to do great good, to have a life of its own, and so it's up to us to work it into the best shape possible, to allow it to produce the most good possible.

We've all seen books that exist because someone thought the information therein deserved to exist in that form, but that book was just not something that would generate much enthusiasm outside a small circle. So-called artists often claim their work is deliberately not commercial, but you'd think that something that finds a wide and large audience is far more valued because it pleases so many, and is more likely to prompt others to greater things of their own. Far more automotive design engineers took up the craft because they admired a '65 Mustang or Corvette Stingray than a Nash Metropolitan. The editor wants this book to please others, as many as possible, and some touchup paint is what he's good with, so I'm letting him touch up.

You may not think a book on the knuckleball is anything other than a potential how-to for a carnival act, but I've found many people who are amused by this, and who think it's a rather large niche in the pantheon of baseball literature that has gone woefully unfilled, not to mention the potential education and entertainment such a thing offers.

Already it's helped two pitchers get into college, but that's not the most fascinating aspect of it.

An average high school pitcher who throws strikes at will has exactly as much velocity as a Hall of Fame knuckleball pitcher, and all that's left to pitch EXACTLY like that Hall of Famer is knowledge of what to do.

This book provides exactly that.

Astonishing.

Already I'm proud of my baby, and I'm honored that I've been invited to join a team, Ivan R. Dee Publishing, who has also published works by a few great names in baseball literature.

I think about how many pitchers this book may help, and what their advancement will mean to them in their private lives.

Many years ago, the head of the Salvation Army in England was sent a telegram, containing all the instructions he needed to press on and do the most good. Due to the cost, however, the telegram only contained one word, but that one word said all it ever had to: "Others."

I'm pleased others recognize this book for what it will do. I'm pleased others have contributed everything in it so there will be more pitchers doing better on the mound. I'm pleased this may bring me the opportunity to present the knuckleball and how to throw it to fans and the curious, live and in-person. I'm thrilled that this has already helped the few who have read it for accuracy, but have found useful nuggets they didn't know.

I'm pleased that this won't be about the author. It'll be about the book and how it'll improve lives and bring encouragement in numbers and ways I don't realize.

The book thinks of others. It helps others. This is the way human creations should be, at their best. You may consider it a gift from on high, and I'm the head caretaker. I do.

Whether you believe in a child born by immaculate conception or not, whether you believe in a religion that holds dear a holiday or not, whtether you believe all or little of a day of celebration, you should find it easy to believe that the spirit of giving benefits those who receive as well as those who give. And so you should find it easy to enjoy life and share this joy with others, and give often and with happiness, no matter what your faith may be, or what the calendar may say.

I wish this warm and exciting feeling on all. Do enjoy it, and pass it on to others.

Gary Carter has always brought out "The Kid" in Mike Cosgrove.

One of the popular catcher's most devoted fans, the New York native has built a Web site (www.thekid8.com) that pays tribute to his hero, amassed a huge collection of the 2003 Hall of Fame inductee's memorabilia, and even named his son "Carter."

"It all started when my first Little League Coach gave me No. 8 and put me behind the plate," recalls Cosgrove. "I checked to see what major league players wore No. 8 and mailed a letter to each of them asking for an autograph. Gary was the only one to respond."

That autograph became one of the first items in a collection that has grown to include cards, magazines, ticket stubs, and game-used equipment. One of Cosgrove's most ambitious collecting missions is to obtain nine copies of each Carter card.

"It's kind of a weird thing. I want nine (of each card) because the sheets that card collectors use hold nine cards," he explains. "I want to have a full sheet of each card."

A second quest has him attempting to pick up a ticket stub from every game in which the 11-time all-star hit a homerun. So far, he has managed to collect 15 of these.

To achieve his goals, Cosgrove scours eBay regularly and trades with other hobbyists.

"When I'm trading with someone I'll throw in a few extra cards and people will usually give me some extra Carter cards," he says.

His favorite item is a rookie card that his wife, June, purchased for him.

"My wife went to a show herself and bought it for me," he says. "Its very special to me."

About 60% of Cosgrove's collection is showcased on his Web site (www.thekid8.com) - an online shrine that also includes stats, a complete list of the all-star receivers homeruns, and a "'Your' Gary Carter Memories" section that encourages fans to share their recollections.

"What people write to me for the "Memories" section shows that Gary is an even better person than he was a ballplayer," he says.

The site has become so popular that "The Kid" himself even knows about it. In January 2002, Cosgrove got a call from Carter's friend Ray Strickland asking him if he would put a link to the Gary Carter Foundation - a charitable organization that helps underprivileged children in Southern Florida - on his site.

"Which I was thrilled to do," says Cosgrove. "And about two weeks later Ray arranged for Gary to give me a call at work to thank me. It just proved once again what a class act Gary is."

This was just one of his encounters with his favorite player. Cosgrove has also met Carter at a card show and drove to the former Expos' Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction in St. Marys, Ontario in 2001.

"That was a great experience... I have a picture of my son and I with Gary from that trip," he says.

And the long-time fan was thrilled when he it was announced that Carter would be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this year.

"I've been lobbying for him to get in since he became eligibile," he says. "It took six years for the baseball writers to do the right thing."

Cosgrove has already made plans to attend the induction ceremony.

"I already have my reservations," says Cosgrove. "I'm going with my brother-in-law and a friend of his who is apparently as big of an Eddie Murray fan as I am a Carter fan. I'm really looking forward to it."

Kevin Glew is a freelance writer based in London, Ontario.

The contents of the respective articles represent the opinions of the individual writers and not necessarily those of the editor/owner of The Oddball Mall Sports Cards.

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