A little snippet from the Akron Beacon-Journal is heartening...and disheartening... for autograph collectors.
Indians' pitcher Carl Pavano does answer his TTM autograph requests which makes him a decent enough guy, but he's also a collector on some level and sometimes takes a "tip" for his efforts. It seems he also believes there's a big market for his signed cards (and doesn't think collectors actually trade with each other).
Read on...
On one side of the locker room sits Indians right-hander Carl Pavano, dressed in street clothes on a day he's not scheduled to pitch.
With time on his hands before a recent game, Pavano, 33, sorts through letters from fans — most of whom request he sign the enclosed baseball cards and return them in the accompanied self-addressed envelopes.
Before signing, Pavano thumbs through the cards, curious about what stages of his career they represent.
On the rare occasion that he comes across one he doesn't have in his personal collection, he'll keep it and instead sign a bunch of others and include a note of explanation to the sender.
''Sometimes people will send a bunch of the same card they want signed,'' Pavano said. ''I'll sign a couple, but I know what they're doing with them.''
Upper Deck issued a press release Tuesday, offering free packs if the National League could beat the A.L. in the All-Star Game.
In February, inside its 2009 Series One Baseball product, the company released a nine-card insert set entitled: “Historic Firsts Predictors.” One of nine predictions was the NL breaking a 13-year drought in the All-Star Game. Upper Deck promised to “do something big” if it happened, but fans saw yet another American League win.
Upper Deck didn't get specific as to how it would distribute those free packs--or what they were--but we don't have to worry about that, now do we?
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Topps' internet comedy series "Back on Topps", featuring the Sklar brothers as heirs to the Topps trading card company, will return for another season. The show did well enough to attract a decent audience last year --and benefitted from some guest appearances by current and former players.
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A fan latched onto the 300th career home run ball off the bat of David Ortiz last weekend. The girl and her family were invited to meet Big Papi and turned the milestone ball over in exchange for some autographs.
Hall of Famer Wade Boggs apparently accumulated a lot of memorabilia from his days in Boston, New York and Tampa Bay.
The perennial batting champion has consigned them to Hunt Auctions which will offer them at today's All-Star FanFest auction in St. Louis.
Among the items Boggs is surrendering: the jersey he wore for his 2,999th hit and a game-used baseball from the same game in which he later got his 3,000th hit.
Several other game-used Boggs jerseys, bats, a pair of cleats and batting gloves from the 1999 season are scattered among the hundreds of lots in the auction.
According to a story in Boggs' hometown paper, Boggs "is offering the items to collectors because he doesn't have room to display them all at his Tampa home".
If there is one thing that box breaks have proven to all of us it is that there is no shortage of people who collect baseball cards but have no idea how to make videos.
Most are painful to watch. 90 seconds in and I'm ready to see what time the Andy Griffith rerun starts. I don't need to see you open every pack like it's a gift from Babe Ruth himself. Get in, get out and make me a laugh along the way.
I suppose we can't expect everyone to know video editing.
We can't expect them to know anything about real entertainment value or handle the role of "talent".
But it's a painful experience just about every time out.
That's why I was encouraged to see what Andrew Long and his associates have done. I actually watched the whole thing. It's a nice mix of dorkiness and humor and they spent some time on it.
The only really unwatchable part is when they pull off the Johnny Oates cut autograph. The poor man died a young death from cancer and Upper Deck chops off half of his signature to make the card.
RIP, Johnny.You're a good man who deserved better.
Oh, and if you're wanting to buy a box after you watch the video, here's a link to 2009 Legendary Cuts on eBay
Despite the latest sports memorabilia industry soap opera, there were plenty of 'feel good stories' this past weekend.
MLB honored the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's farewell speech and the moment set the tone. The Iron Horse seemed to be honored in spirit all weekend judging by some of the stories I ran across.
Baseball memorabilia collector James Ancel opened his collection to an ESPN "Outside the Lines" show and the network published some very poignant letters written to and from Gehrig by his doctor and friend at the Mayo Clinic after his ALS diagnosis. It's sad and fascinating at the same time.
Players throughout baseball wore ALS patches and bases carried a special logo. Many of the items will be sold in a fundraising auction.
The Cincinnati Reds honored Gehrig and players were even able to get their hands on a game-used Gehrig bat which they "took turns holding like it was some sacred relic, getting their pictures made with it," according to a story in the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Jason Giambi revealed himself as a collector. The man who got the final hit at the old Yankee Stadium, also owns a Gehrig game-worn jersey. Giambi has also made friends with the Mantle family and has gotten some special pieces from Mickey's boys, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Jason Grilli might be the biggest Nolan Ryan fan playing in the big leagues. He told MLB.com that he used to pitch youth league games with a Ryan baseball card in his pocket and had pictures all over his bedroom wall. He even took "Nolan" as his confirmation name, but revealed to MLB.com that he hasn't yet met the Hall of Fame pitcher, even though the two once shared an elevator for a moment.
Adam Dunn hit career home run #300, but don't look for it on eBay. It was caught by a U.S. Army colonel who gave it back to Dunn. He didn't ask for anything, but William Sanders got a signed Dunn jersey and some other prizes for his catch. Now there's a switch.
Editor's Blog
Among the items Boggs is surrendering: the jersey he wore for his 2,999th hit and a game-used baseball from the same game in which he later got his 3,000th hit.