Seeking input on World Series autograph collection goal
 

Hello,

I'd like to start collecting World Series baseballs (1978-today) with signatures and could use a little input on the goal I should set. I expect to fill the collection with online purchases and attending autograph shows over several years. I'm a big fan of homogeneous collections, so I want the same auto theme for each year. I'd like the collection to be achievable while also holding some value over the long term.

Here are the options I'm contemplating:

1. Official WS ball with auto of series MVP
2. Official WS ball with auto of one of the HOFers on the winning team (MVP, where applicable)
3. Official WS ball with autos of as many players on winning that I can get (I highly doubt I'd get the full roster for each year)

Which approach would you take? Are there others I should consider?

If you are looking at getting the items signed at shows, I would recommend staying away from team signed pieces. The cost of accumulating the signatures yourself will far, far exceed the resale value, and when you do it one at a time, there is a high likelihood that the signatures will not be particularly neat (as opposed to when a company gets all the players to sign the ball at a single event, using the same pens etc.)

If you are looking for a hobby/collecting experience, working on getting those balls signed is a great experience, and since you are chasing many players, you can find them at shows frequently, though again, partial team signed balls are not worth much, and certainly far less than you would have paid.

On the other hand, if you are buying the items pre-signed, I do think team-signed balls are a great way to go. Many people collect WS team-signed balls, and I think they tend to hold their value pretty nicely. Often the World Series MVP may not be someone so significant, and while interesting, they aren't always particularly memorable. For example, the 2018 Red Sox MVP was Steve Pearce.

Your focus on a HOF from the winning team is interesting, but is much less homogenous. How do you decide who to get? Also, during their careers it is not always easy to determine who will be a HOFer. You can always change it up, but for example for the Yankees run in the late 90's, Clemens would have been the most obvious for 2000 and he's not in. Bernie Williams and Andy Pettitte might have seemed like an options and they aren't in. Jeter and Mariano were very young then, so you might have gambled on them making it, or you might have stayed away thinking it was too soon.

Either way all are interesting and fun projects, but depending on how you approach this and what you want to get out of it might help you decide.

Just my $.02.

Good point on the cost of self-acquiring team signatures and potential for lack of neatness.

What you mentioned about "common" MVPs is my main concern with that approach. While it's the most straightforward and achievable, I don't think I'll get much thrill out of collecting the likes of Pearce, Freese, or Eckstein.

So I'm leaning toward the HOF approach. It's quite easy for existing HOFers, and most WS teams have an obvious top candidate (Schmidt, Brett, etc.). You're right that it can be a gamble projecting HOFers from recent teams, but there might be some fun in guessing and I could always swap out years later.

Any alternative approaches I should consider?

I think they can all be fun projects. It's all about what gets you interested.

It took me a while to find things that got me excited. I love baseball history, find more obscure collectibles interesting, and love big games/events but don't have the budget that some others have, so ultimately I started building a few areas of collection:
- baseball's integration - it's a super important part of baseball history and always has me learning more and finding out new interesting things about the sport and the country
- WWII baseball - same as above
- lineup cards - they are an abscure collectible, so I can find ones connected to bigger games/events and players for a cheaper price than a game worn bat or jersey
- Negro Leagues (same as first 2)

I think in all of this, whether you collect a team or a player, collect in person or buy pre-signed, it's about what you get out of it.