Quote:
Originally Posted by biohazard
There are always lines at shows but the big money is behind the curtain (mail order). Mariano Rivera has a beautiful signature and price to boot. Granted some players signatures are gawd awful but at a paid appearance, most signatures are decent. Years ago, collectors complained about forking over $100+ for scribbles from Lawrence Taylor and Ray Lewis. At the risk of not being booked, I believe both modified their signatures.
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Mariano is an outlier in the new era of signatures, everybody knows that.
And, yes, I'm sure most players will improve their legibility when financial concerns outweigh laziness.
Also, I would posit that people who stand in line at shows are what we might call "the converted". I'm talking about people who haven't been converted, who haven't yet learned to love our hobby.
But, put a kid at the side of a field and let him (or her) collect autographs from all the players who are signing that day, and the average signature will be virtually unreadable. Sure, that kid knows that they are all players, and sure that kid, because he wasn't around when the average player signed like Mariano, will probably have a great time. But six months later, when showing his trophies to a friend, who asks the simple question "who's that?" his response will probably be "I don't remember, but I know __________ is on here somewhere, I remember him signing it".
That can't bode well in regards to my initial point.