Belated New Member Introduction

[VintageGamerN00b]

I have a few different posts running and realized I never did a New Member Intro.

I'm 25, live in LA (raised in Northern California) and have been collecting sports memorabilia since I was six. Playing, watching and collecting sports were always primarily ways for my dad and I to spend time together. My first collecting moment was when he offered me the choice between a game-used 1989 World Series ball (a foul ball hit by Dave Parker that Dad caught) and a Craig Lefferts signed ball. Of course the autograph mesmerized me so I picked the Lefferts, one of my worst memorabilia-related decisions to this day.

For summer vacations from 1995-2000, we used to follow the A's on three-city road trips. Our first was Boston, Baltimore and New York. We would find out what hotel they were staying in from the media guide and stay there too. I vividly remember a skin-and-bones Miguel Tejada signing a ball for me one year in the lobby of the Baltimore Westin or Hyatt. He must've been 17, but shame on me for being so shocked and disappointed when the PED stories came out a decade later (and decimated the value of the MVP-year game-used jersey and bat we bought at FanFest). The guys were incredible. We had a dinner with Matt Stairs, I made friends with Don Wengert (who even called and left a voicemail message at my home just to say hi later in the year--I saved the mini-cassette tape), and top-prospect Ben Grieve not only had a conversation with us in the elevator but he remembered us later at the game and tossed me a broken bat. Other A's who were particularly friendly were Raffy Bournigal, Ariel Prieto, Scott Spiezio, 3rd Base coach Ron Washington and pitching coach Rick Peterson. Billy Beane even remembered my dad and was always gracious, but this is before he was the real-life counterpart of Brad Pitt. All the team balls, used wristbands, bats, jerseys and balls I got will always be precious reminders to me of the time my dad and I got to spend together before I became a total and complete drain on his income, and also of a time when my on-field heros acted just as heroic off the field. (It doesn't hurt that the mid- to late-90's A's were some of the most likable guys in the league at the time. Matt Stairs probably knew 200 people in the stands by name at any given home game.)

As I've gotten older, collecting has become more and more important to me. Since I really enjoy the nitty gritty of it (doing hours of research, making acquaintances and business friendships with other collectors and dealers, honing and trusting my instincts, etc.), it comes relatively naturally to me. I started out collecting and dealing in rare books when I came down to LA a few years ago, and I was pretty successful. I could've (and probably should've) made enough money to pay for a year of grad school, but instead I made very modest profits while building a collection I'm extremely proud of.

More recently, I've gotten into collecting game-used and pro model bats of pre-WWII Hall of Famers. I read up for weeks on the guys at MEARS and on the boards here and became infatuated with the off-brand bat companies like Kren's, Zinn Beck and Hanna. Not only do I find the designs of the bats really cool, but how else could you ever get a Jimmie Foxx pro model bat for $200?

I will certainly be posting items for sale on B/S/T from time to time, but I want to establish with everyone that I am first and foremost a collector, and that owning part of the game of baseball is very important to me. But having decided to go back to school, I will occasionally have to part with some of my items.

I also want to take this opportunity to give a commendation to the guys on the pre-1980 vintage memorabilia forum, especially Matt, for offering honest and straightforward advice and input to anyone who asks. I've purchased from a couple of you guys on eBay (with a different user name--it just happened that way) and have been very pleased that you handle yourselves with just as high standards on and off the forums. I've also been reading up on the autograph forums and have been really impressed with those guys, but I will refrain from naming any specific users for fear of getting caught in some horrible crossfire.

Bottom line, I'm really glad to have found this site and look forward to sharing my future discoveries with you.