Who are the tougher living Baseball HOFers?

Bruinsfan94 · #1 11-03-2015, 02:53 PM

With how much money these guys make, I'm not surprised they charge so much at shows. They know that kids are not going to be paying that. The only options they really have to avoid adult collectors taking advantage of them is to charge high amounts/not sign or sign so much that the autographs become worthless. Look how much mail a guy like Pat Neshek gets who will sign ANYTHING , imagine what Trout would get if he tried the same. As long as they sign for kids in person at games/ in public I have no problem with it. Hamilton used to sign all his mail and send it around the holiday season, not sure if he still does. Kershaw is as classy as they come. Bobby Doerr is the best. I honeslty think that (even though the old joke is about Bob Feller) that Doerr has increased the value of some of his unsigned cards by signing so much. Lots of guys still sign through the mail. I worked in a clubhouse in the independent leagues and I saw guys signing mail all the time. They all seemed to feel they owed it to the fans who watched them when they were playing in the bigs.

packs · #2 11-03-2015, 03:02 PM

How exactly are collectors taking advantage of professional athletes by selling their autographs though? The athletes make what they make because of fans / collectors attending games. If one is taking advantage of the other, isn't it mutual?

cubsfan-budman · #3 11-03-2015, 03:08 PM

yeah, there's some sort of break even point where the cost of the auto isn't exploitative of the fan base.

not sure where that point is, but it's lower than $650

packs · #4 11-03-2015, 03:11 PM

The secondary market shouldn't even enter the athlete's mind. If it does, that person is being greedy. They have enough money. I don't worry about what someone does with my soda can after I throw it away. I don't feel as though someone who needs the money and recycles my can instead of me is ripping me off. That mentality is lame.

Bruinsfan94 · #5 11-03-2015, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by packs

The secondary market shouldn't even enter the athlete's mind. If it does, that person is being greedy. They have enough money. I don't worry about what someone does with my soda can after I throw it away. I don't feel as though someone who needs the money and recycles my can instead of me is ripping me off. That mentality is lame.

Of course the secondary market plays into it. Why should a player waste his time signing autographs just so random guys who may or may not be fans sell it. Apples and Oranges.

packs · #6 11-03-2015, 03:18 PM

A player should waste his time signing autographs because they understand those people he's signing for enable them to live the life they are. No one steps onto a baseball field unless there are fans there to pay to see the game. There should be mutual respect between athlete and fan. If that relationship is entirely one sided, someone is being greedy.
.

Bruinsfan94 · #7 11-03-2015, 03:21 PM

And most will sign if you see them in public or at a game, at least the nice guys. Thats very different from going to a card show and sign 100's of items.

homerunhitter · #8 06-17-2020, 04:38 PM

Any updates to this thread?

Wrightfan85 · #9 06-17-2020, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

Any updates to this thread?

Piazza is high on top of the list for sure. He splits time between the US and Italy now. He does 1 signing per year tops now it seems.

I do not want to publicly reveal how much I paid for my Mike HOF plaque lol. Did not expect it to go as high as it did.

Bruinsfan94 · #10 11-03-2015, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by packs

How exactly are collectors taking advantage of professional athletes by selling their autographs though? The athletes make what they make because of fans / collectors attending games. If one is taking advantage of the other, isn't it mutual?

If you get something for free for someone or at a reduced price, and then sell it for a profit, I'd say that you are taking advantage of it. You pay for a ticket to see a baseball game. You don't pay for a ticket to have the player owe you for everything. Not saying there is anything at all wrong with selling autographs. Just don't see why people would feel that the players should freely allow others to make profit off them. Signing a card for a kid is different as thats just being a decent person

egri · #11 11-03-2015, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruinsfan94

Bobby Doerr is the best. I honeslty think that (even though the old joke is about Bob Feller) that Doerr has increased the value of some of his unsigned cards by signing so much.

I don't know about raising the value, but it does seem to me that it is harder to find his low grade cards unsigned than signed. Case in point: a cursory search of current eBay listings for "1949 Bowman Bobby Doerr" yields 3 unsigned low grade cards and 6 signed ones. I noticed the same thing with his 1938 Goudey; I think there was one unsigned low grade and at least a couple signed.

sycks22 · #12 11-03-2015, 09:47 PM

I realize it's a golfer, but I sent a baseball for Arnie Palmer to sign and got back a letter saying "It upset Mr. Palmer when he saw his autograph baseballs were being sold on auction sites for a profit, thus he will no longer sign them." He sent me an auto 8x10 by the way. I guarantee a ton of the "good guys" who sign for free or cheap through the mail will eventually get sick when they see they're making money for people while they get nothing.

hawaiian bam bam · #13 11-16-2015, 11:21 AM

thank you all for your thoughts and input, i appreciate it. any other thoughts?

obxhouses4rent · #14 11-16-2015, 04:49 PM

My brother and I used to get autographs on cards at the hotels and ballpark in Philly in the late 70s to 83. At one point we had over 10,000 autographs. We never asked any player or former player to sign a duplicate card. Ever. We felt that even then, it would be obvious what we would do with the dupes. The former players (from the 40's to mid 70's) loved being paid for their signatures as the new guys then were making a lot more than they ever made. But most of them all signed for free and were very nice about it. We have soooo many memories. But these guys owe us nothing. The do NOT have to sign. We always felt if you approached them with respect, called them only Mr. Whomever and acted polite, they would almost always sign for you. There were always some that were hard or impossible. In 1978 or 79 the two hardest on the Phil's were Ron Reed and Steve Carlton. After a while, we stopped asking. They wouldn't sign even if we got to the vet early and we were the ONLY two people there when they went inside to get ready. Nada.
So, we asked Jim Kaat, who was such a great guy, who we have given him some cards from his early career he didn't have, was willing to do us a favor. He got the entire folder we made up of Carlton and reed entire career in cards all signed. He brought it out to us after a game. We freaked. It was like hitting the lottery! Not sure if I would like getting autos today. It's probably wayyyyy different now. It was fun back then.

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