autographs on game used equipment

[joelsabi]

Hi.

Just wondering if anyone has experience getting game used items signed with special inscriptions. Positive and negative experiences are appreciated. or maybe just opionions about getting autographs on game used equipment in general.

thanks in advance.

[Yankwood]

I have quite a few game used bats I've gotten auto'd but with todays $100-$400 pricetags for signing a bat, I can live without them.

[joelsabi]

how much additional charge is there to have a game used bat signed compared to a game model bat being signed? or how much more is charged for a game used glove to be signed compared to a unused glove?
is it cheaper to have a large company get an item signed than getting the autograph signed by the players on one's own. do players question if its game used and where you got it and must you show them the steiner certificate for example for them to sign a game used ball.

[suave1477]

I personally like to get game used bats and jerseys autographed, i will only out an inscription if it is something pertaining to that year of the item. For example if i have a Mets bat game used from 1986 then I might have the player put 86 world series champs, but if i have a bat from 89 i would put soomething else pertaining to that player that whatever they did special in 89. If it is a significant item such as a rookie item, I will ask them to be rookie game used or nothing at all. Some players will put a Game Used inscription but some wont its really up to them. I met Andy Pettitte a couple of weeks ago and someone brought in a Game Used Jersey of his from Steiner with the LOA and he refused to put Game Used on it. So as you can see it's really up to the player.

I personally would say if you can get the autograph on your own, go for it. It is a lot cheaper then going to some huge company, but then again with some players may either be exclusive to a big company or they may not come to your area unless a big company pays them.

You have to keep an eye out for the small places to get the players it is usually a lot cheaper

Example-
Yogi Berra, Steiner is charging for a show coming up $250 on a bat.
Yogi Berra, is doing another show in New Jersey next month and there charging $125

So its really up to you and the player at that time!!!

[suave1477]

By the way there usually is no extra charge if it is game used or a retail item. I am not big on Professional Model items bcuz they really dont add any extra value to the item except for having that players name on it. I rather have a game used bat or a plain louisville slugger, Adirondack or Rawlings that way i can add more to the bat later down the line if I want.

Right now I have a Yankees bat ( I call it the Ultimate Yankees bat ) right now i have about 30 Autos on it of Yankees from 1958 to Present and I keep adding more.

[BaseballGM]

I haven't asked too many players for personalizations, but the couple I have asked, I've gotten mixed results. Some are great and some you have to be VERY CLEAR as to what you want. For example, I bought a personalization ticket in addition to the regular fee and asked the player to personalize it to me, Kevin. So what did I get? A picture signed with "Kevin" and the player's autograph. No "To Kevin" or "Best Wishes Kevin". I don't think getting my name on there was worth the extra money. -Kevin

P.S. Frank Howard signed a photo I took of him, "To Kevin, Keep Hustling, Frank Hondo Howard." Now that's a personalization!

[BaseballGM]

Oh, and to answer the original question, I like to have game used bats and equipment signed. Again, be sure to be clear if adding personalizations. -Kevin

[Swoboda4]

This is a good opportunity to again show GameUsedForum member "sethswirsky"'s video on his getting Tom Seaver to sign his actual '69 World series jersey. This goes to a previous discussion on how to have items signed. Seth is a songwriter who has written for Al Green,TinaTurner. He wrote,"Tell it to Your Heart" for Taylor Dayne. Check his site out for a fantastic collection and the Seaver Video:
http://www.seth.com/coll_memorabilia_01.html
He also wrote the book,"Every Picher Tells a Story"
http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/catalog/results.pperl?authorid=30424
Geoff,Yankeefan01 has a good idea with drapping the gloves over a G/U bat. I make my own display cases and if you're inclined,use plexiglass instead of glass because it's lighter. A lot of time spent at Home Depot in the lumber aisle. Use hard woods because they stain better than pine.
Robert

[joelsabi]

am i correct is saying that there are varying charges for autographing various game used equipment or is there a set price for an autograph. i thought the autograph on a flat cost less than the autograph on a nonflat like a game used item.

[BaseballGM]

am i correct is saying that there are varying charges for autographing various game used equipment or is there a set price for an autograph. i thought the autograph on a flat cost less than the autograph on a nonflat like a game used item. Promoter's don't distinguish between game used and non-game used autograph fees. You'll see a generic fee schedule of, for example, $25 flats, $50 (11x14 or larger) $75 bats/jerseys/premiums, and $15 inscriptions. - Kevin

[suave1477]

The only thing is I would never suggest to personalize something unless the item is ony going to be caluable to you. A picture that you took with the player is cool to be personalized but something like a jersey or a bat I would never have personalized or even Professional photo.

[island_style]

Awhile back, I had some team-issued (not retail) Dodger batting helmets that I had The Infield (Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey) sign. Garvey and Russell signed right-handed batting helmets, and Cey and Lopes signed flapless helmets. The signings were held at a card shop where I live, and the shop owner assured that there would be no charge for personalizations. Each player signed with their career highlights (Gold Glove, MVP, consecutive games played, All-Star appearances, World Series, etc.). It was a nice change from having players sign at a bigger show and charging for inscriptions.

[kylehess10]

I personally try to get all of my game used equipment signed if I'm able to meet the player. Heres pics of my game used equipment which 90% of are signed (the Jones,Hubbard,and Ramirez were all obtained in-person and the Guillen has a really nice inscription which you were mentioning about)

http://www.freewebs.com/gameused/mygameusedmemorablia.htm

[stlbats]

I have most of my game used bats signed, but most of the time, even at a show in a controlled setting, I CAN NOT get guys to put a real good autograph on bats.


Jason

[Swoboda4]

It's funny that you mentioned that even under controlled settings,autograph sessions can be perilous. It seems that even if you tell them what you want and where to put it-the player allways seems to be talking to someone nearby,absent-mindedly grabs the item and signs it where he wants. Bob Gibson signed his name with inscription,on the dark portion of a photo instead of the lighter area. Bob Feller refused to sign,"Robert William Andrew Feller" and wrote instead,"Robert William Feller" because his uncle Andrew left him out of his will-so he refuses to honor him anymore. Reggie Jackson wrote the "44" in the bottom loop of the "J" in Jackson once and not on the second bat I gave him. The handler said,"He does it when he feels like it". Conversation in full earshot of Reggie who didn't look up the whole time. People at McDonalds and other checkout counters work like bastards and they always manage to say thank you and know that you're,for that brief moment,the customer. The players,especially the older ones,they've been involved in this memorabilia buisness now for how long,making more money now than when they played,and some of them still don't know you sign a bat in the front not the back of the barrell. The most professional player I've met who realized that not only are you a fan but for that moment,"their customer" was Rocky Colavito. He practically yelled at a handler for interrupting him while he was writing for me at a show. He was polite,well dressed and respected what was going on-TO WIT-he was getting paid alot of money and he treated it like when he suited up to play a game. By the way,he's another under-rated player we should all collect if given the chance.Sorry about the rant.
Robert

[stlbats]

A player that is becoming very bad about this is I am sorry to say, Albert Pujols. Each year at the Cardinals Winter Warm Up event he wont even look up at you unless you give him something he doesnt want to sign. Not to mention he will only sign balls and flats to start with. I think its a shame that a real talent is becoming the next Barry Bonds.


Jason

[joelsabi]

Thanks for all the input. I really appreciate it.

[icollectDCsports]

Okay, this topic seems to be repeated every month or so on here, and I'll say again what I usually do: I think autographs on game used items should be the exception and not the rule. To me, the fact that a bat, jersey, helmet, or whatever was actually used by a particular player in game competition is all you need. A signature pales in comparison to the special nature of actual game use.

The one situation where I like having autos is on game used Louisville Slugger / H&B bats on which there is only the player's last name in block letters. I think it's a nice touch, though not necessary, to have the player's signature next to the block name.

As to jerseys, I'm just not a fan of having them signed. If they are signed, I strongly prefer that they be signed on the tail next to the tags.

As for inscriptions, I think they're almost always overkill and gaudy. If anywhere but on the tail, I think they almost ruin the special nature of the jersey. That kind of thing should be limited to replica or game issued jerseys which are not really that special in and of themselves.

Bottom line: If you plan to keep a jersey for a long time and don't care what writing on the jersey may do to the market value, more power to you if you can get the player to sign it and write anything else on it you want. It's your jersey. But keep in mind that what you do will impact the desirability of the jersey if you ever seek to sell or trade it. If you're a dealer and you add a bunch of ink to a jersey, you may as well burn cash while you're at it.

[suave1477]

I dont quite agree with icollectdc / bcuz with an inscription if you can het the player to put ( game used ) and of course document that he put that there, i think it adds more value to the jersey, bcuz the player him self is agreeing that it is game used / i am not saying this is the end all be all of it. it just reassures the next buyer of that jersey or makes him feel more confident in buying it.

Or to inscibe the item to a particular date such as ( rookie year ) or ( a year / date a record was broken ) and the item was involved in that game.

Just an opinion!!!

[icollectDCsports]

I would agree that certain inscriptions are cool if they are done in a way that doesn't detract from or dominate the appearance of the jersey (again, I prefer on the tail which I think is the best of both worlds if a jersey must be signed). Problem is that people will disagree on what types of landmarks are worthy of such inscriptions.

As for the idea that autos increase the confidence level of prospective purchasers, well, let's just say that they may have that effect but you can argue that they shouldn't. That's because some players will write just about anything on a jersey. And a bogus jersey that is handed to a player at a show or elsewhere in public may look legit to the player. (As we know, players often don't know their own legit gamers.) I imagine this varies from player to player and there may be some guys that we know will not inscribe something as being game worn unless they're certain that it is.

It's all a matter of preference for sure, but I just wanted to chime in to give the other side of the argument. And I do think I speak for a lot of long-time collectors. What portion? I don't know. But it's up to the person who's going to sell the jersey, if that's their long or short term intention, to factor this in.

[suave1477]

icollectdc i agree with everything you just said there but you would be surprised of how many player will refuse to inscribe game used if they themselves don't know for sure.

Just to give you an example,

I recently met with Andy Pettitte and some guy came to the show with a Game Used Jersey of Andy's from SteinerSports with the LOA. Andy refused to put the inscription. Even though the guy even had the LOA from Steiner and the jersey was in the Steiner box. He wouldn't do it. I tell you this much that guy was extremely pissed and cursing. He bought the jersey just for that sole purpose to have Andy auto and inscribe it.

[BULBUS]

most players wont write game used. i recently went to a mariano rivera signing with one of his 2002 game issued jerseys that i bought from steiner. brought the coa with me too. i paid 50 bucks for an inscription hoping he would sign it 2002 Gamer or even 2002 Game Issued. i begged for a while, but he would not do it. he apologized a few times. very nice guy. so i didnt leave cursing, lol. i think steiner should allow it if you have all the paper work with you. the palyers sign game used for them.

[suave1477]

Bulbus steiner does allow it its not up to steiner what he writes its up to Mariano, the reason why most players wont write GAME USED or GAMER is bcuz they dont want to he held liable for any legality of it. Even though you show up with the paper who's to say you didnt doctor up paper work or forge the jersey it self. So players don't want to take any chances!!

[BULBUS]

i dont know, it seemed like he was taking direction from the steiner rep sitting next to him. the rep was the first one to say no. i do understand why though. i guess if i want game used written on something, i just have to buy it already signed from companies like steiner and esm. i have a rivera bat from steiner signed and inscribed game used.

[suave1477]

Bulbus if thats the case then try to catch Mariano at a different signing and have him do it then

[kingjammy24]

I wonder how Arod gets around the "legalities" of writing "game-used" on practically everything. If you've got a little league bat, I'm pretty certain you can get him to write "game-used" on it for the right price. Bump up the price a little more and you can probably even tell him to put a certain homerun number on it.

At any rate, once I was at a Canseco show and there was Canseco, signing balls, bats, jerseys, etc with a slew of different types of pens. Sharpies, ballpoints, etc. Canseco was a wiz when it came to automatically selecting the right pen for each item. It was like second nature to him. He'd see an 8x10 and automatically pick-up a blue sharpie and still keep chatting to the guy next to him, then he'd see a ball and he'd drop the sharpie and pick up a ball point. Next guy would come up with a black bat, and Canseco would pick up the silver paint pen. All of this without being told or even blinking. What a pro. I was a little worried he would sign my 8x10 with a ballpoint. I once saw Tony Gwynn sign some kid's black/dark baseball card with a black ballpoint. I imagine the kid was thrilled.

During my younger days I attended a golf tournament with Gretzky. A bunch of people were around Wayne and he was signing things. Some divot handed him a huge, black Cadomark. Well Wayne was one of those guys that basically takes 1 marker and uses it for everyone. When Wayne grabbed my 8x10, I told him "not with that!!" and he chuckled and said "it's fine..it'll last longer". Yeah well..the ultimate joke is that about 3 min after I got my 8x10 back, the Cadomark autograph turned into a small collection of ink droplets. That's how long that lasted. Thanks Wayne! Luckily I had him sign some other things with a Sharpie. Otherwise, fisticuffs might've erupted.

Rudy.

[suave1477]

KingJammy as far as you mentioning AROD the reason he can get a way with the legalities of writing game used on everything is bcuz it is his stuff, one of the biggest sellers of his stuff is ESM on ebay. AROD is invloved with ESM. Just to give you a heads up ESM used to be called AROD Authentics. I will not go any further about the rest and I will lave it at that bcuz thats a whole other can of worms.

[stlbats]

Recently I had Scott Rolen sign a game used bat. I asked him to put game used on it, and he paused for a second to think about it, and then said he would rather not. I didnt argue the point.


Jason

[icollectDCsports]

Glad to hear about specific players who won't write "game used" on an item brought to them by a collector. Problem is that a prospective buyer most often won't know whether a player whose uniform they're evaulating is a guy who is that picky about such an inscription. The examples that have been brought up about this are guys like A-Rod and Scott Rolen. Stars are more likely to get a reputation about such things. Tell me, do you know whether Aaron Cook or Jesse Garcia would balk if someone asked them to write "game worn" on a high-quality game issue jersey? Well?

[Not saying that either of these players would knowingly do anything wrong. Just that many players, not necessarily these guys specifically, can be fooled by nice replicas or fakes.]

[suave1477]

icollectdc, well thats the point some will some wont. Some wont take the chance of signing game used others could careless and will sign your grandmothers undis saying game used. All I am saying is when a game used items is signed game used it does look better. You feel a bit more comfortable with the item your purchasing from someone. Who are we to argue that the player didnt use the item if he signed it game used.

Maybe he did wear my grandmothers undies!!!!! lol lol:D

[island_style]

This is very interesting on players who will, or won't, sign "Game Used" on items presented before them at autograph shows. I can imagine their hesitance to add the inscription if they're not sure. I'd do the same if I was in that position.

I've been to a few signings (card shops and bigger shows) that involved the Dodgers. One of the shows had Gagne, Beltre and Cora (amongst others). I showed Cora a bat from his rookie season. He confirmed that he used that particuliar model in his rookie season and included "My rookie bat" with his signature. I presented Beltre with several gamers and, after holding each bat and looking at the placement of the hit marks on the barrel, markings on the knob, feeling the weight, etc., he added "Game Used" to his signature on each bat. With Gagne, I had a jersey from his rookie season. He smiled to see the jersey and commented to his assistant, "This is my rookie season jersey." However, when he signed the back, it was with his signature and a Cy Young inscription. While I was hoping he would add a "Game Used" or rookie-type inscription, at least he signed his full name in lieu of his sometimes "EG" version.

So it goes...

[suave1477]

Island just so you know you have to ask them if there is a particular inscription you want you cant just hope there going to put it there!!! If you want game used, rookie of the year, hof, cy young, you cant expect him to know what you want otherwise they will put whatever they feel, and usually they will put little to nothing. Even if you buy an inscription ticket they usually ask you want you want or will put soemthing easiest to write like hof. or something like that. You cant expect there going to automatically write game used.

[island_style]

Island just so you know you have to ask them if there is a particular inscription you want you cant just hope there going to put it there!!! If you want game used, rookie of the year, hof, cy young, you cant expect him to know what you want otherwise they will put whatever they feel, and usually they will put little to nothing. Even if you buy an inscription ticket they usually ask you want you want or will put soemthing easiest to write like hof. or something like that. You cant expect there going to automatically write game used.

Yes, I am aware of asking players to sign a particular inscription. If I purchase an inscription ticket, I already have a good idea of what inscriptions to request. Cora and Beltre did accommodate. However, Gagne did not. Recent posts were about players and their hesistance to add "gamer"-type inscriptions. I just thought I'd share my experience.

[suave1477]

island no problem just trying to clear somethings, but your right it is interesting. if i get something inscribed i always try to get the inscription to be something rare that the player accomplished that way it makes it more valuable. You be surprised how different inscriptions can change the value of your item.

[island_style]

No worries, Suave! One of the inscriptions (of many on the same item) I had Bill Russell sign on a helmet was Most Games Played by a Los Angeles Dodger. I can't imagine he's signed that inscription too often, if ever at all.

[trsent]

Of all the athletes I have done signings with over the years, I would say Pete Rose was the best. He wrote almost anything anyone asked. The best was when I was being his pen boy one day and an old man asked him to sign: "Peter Edward Rose" and Pete said no, then handed him a baseball signed exactly that way.

[earlywynnfan]

I've recently tried getting "gamer" signed on my GU bats. Reggie Jax will, although he has the personality of a doorknob. Phil Niekro did, he was really cool. Mike Schmidt and Jim Rice said no, since they couldn't be sure.

I asked Dave Parker and he examined the bat all over and then told me that he was sorry to tell me that the bat wasn't his, he never used bats under 36". I went home and measured it and it was 35 and 7/8"!!

Ken