IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

[slab0meat]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

I'm not even in the top 1,000,000

[godwulf]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

Not to overly complicate the issue (moi?), but how does one factor in something like rarity, uniqueness and "importance" vs. just sheer number of objects?

Take my own niche - the Diamondbacks. I've got over a thousand bats, and something like 300 jerseys, and of course a lot of other gu stuff related in some way to the team...but I'd guesstimate that maybe 25% of the bats and a third of the jerseys are not MLB, but from the Minors. I know a lot of collectors (no doubt some of you) who turn up their noses at prospects' bats, etc - but it happens to be one of my favorite parts of collecting.

That said, even if you only consider the strictly MLB items, yeah, there may be some guys out there with more Diamondbacks jerseys, but when it comes to bats, I've never heard of anyone having a greater number, or as many from key players throughout the team's history.

[camarokids]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

Hey Godwulf,

My son and I bought two game used bats from the Indianapolis Indians Team Store last week! One is Jake Fox and the other Chase D'Aunard.

[godwulf]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

It's really an affordable alternative to always spending big bucks on bats from the big club, isn't it? When I was in Mobile last month, I bought a half dozen bats at the BayBears' team store for less than I'd have paid for a single bat at Chase Field. I also have a guy in California who gets minor league bats from all over the system, and a guy here in the Valley who has provided me with quite a few ST bats. Usuallly, when the Fall League comes around, I have at least a few bats to get signed. Last Fall, I surprised David Nick by asking him to sign bats that turned out to have been used by him on three different minor league teams.

Speaking of Indianapolis, that's where I grew up. I remember my Dad taking me to a couple of Indians games - this would have been in the '60s - but I didn't really become a Baseball fan till I was in my late twenties...and I didn't start collecting bats till I was over forty. Probably a good thing; if I'd started as a kid, God alone knows how many bats I'd have accumulated by now.

[Klattsy]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

Mark, is there a big market down there for collecting GU cricket, AFL, NRL, and any other sports GU items? Just curious.

Hey Kudu, most Game Used items from the top sports go for big bucks down here because they are so rare. They are usually reserved for charity auctions and a pretty much always in 4 figures. A lot of corporate types pick them up. You cannot buy anything from the team and players do not throw things into the crowd (that I have ever seen). A lo of the players keep their items for friends and family. I actually found out that one of the Australian representative NRL players sends all his Aust training gear out to indigenous communities for the kids to wear!

The NRL has a "pink" round where the auction jerseys off for Breast Cancer and the cricketers to the same thing. Not sure about AFL too much.

I'm not sure how many of each item are issued to players in each sport, but it's no where near the number in MLB. In fact with Cricket, the hat they wear on the field ("The Baggy Green") each player is given 1 (ONE) only. Ever. Unless it falls apart beyond repair.

Hope that makes sense!
Mark.

[chakes89]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

It's really an affordable alternative to always spending big bucks on bats from the big club, isn't it? When I was in Mobile last month, I bought a half dozen bats at the BayBears' team store for less than I'd have paid for a single bat at Chase Field. I also have a guy in California who gets minor league bats from all over the system, and a guy here in the Valley who has provided me with quite a few ST bats. Usuallly, when the Fall League comes around, I have at least a few bats to get signed. Last Fall, I surprised David Nick by asking him to sign bats that turned out to have been used by him on three different minor league teams.

Speaking of Indianapolis, that's where I grew up. I remember my Dad taking me to a couple of Indians games - this would have been in the '60s - but I didn't really become a Baseball fan till I was in my late twenties...and I didn't start collecting bats till I was over forty. Probably a good thing; if I'd started as a kid, God alone knows how many bats I'd have accumulated by now.

I'm in the same boat as you, I love minor league stuff.

My passion comes from the fact that I have a team (the Dayton Dragons) 15 minutes away from me, have been going to their games since their inception back in 2000 at age 11 and because of this passion I have worked in food service at the stadium for almost 7 years now. I just love the feel of minor league ball and would take it over major league any day. But that's just me.

[soxbats]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

IMHO collecting is about bringing together a group of items that without your efforts would be scattered to the four winds. It is part investigation, part treasure hunting, part plotting ways to find access, leading to the thrill of the find. While some might find it competitive, I feel like I am competing more against the goal than anything else.

The great part about this post, and collecting, is that you define the niche. If you don't want competition then pick something only you could like. building that will turn out to be impressive too.

I think I have 2 collections that I would view as top 10. The first I am fairly sure i am occupying all ten spots, because no one else is trying. I collect game used equipment of Temple Basketball players. Lots of jerseys and sneaks for under $100 on this journey and I am over 75 pieces at this point. When it started I thought it was a collection of ugly ducklings, but now i feel like it is impressive due to the diversity of teams and obscurity of the players.

My second collection I have been working on for over 20 years and is a run of red sox position player bats from 1960 to the present. That is approx 475 players and I need 11 to complete the collection.

Jeff
Soxbats@aol.com

[camarokids]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

Well said Jeff (soxbats)! You put into words exactly how I feel.

Wow you are pretty darn close to completing your bat collection.

I am starting to feel like there are some bats I will not find. But on the other hand I just need to keep searching and looking.

The bats are out there I just have to be in the right spot at the right time to buy them.

[lcstate collector]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

Well, I have over 120 game worn jerseys and many other game used items from Lewis-Clark State College baseball players. I don't know of anyone else who is collecting items of the school specifically. I am pretty proud of my niche in the hobby no matter where I rank.

[momen55]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

at this point, i have over 20 knobless model bats and adding to the collection. i find a lot of models i don't have, but they are all cracked. it's been tough looking over the years, but they do surface.

[coxfan]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

I really like the first two paragraphs of Soxbats post of 8-2. That's a really well-put description of collecting of all kinds.

It is true that collectors save for future generations of collectors, historians, and sometimes museums; things of value that would otherwise be lost, or else their significance permanently forgotten. And collecting, like historical research, offers an inexhaustible variety of special niches.

[Number13]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

I really like the first two paragraphs of Soxbats post of 8-2. That's a really well-put description of collecting of all kinds.

It is true that collectors save for future generations of collectors, historians, and sometimes museums; things of value that would otherwise be lost, or else their significance permanently forgotten. And collecting, like historical research, offers an inexhaustible variety of special niches.

+1

[gaytorhater703]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

IMHO collecting is about bringing together a group of items that without your efforts would be scattered to the four winds. It is part investigation, part treasure hunting, part plotting ways to find access, leading to the thrill of the find. While some might find it competitive, I feel like I am competing more against the goal than anything else.

The great part about this post, and collecting, is that you define the niche. If you don't want competition then pick something only you could like. building that will turn out to be impressive too.

I think I have 2 collections that I would view as top 10. The first I am fairly sure i am occupying all ten spots, because no one else is trying. I collect game used equipment of Temple Basketball players. Lots of jerseys and sneaks for under $100 on this journey and I am over 75 pieces at this point. When it started I thought it was a collection of ugly ducklings, but now i feel like it is impressive due to the diversity of teams and obscurity of the players.

My second collection I have been working on for over 20 years and is a run of red sox position player bats from 1960 to the present. That is approx 475 players and I need 11 to complete the collection.

Jeff
Soxbats@aol.com

So which 11 are you missing??? Im interested to see which ones have been the hardest to find.

[mlbforeverhomer]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

at this point, i have over 20 knobless model bats and adding to the collection. i find a lot of models i don't have, but they are all cracked. it's been tough looking over the years, but they do surface.

The Astros have some BP Biggio's available... Over priced... But uncracked...

[suave1477]

Re: IS your collection a Top 10 within your niche?

Well I am gonna go out on a limb and say I probably have the #1 Darryl Strawberry Game Used collection and added into it some very unique rare items