A question for EVERY single member of this forum

[Eric]

Re: A question for EVERY single member of this forum

I agree that cutting up the jerseys is the biggest injustice being done of all.

However, I think points are getting confused here. The original point was that people can choose to do whatever they want to the items in their collection, but in the case of AMI recently, it seems to be pushing it a bit to be using pieces for photo shoots and screwing around.

If you want to defend swinging a bat in your own collection, that's one thing, but if I were running an auction house I'm not sure I'd be happy seeing the boys in the back room screwing around like that.

Yes, the hobby is supposed to be fun, but there's something to be said for running a company professionally.

That's my opinion.
Eric

[hiramman]

Re: A question for EVERY single member of this forum

I agree that cutting up the jerseys is the biggest injustice being done of all.

However, I think points are getting confused here. The original point was that people can choose to do whatever they want to the items in their collection, but in the case of AMI recently, it seems to be pushing it a bit to be using pieces for photo shoots and screwing around.

If you want to defend swinging a bat in your own collection, that's one thing, but if I were running an auction house I'm not sure I'd be happy seeing the boys in the back room screwing around like that.

Yes, the hobby is supposed to be fun, but there's something to be said for running a company professionally.


That's my opinion.
Eric

I agree with Eric 100%. I have no problem with wearing my non-roster jersey around, but my 1985 Clemens home jersey is being well maintained. I like to have fun, but I'm also not stupid.

I think this thread is great. I love seeing the vast differences in everyone's opinions. It's just like our hobby. Some folks collect one thing because it's important to them, while others collect totally different items for the same reason.

And by the way Ryan Zimmerman11, if you're a size 56, I don't think you'll be fitting in one of Zimmerman's jerseys. I'm a 50 and just can't seem to squeeze into some of my jerseys and wouldn't try. I like fun, but I'm also not crazy!

THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE HOBBY FUN!

[RyanZimmerman11]

Re: A question for EVERY single member of this forum

I agree with Eric 100%. I have no problem with wearing my non-roster jersey around, but my 1985 Clemens home jersey is being well maintained. I like to have fun, but I'm also not stupid.

I think this thread is great. I love seeing the vast differences in everyone's opinions. It's just like our hobby. Some folks collect one thing because it's important to them, while others collect totally different items for the same reason.

And by the way Ryan Zimmerman11, if you're a size 56, I don't think you'll be fitting in one of Zimmerman's jerseys. I'm a 50 and just can't seem to squeeze into some of my jerseys and wouldn't try. I like fun, but I'm also not crazy!

THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE HOBBY FUN!

I hear ya on that That's why I said if I could...lol

[karamaxjoe]

Re: A question for EVERY single member of this forum

This thread may go on forever so I figured I'd join the party.

First I'd like to say I disagree with the AMI models wearing the flannels in the catalog. The two concepts don't go together and if I'm in the mood for that kind of stuff, I'll just grab a mens magazine. I prefer my hobby to be clean.

Secondly I think we are going a little overboard on the concept of trying on game used jerseys. How many flannels in your collection were probably recycled to the minors and had a number of no name players use them. Does this make the jersey any less valuable or it's authenticity compromised? Most of the wear from game used flannels comes from the fact that someone in the minors beat the crap out of it. It would be great to know the jerseys in my collection went straight from the original player to my hands, but that's impossible. The first jersey I ever received originated with the White Sox and was donated to my father-in-laws American Legion Team. The jersey probably saw action for one major league season and three semi pro seasons. I don't believe this compromised anything with the jersey and I'm happy with it just the same.

Finally I do rate my stuff right up there with art. We wouldn't be collecting all this stuff if we didn't have the same passion as an art collector. Handling a piece of art doesn't compromise the piece and trying on a game used jersey is just the same.

Mike

[Nathan]

Re: A question for EVERY single member of this forum

I think that I recognize that my own role is simply to hold onto and preserve something for the future.

Let's take the example of the #75 Mets jersey that's been brought up. If that's in my hands, it's not going anywhere on me. Personally I wash my hands before handling anything so I don't introduce enormous amounts of microscopic material onto an item. But let's say there's some sort of unique history to what would normally be regarded as a common item. What if a #75 Mets jersey is from, say, the only player to ever come from a certain small town in Idaho? What if he's the first Major Leaguer to have a parent born on a certain Indian reservation? Just because I regard something as common doesn't mean it is.

I have two hockey jerseys in my collection that would be considered "common". One is from a goalie who dressed for nine games and never saw the ice during a game, and the other is a from a guy who played in one pre-season game before being sent to the minors (where he's remained ever since, two years later). Why do I treat these gently? Because those are the first two guys from an entire country to make it onto NHL ice, and these are the jerseys they wore for their own personal first game. I'd be steamed beyond belief if I found out that someone had bought one and used it in pickup hockey or something because it's nothing special to them.

If something happened along the way as a result of improper storage by the team or a bad load of laundry by the equipment manager, that's disappointing by at least it's in a team capacity. For someone to add wear (insignificant as it may seem to be) by wearing it around the house or to a game or whatever...I don't go for it. Not spilling beer doesn't mean that there isn't still damage being done. Heck, they don't let the Constitution or Declaration of Independence be photographed with a flash. Would one picture hurt it? No, but the accumulated effect of many pictures would.

[possum]

Re: A question for EVERY single member of this forum

I'm all for "trying on" my game used items but this is where I have to draw a line and say that the bolded portion above...well that's just plain nasty. No "lol", no smiley face....serious as can be...that's gross.

Please let me know your Ebay ID so that I can be sure that I never buy a GU jersey from you.


Thanks.

First of all, I don't wear them out to bars, restaurants, etc, so don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say I pass out in a pile of my own vomit with the jersey on. Secondly, we're talking about minor league hockey jerseys here. If I owned an 84 Mike Bossy, an 86 Gooden, 85 Clemens, or a Jackie Robinson rookie I wouldn't wear it. That's the point I made by saying my 70-71 EHL championship Checkers shirt won't get worn by anyone. But the guy I got it from was the stick boy then and he wore it when stationed in Korea for several years. Even wrote his last name in the collar. But you know what? When I took it to the Meigray Expo 2 yrs ago another collector proudly let me display it next to his Johnstown EHL shirt.

I fail to see how me wearing a shirt (with sometimes several undershirts) is nasty. I fail to see how me enjoying my collection should allow you to publicly boycott my sales. Especially when its very clear that we don't even share the same collecting interests. Oh wait, you don't have a collection yet. You sure have posted a lot in a topic that doesn't concern you. I am very careful not to let other smokers put burn marks/holes in my shirts and if a drop of beer or whatever is spilled, I'm quick to hand clean it in the sink. Don't make judgements when you don't know the whole story and furthermore, don't disparage my name over something you know nothing about.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: A question for EVERY single member of this forum

First of all, I don't wear them out to bars, restaurants, etc, so don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say I pass out in a pile of my own vomit with the jersey on. Secondly, we're talking about minor league hockey jerseys here. If I owned an 84 Mike Bossy, an 86 Gooden, 85 Clemens, or a Jackie Robinson rookie I wouldn't wear it. That's the point I made by saying my 70-71 EHL championship Checkers shirt won't get worn by anyone. But the guy I got it from was the stick boy then and he wore it when stationed in Korea for several years. Even wrote his last name in the collar. But you know what? When I took it to the Meigray Expo 2 yrs ago another collector proudly let me display it next to his Johnstown EHL shirt.

I fail to see how me wearing a shirt (with sometimes several undershirts) is nasty. I fail to see how me enjoying my collection should allow you to publicly boycott my sales. Especially when its very clear that we don't even share the same collecting interests. Oh wait, you don't have a collection yet. You sure have posted a lot in a topic that doesn't concern you. I am very careful not to let other smokers put burn marks/holes in my shirts and if a drop of beer or whatever is spilled, I'm quick to hand clean it in the sink. Don't make judgements when you don't know the whole story and furthermore, don't disparage my name over something you know nothing about.

All very good points!

If I bought a Zimmerman jersey and it smelled of B.O. Should I wash it or preserve thy funk? The answer, of course is "wash it". ALL jerseys have laundry instructions for a reason. Yes, it is a miracle that we sports collectors have found a woman at all. Good luck to all you single guys with smelly shirts with the sweat stains of other men. Woolite is from the earth. It was put here, by god, for you and me..

Wear your jerseys, swing your bats, let the wind blow through your hair...

[skipcareyisfat]

Re: A question for EVERY single member of this forum

let the wind blow through your hair...

...unless you're wearing a game used hat

[LWMM]

Re: A question for EVERY single member of this forum

I only collect Jonny Gomes, and thus only have four jerseys---of these, two were minor league jerseys bought during or right after a game (auctioned during the games), and I don't wear them; they haven't been washed, and one reeks of sweat 6 years later.

Of the other two, I am fine with wearing them, and do; I always wear an undershirt, and don't unbutton the jerseys (I put them over my head instead). Perhaps it has small portions of non-Gomes sweat and/or DNA as a result; I really don't care.

In regards to AMI, I actually found it somewhat funny, enough for at least a grin. I can understand concerns with it, however, and also believe, as with most, that it was not in their best interests to do so.

If no physical signs of non-player wear exist, does that make the entire stigma mental?

[Eric]

Re: A question for EVERY single member of this forum

This thread reminded me of the story of a player who did exactly what's being discussed here.

Here are the details from a USA story about David Wells from 2001

The 37-year-old Wells — a mountain of a man at 6-4 and listed at a conservative 235 pounds with massive tattoos of likenesses of his kids and late mother on his upper body, and a goatee thick enough to carry a flock of birds for the winter — fully plans to escort the Chicago White Sox to their first World Series title since 1917.

The only question in Wells' mind is whether he should break out a glove from Shoeless Joe Jackson's collection, wear one of Luis Aparicio's old gloves or bring one of Nellie Fox's old bats.

"He has always been obsessed with baseball," says close friend and agent Gregg Clifton, "and has such a passion for baseball history. That's why he wore that Babe Ruth cap.

"Everybody thought he was crazy, but he did it out of reverence for the Babe."

Oh yeah, the cap.

Who could ever forget the time that Wells bought the Ruth cap for $35,000, and instead of putting it away where it'll always be preserved, Wells showed up wearing it in an actual game before Yankee officials ordered him to remove it.

Something about it not being part of the regulation uniform.

"Leave it to you, Boomer," New York Mets pitcher Al Leiter, Wells' former teammate, told him. "Only you would wear that cap and drop the value down to nothing."