Pujols and Rolen Greed?

[3arod13]

Although I don't understand the greed side of players, as many of them make good money and don't need the extra income from selling their stuff. However, I do understand the attitudes sometimes. Been to many ballparks and watched how abusive fans can be at times. Day in and day out these players have to deal with that, in addition to off the field requests. I'm not saying it's right, but I'm sure it gets old.

I remember one game in Texas, during warmups, fans were yelling at Eddie Murray to come over and sign autographs. Eddie would look over at times, but that was only because of the abusive comments that were being directed at him because he wouldn't. He never came over and the fans got even more abusive. I even noticed other players not likely how the fans were acting towards Eddie. My point is, I'm sure it gets old for the players to deal with that every day. Not all fans of course, but many ruin it for the good fans.

I guess one way to look at it is, how would you like people coming to your work, day in and day out, bugging you for your autograph? And it you didn't give it to them, they would make negative comments to you. Sure, at first you would love it. But I'm sure over time, it would get old.

Just my thoughts!

[DonTheLegend]

Hello all,

I attended the Cardinals Winter Warm-up this year and saw an awesome 2006 Cardinals Opening Day roster team signed ball for sale. The seller, Cardinal Authentics,is affiliated with the Cardinals. They run the store located in the outfield of new Busch stadium and sell game used items such as balls, bases, scoreboard numbers, World Series used Champagne bottle, etc. Their price was $2,995 for this ball and it included an awesome Pujols sig. They had more than one ball as well. They put everything on sale the last day of the Winter Warm up, marking everything 15% off. So this ball could be has for around $2500 but I never saw any takers.
Something else I noticed during that event...the Pujols and Musial signed framed print that is limited to 1000 pieces, did not sell in St. Louis even though the seller had it priced at $500. This piece originally was priced at $1500, then $750, now on ebay for $600-$650. The creator of this piece paid Pujols $175,000 and Musial $125,000 respectively to sign 1000 pieces. So he has $300 plus framing cost in this piece. My point here is that that price is not all that unreasonable for a Pujols signing. Maybe Pujols has soured a little since that signing. The bigger the star gets, the more likely the star will become soured on signing autographs, even for pay. The money doesn't impress these young multi-millionaires anymore. It's really ridiculous that we continue to pursue their autographs!

This really gets my blood pressure up!

Steve

i saw these balls also and laughed a little bit to myself. i thought there would be no way anyone is going to buy one at that price. maybe half, but not $3,000.

having collected autographs for the last 20 years (and now GU for the last 6-7 years), it always amazes me how dealers and such come up with pricing certain items.

for instance (and the numbers are just random) if you see that an auto'd Tony Gwynn ball books for $75 , but the local show promo is charging $125 for him at the show, is that to say that you are paying $50 for the pleasure to meet him for all of 20 seconds?

and if thats the case, then , as a PAYING customer, should you be entitled to a smile or a handshake rather than a scowl or no eye contact at all? if the player is an absolute A-Hole (see: Willie Mays, Bob Gibson, Pujols, Murray etc) do you get a refund because the added experience isnt what it is suppose to be?

i would dare say ( and this may be just me) that many of the times its STILL more about getting the auto than meeting the particular player. because the player is generally uninterested in what you have to say and is trying to shoo you away as quickly as possible, thus making your experience a pretty dull one. not always is the case (see: Bobby Hull, Brett Hull, Dave Eckstien, Stan Musial, etc)


what about the same $75 ball that Tri-Star or Stiener sells for $250 or $300?? how the hell do you justify 300 - 400% price increase over a book value that is supposedly determined by the market?

i apparently will never understand it other than to say that greed and the fact that many people will try to suck every last penny out of a collector because they think that since a handful of people are willing to over spend, then thats what the entire "market" is.

i have had to slow down (as im sure many others have had to do as well) on my purchases because of the stunning increase in prices over the last few years .

when lower tier or no name players are charging $30 -$50 for a flat, something is wrong. middle relief pitchers, most bench players or trash heep players whether they be from the Yankees or Cardinals or who ever, are not worth $50 on most flat items, sorry.

but then again, what ive said isnt shocking coming from a common collector.

just rambling, sorry.

[thedegu]

Yes, exactly.

Something is terribly, terribly wrong with all this, but there seems to be no real answer. I've been watching this develop for a long, long time, and I suspect it will get worse before it gets any better. I still generally enjoy it, but am getting more frustrated and disillusioned with the whole thing as time progresses.

Once lots of people started getting the idea that sports signatures could make 'em money, all the carpetbaggers rushed in, turning a fairly simple, enjoyable hobby into the mad Bizarroworld of the $100 rookie, the high-school nonsigner, and the $30 middle reliever. Heck, I'll throw in the three-figure Hall of Famer for good measure...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, economics and such, I've heard this a million times and don't need to again; it is still blamed stupid, like a lot of other things that are perfectly 'legit.'

And no way would I shell out good money to do the now-infamous 'Willie Mays Experience.' If I want to pay to get treated like trash, I'll go to a Don Rickles concert...

*Just my view of things, not meaning to argue or such...

[both-teams-played-hard]

... I almost could not believe how Gwynn has let himself turn into the Marshmallow Man. He must weigh 400+ pounds and looks nothing like he did during his final playing days in 2001. He looks just about the same as Orson Wells during his final years. If you happen to run into Gwynn on the field in 2007, I suggest you tell him to lay off the stadium hot dogs and nachos, and maybe focus on the Sushi, instead. WHEW!!!!!

Here is a photo of Tony Gwynn from the pre-trans-fat era...