Player asking how game used item was received

[legaleagle92481]

Re: Player asking how game used item was received

Noone should feel sorry for any professional athlete in a major league. The ones making the least make wages that are well higher than that of the average person and even the above average earner. I feel sorry for the recent college grads who are up to their noses in debt and cannot find jobs and for the guy who worked his tail off for 30 years then got laid off through no fault of his own because of the economy and for those who work hard and are struggling to get by. To question a fan who paid money to obtain your autograph or to watch you play to me is extremely rude and disrespectful. Almost all teams sell g/u stuff to the public these days not all of which is hologramed or otherwise identifiable as being from the team. So for a player to assume anything is stolen is crazy. Yes theft does happen but in most cases it is easily preventable. How hard is it to just purchase something with a lock on it to protect stuff that they want to keep?

[xpress34]

Re: Player asking how game used item was received

Funny Chris - I did my Master's thesis on this exact topic. BTW - still making less than $400K, but so it 99% of the population

Dave -

That is funny. I don't have my Master's, and I definitely DON'T make anywhere near $400k (hell, I don't make near $100k!) but I do know how to budget and make ends meet.

Barring any financial disasters (Loss of Job, etc), the wife and I will be debt free except for our house by the end of this year. And all the while, figuring in ways to expand my collection, take vacations, take care of a 16 year old's wants and needs and let the wife shop pretty mush as she wants... and these guys can't manage themselves and $400k?

And your statement about 99% of the population... the other end of the spectrum is that less than 5% of the population control over 90% of it's wealth...

All the best -

Chris

[allstarsplus]

Re: Player asking how game used item was received

Noone should feel sorry for any professional athlete in a major league. The ones making the least make wages that are well higher than that of the average person and even the above average earner. I feel sorry for the recent college grads who are up to their noses in debt and cannot find jobs and for the guy who worked his tail off for 30 years then got laid off through no fault of his own because of the economy and for those who work hard and are struggling to get by. To question a fan who paid money to obtain your autograph or to watch you play to me is extremely rude and disrespectful. Almost all teams sell g/u stuff to the public these days not all of which is hologramed or otherwise identifiable as being from the team. So for a player to assume anything is stolen is crazy. Yes theft does happen but in most cases it is easily preventable. How hard is it to just purchase something with a lock on it to protect stuff that they want to keep?

I will be the first one not to feel sorry for a guy making $400,000 a year playing sports as his profession, but they should be smart about all their available assets which includes their game used items and many of these guys are protective of their belongings, etc.

ARod is making over $20 mill a year and still cares about this game used items.

I can't begrudge a guy for making his money. Does it piss me off sometimes when they cry poor? Yes. Does it sicken me a few years after they leave sports that they are broke and stiffing everybody in a bankruptcy proceeding? Yes. Do I respect some athletes with poor moral values? NO!

Like you, I feel bad for students with debt and poor job outlooks. I have 5 children, and 1 is in a PhD program and 1 a sophomore in College. It is real tough. Job outlook is bad.

[joelsabi]

Re: Player asking how game used item was received

Almost all teams sell g/u stuff to the public these days not all of which is hologramed or otherwise identifiable as being from the team. So for a player to assume anything is stolen is crazy. Yes theft does happen but in most cases it is easily preventable. How hard is it to just purchase something with a lock on it to protect stuff that they want to keep?

all the photos of lockers i have seen of professional lockerrooms are of the open type without individual locker doors. it seems like it could be easy for someone with sticky fingers to take something. One thing that is new is the security cameras in the lockerrooms tho. thats how they figured out what happend in the incident below.

http://www.viddler.com/explore/esnews/videos/47/

http://blog.taragana.com/sports/2009/10/23/la-police-say-locker-room-thief-stole-22000-from-israeli-team-during-staples-center-game-40020/

[skinsfan0521]

Re: Player asking how game used item was received

Just adding my .02 on this topic...

As some of you may know, I got a full uniform of Chris Snee (NY Giants OL) recently and he had to buy the whole thing from the team. The players have the opportunity to buy the items, but they "belong" to the team unless the player decides to buy them. Chris didn't have to buy the cleats or gloves, but other than that, he had to buy everything (Helmet, Jersey, Pants, Socks, etc.) he 'gave' me. He may have had to buy everything, but I think the cleats and gloves are his anyway.

I will say that Chris is one of the nicer and more generous athletes, but this is how they should all handle these situations: He had to buy these items from the Giants with his own money, so he didn't want to just give them to me for nothing (COMPLETELY understandable). Buuut, instead of having me give him the money, he had me donate the money to the local United Way. To me, that's what all players should be doing with their game used items. Let's be honest, he makes more in one year, than I will make in a lifetime (last year, including signing bonus, he made something like $15mil), so for him to ask me to pay him personally for items seems a bit unnecessary. Instead, he'd rather give back some of his wealth to his childhood community. THAT, is what should be happening with all the proceeds from athletes game used & auto sales.

Again, just my .02, but I think it's a great example that all other athletes should follow.

-Brian

[DonTheLegend]

Re: Player asking how game used item was received

The only one that really stands out for me is Ryan Ludwick.

I was at a signing with Ryan and Skip Schumaker last year...and when I got to Luddy, he looked at my bat REALLY hard. First question was "Is it even cracked?"

I got the bat from Ball Park Heroes, and the crack was really nicely repaired - so good in fact, I had a hard time showing him where the crack was ...

He then looked at the knob and checked the date code on the bottom. That's the first time that ever happened. His comment was "probably a bat that I brought with me when I got called up."

He just kind of smiled while shaking his head - kind of like he was flabberghasted that people would want something that he discarded. He ended up hitting 37 homers that year and driving in 116...

Most of the other guys are either indifferent, happy - or don't realize what it is they are signing.

i remember that pretty vividly Dave.

it was pretty weird at first, almost as if he was pissed about something.

he did seem to look at the damn bat forever. almost as if he was thinking about where and when it could have been used it and how it left the ball park. i was half expecting him to freak out on you.

i thought it was funny to see him go through all that only to end up being courteous and almost thankful.

[sox83cubs84]

Re: Player asking how game used item was received

In my case, the worst was the late Cardinals catcher/coach, Dave Ricketts. I showed him a 1988 Cardinals home jersey ar Wrigley Field in the early 1990s, and he screamed "HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET THAT?". Before I could answer, he added, "never mind, you probably stole the G** D*** thing!". I know Cardinals fans on this board have told me what a great guy and popular person he is among their group...that day, though, he couldn't have been more obnoxious if he was drunk, stoned, and having bladder problms all at the same time!

Dave M.
Chicago area