State of the Hobby

[Tedw9]

Re: State of the Hobby

I was in an MLB ballpark recently where "Team Issued" jerseys were being sold by the team in part of their game used store. Not a big deal, but I had to scratch my head when I saw that they were from current players from the 2012 season. Can it be anything more than a cash grab when a team sells "issued" items 1/3 of the way through the season. If they sell, whats to stop them from cranking out jerseys, "issuing" them, then putting them up for sale????

That's what I saw at Fenway this past weekend. They seem to be selling their own items at Yawkey Way store, which is great. But there were a bunch of "team issued" jerseys and some "game ready" bats available. I kinda wish I had my phone with me, a Pedroia game ready bat, with lots of use on it, was $250. But a game used Papi helmet was $1500!

[jdhbraves]

Re: State of the Hobby

Additionally, I bet the days of 1200 mauer bats and 3000 recent vintage pujols bats will soon be coming to end as well to be replaced by the 8k hamilton throwback jersey set. At that price where can you go? Buy it for 8k and try to sell it yourself in five years. Be lucky to get four for it. It would be nice to see reason, sanity and true knowledge return to this hobby.

[jdhbraves]

Re: State of the Hobby

Well, it is frankly becoming impossible to buy on ebay at a fair price. Everything is buy it now or make offer, few true auctions. Most braves jerseys i see are tragically overpriced. The cash value of these items is 30% of what they are being offered at. Manufactured memkrabilia js all over the place (jerseys bats etc made with the sole intentions of being sold as memorabilia). Back in the day ball park heroes used to buy all the braves jerseys. All you had to do was wait for their ad in scd, and get on the phone. Now you have to go to the game used shop and throw down 800 for tim hudson. Forget it. Go put a hudson on ebay at no reserve and it will be a miracle if it brings 300!

[joelsabi]

Re: State of the Hobby

I don't know for sure why some bats have block letters and some have facsimile signatures, but I don't think who is paying for the bat has anything to do with it. I'm guessing that BMH would be an authoritative source of information with regard to this topic.

Block letter : pre contracted LVS bat
Fac Signature: contracted by LVS bat

[godwulf]

Re: State of the Hobby

To address the issue of who owns bats: I think most MLB bats are ordered by the clubs to the player's specifications, and their names are put in block letters on the bats. In the Minors the bats are not player-specified though their model preferences are considered. Either way, the clubs own them.

But some stars sign contracts for signature bats that bear their signatures (no block letters) and are sold as souvenirs. The player may use some of these, and those belong to him. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't know for sure why some bats have block letters and some have facsimile signatures, but I don't think who is paying for the bat has anything to do with it. I'm guessing that BMH would be an authoritative source of information with regard to this topic.

Didn't Barry Bonds - some of you might have heard of him - make a point of buying all of his bats and other gear so that the Giants wouldn't own them, and he could dispose of them as he saw fit? I think I heard that somewhere.

Then, of course, you have a lot of smaller bat companies, from what I hear, actually giving players bats to try out, in which case I would guess the team wouldn't have any claim on them.

As for player names on Minor League bats, I see more minor league players, even in low-A ball, using bats with their names on them than pro-stock or team bats.

[coxfan]

Re: State of the Hobby

To address the issue of who owns bats: I think most MLB bats are ordered by the clubs to the player's specifications, and their names are put in block letters on the bats. In the Minors the bats are not player-specified though their model preferences are considered. Either way, the clubs own them.

But some stars sign contracts for signature bats that bear their signatures (no block letters) and are sold as souvenirs. The player may use some of these, and those belong to him. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[godwulf]

Re: State of the Hobby

Hey, Mike (OaklandAsFan) and I saw Jemile Weeks give his bat to some guy about twenty rows back in the first inning of last Saturday's game, didn't we, Mike? I don't even think it was cracked when it left his hands, though I couldn't vouch for its condition when it stopped bouncing.

The Diamondbacks stopped selling bats and jerseys in the Team Shop two or three years ago, and now put 2-4 bats and the occasional jersey out for silent auction, for charity, during every regular season game. They start the bidding on the bats at $75-100 ($200 for a Justin Upton bat, I think), and they just about always sell. When they were sitting in the Team Shop, priced at $125 and up, they probably didn't sell one a week. They obviously figured out that highlighting a few select bats and introducing the element of competition into the buying process was the way to go.

Then, at the FanFest, of course, they put a few barrels out filled with guys who've mostly left the team, for ten to twenty-five, and some current players for probably thirty to fifty.

Even so, the team has got to have a huge backlog of bats and other items squirreled away down in the bowels of the stadium. I'm told there's a room near the visitor's locker area that has old bats and gear going back at least ten years. Sometimes I go there in my daydreams.

At least one good thing to come out of the increased availability of, say, current and recent players' jerseys is that it serves to suppress the urge of the card companies to cut those jerseys up for "memorabilia cards". Who's going to spend hundreds on several boxes of cards to search, in hopes of getting a swatch, when they can buy a whole jersey for less?

[beaglegypsy003]

Re: State of the Hobby

The focus of my collection is with football players from the University of hawaii. As you can guess most of what I collect would be considered common players. Most times I'm able to buy them at a bargain price but if it something I really want I would overpay in which case it would be highly unlikely to make my money back. I have no illusions of getting rich. I just enjoy tracking a jersey down and adding it to my collection. Because I'm a collector i rarely sell anything though I do consider trades. To me my hobby is to make me happy and not make me a profit which would be difficult if I don't sell anything.

LIKE THEY SAY: COLLECT WHAT YOU ENJOY.

[BergerKing22784]

Re: State of the Hobby

If your in the hobby to become rich and not because you love sports its a shame.

What's wrong with wanting collect things that have financial value?? That's a shame? Really?

What's wrong with collecting stamps, coins, sports memorabilia as a Hobby/investment? I collect for the love of it, but my collection is also an investment to help pay for my kids college.

I'm pretty sure not everyone shares your opinion.

Not saying everyone has to... I do see it going the way of the baseball cards though and I thought most people would also.. Maybe because the most expensive thing I have bought game used was $500 that my collection is nothing of lasting value because I do not have any high end items?

I just see people pay $1,000, or $2,000 for a random jersey that was worn on any random day of the current "hot" player and a year down the road they are lucky to get back 1/4 of that.

Sure you might get lucky and pick up an item of a player before they become a superstar but I feel like the average collector is going to have more misses than hits. I am not sure what your collection consist of and I sure hope you can pay for your childrens college with it I just know with the things that I own anything I have recently tried to sell I have taken a loss on. Once that players time in the lime light has come and gone their demand goes out the window.

I've had baseball cards once worth $200 now sell for $5 or less on ebay.

I cant give away a Clinton Portis authentic signed jersey that I have over $250 in on here or ebay for even $60 bucks.

I have only been able to get back roughly 75% cost on the game used items I have sold recently. Who knows maybe if I kept them for another 20 years they will have gained value? I just think by at that time all of today's current players retire the teams will have pumped out so many game used items of theirs that it will be hard for anyone to get their cost back..

[georgia1011@yahoo.com]

Re: State of the Hobby

I was under the impression the team purchases the bat order. I know they do it for the minors.

[Rob]

Re: State of the Hobby

If the bat is the players property how can his team tell him what he has to do with it? Jerseys, hats etc are the teams property and thus the rules should be different

[sox83cubs84]

Re: State of the Hobby

In regards to game used bats... Teams are now grabbing the cracked bats rather then letting the bat boys or players give them out. So there is not more supply of game used bats. Just that the bats will be available for the working adult rather then the kids with dreams.

I'm curious just how many teams are doing this, although there is no doubt that at least some are. A friend of mine approached a Cubs player who cracked a BP bat last month about getting the bat. The player (not sure who) responded "We can't give 'em out anymore. We have to turn 'em in for the team store". My friend has a habit of wearing players down due to always asking anyone and everyone for stuff and not being very genteel about it, meaning some players tune him out. I wasn't sure if the Cubs player's response was fact or a line to get rid of my friend, but it's looking like it was the former and not the latter.

Dave Miedema

[legaleagle92481]

Re: State of the Hobby

The hobby is fine. People just need to use common sense. If your "investing" don't invest in stuff from non-historic regular season games from teams that sell their stuff through a game used department or partner. There are still alot of teams that don't have much out there. As a football collector I can tell you certain teams are very scarce. Steelers, Texans, Ravens (despite 1.5 years with JO) and Pats to name a few. And you can never go wrong with vintage stuff and stuff of stars who retired more than two or three years ago.

[David]

Re: State of the Hobby

It points to the longterm desirability and value of vintage.

I know people who collect Pre-War baseball cards, and to them modern cards is a different world.

[kellsox]

Re: State of the Hobby

I was in an MLB ballpark recently where "Team Issued" jerseys were being sold by the team in part of their game used store. Not a big deal, but I had to scratch my head when I saw that they were from current players from the 2012 season. Can it be anything more than a cash grab when a team sells "issued" items 1/3 of the way through the season. If they sell, whats to stop them from cranking out jerseys, "issuing" them, then putting them up for sale????