I think I'm about done
 

With in person autographs. The simple reason is that being treated rudely by an athlete in turning down a request lasts a lot longer than the joy of getting an autograph. I don't do it for money, I just do it for fun and as having a souvenir of the event. Most of the in-person, non-autograph gig scribbles you get are really hard to see the name anyway.

I did have one funny story to relate. I have cards with baseballs printed on them that I have carried around at events just in case I meet someone who I don't have a card at the ready for. I was at FanFest and there were five former members of the Women's Professional League there. Charming ladies, most in their late 80s or 90s. One took the card and said, "You're not going to sell this are you? I get cards in the mail and I am always afraid they would sell them. Of course, I told her I wouldn't and I just collect autographs for my enjoyment, but secretly I though," How much do you think you'd get for an autograph of a player form the 1940s in the all-girls league anyway?"

Sorry, wrong section.

Speaking as a collector of AAGPBL memorabilia, I pay quite a lot for some of the autographs. Generally not someone who is attending shows and has lived into her 80's though.

Tom C

I would get annoyed too after the thousands and thousands of autographs I sign

Perhaps the player should have taken a profession with less fan exposure if signing autos for fans annoys them.

:confused:
You: You love everything about your job?

Athlete: Yes, but I don't enjoy signing my name over and over again.

You: Then you need to find a new job.

Athlete: I love the money, game, and the fans. I just need some alone time sometimes and don't enjoy that single aspect of signing my name all the time.

You: Yeah, it still sounds like you need to find a new job. Everyone should be 100% happy 100% of the time or they need to find a new job.

OR

To turn it around. Perhaps the collector should have taken up a hobby with less athlete exposure if rejection of autos from athletes annoys them.

+1

there are many athletes who just don't like doing it, its part of the game, and needs to be understood. I'm sure if it was just an "item here or there" some of them would sign more readily/obligingly. In the end, just stop if it does bother you. Athletes are no different than anyone else. They have their good and bad days and ways they live their lives. simple.

If I was making millions I'd sign my name whenever asked (if possible).

Besides that, a lot of athletes have gotten lazy. What I mean by that is there are a ton of sigs that are signed with just initials. Lol

You say that now but be in there shoes every single day of their life. And just like the last few posts it doesn't make any sense to go "yeah I make millions of dollars a year but everyday hundreds of people of Come to me to sign something and I hate it" then your thought is "oh then change your job" doesn't make any sense

I once thought the same thing but American culture is so enamored with celebrity and wealth that I think things can get downright dangerous for people that "work" in the public eye.

I was fortunate to have played high school ball and kept in touch with one MLB player (1 time all-star, regular starting outfielder but not a superstar by any means) and I asked him about the autograph thing since I was a big-time chaser until about mid-1980s.

He told me some stories that would make any self-respecting autograph collector cringe that go way beyond things like getting interrupted at meals, and being handed dozens of things to sign at once.

But the one thing that turned the tide, that turned him into a somewhat reluctant signer was an incident in spring training (Florida). After some pre-game stretching in the outfield he was walking near the stands to the dugout, per usual there are lots of fans yelling for players to come and sign autographs. He related that he never would sign at this time as he would get himself mentally in "game mode" so he's basically focused, but he can hear a guy calling his name repeatedly. He doesn't acknowledge the guy, but he said the next thing he heard was "F'n uppity n..."

This is how ONE person can ruin things for everyone.

Spoke to him after he retired and he said things started getting completely out of control in the late 1980s and early 1990s (when the card boom was happening). People with binders of the same 8x10s, dozens of balls and bats. Aggressive kids (probably working for card show/shop dealers). People knocking on hotel room doors in the middle of the night...

He also related that every player pretty much knows their autographs get sold and some kid each other about their "value".

This player worrying about items they sing being sold is irks me to no end. The first poster asked the right question "How much do you think your autograph is worth?"

Scenario #1: Your family of four attends a MLB game (say the Nationals). You pay for decent seats ($70 plus per seat). You pay for parking. You pay for food and a souviners. At this juncture the out of pocket cost is over $400. Who on the Nationals is worth that kind of iron?

Scenario #2: You fly to spring training for a week. Pay for a hotel for a week. Rent a car for a week. Feed yourself for a week. Buy tickets to games for a week? How many big name players signatures would be needed just to break even?

Every owner should make it mandatory that players take time to sign at every home game. It is just good business. That way, the player can "say catch me at the ball park". So if you attend enough games, the odds of getting the signature of a certain player increases. The Nationals also have signature Sundays, were two non stars sign before the Sunday game.

Yes, there are those who make some money selling IP signatures but the players really need to let it go.

I still enjoy getting IP autograph's ( I do not do it often) do I get turned down often yes but it has never bothered me. I have no control over anyone's actions. Recently I was at a game and a lady say 30-35 was screaming at a cop who told her he could not take her program and chase down a player for her. Many fans booed her and after a bit she got the message. And I know players get over the top requests almost daily so any signatures I get are all on the plus side of my personal equation.

I think YOUR boss should make it mandatory that you stay after work for an hour or two Monday -- no extra pay, of course -- and make you create more of your company's product/service to give to whatever strangers come by. Then watch them post that product on ebay because they can. Then do it Tuesday. Then Weds, Thurs, Friday. You'll have to go in on the weekend, too. Please check back in next month and let us know how it's going.

For the life of me, I do not understand this mentality of "I'm a fan, so gimme my free sh*t. You owe me."

Speaking as a collector I can understand the sentiments regarding player availability for IP autographs and the frustration felt. Speaking as a Libertarian however, these guys and gals can do whatever they wish to in this regard. It is their choice as to how to act on this subject. If down the road it creates ill feelings and hurts him or her economically at that time then that is on them. But they are obviously not under any obligation to do so unless there is some kind of contract stipulation.

Tom C

I had no problem working extra time when needed. It is all about being a team player. The boss appreciated it and remembered me at bonus time. I hope the players remember the fans after signing those multimillion dollar contracts. Without fans buying tickets, merchandise, watching on TV, etc. they would be making a lot less.

Exactly! Without the fans altogether, they're wouldn't be any professional sports, if no one at all watched it. The more fans, the more money. It's that simple.

Certainly there's nothing saying they have to do it and be kind to fans but it's certainly annoying and rude when the athletes act like they're above the fans. There's nothing saying I or anyone should hold a door for someone walking behind me but some people just do it anyway.

This is kind of related. We assume that signing some autographs at the ballpark cuts into a players "me" time. Obviously when they are not at the park, it certainly does. But...Does anyone have an idea how much time the average player puts in to his "job" to play a major sport on a weekly basis? Obviously there is more to it than just a 3-4 hour game. Part of the job includes conditioning and practice of course. There is travel involved, but some jobs will compensate you above and beyond for travel outside of a "normal" business day. What about off season? We all know that sports are also seasonal and nowadays with the high levels of pay for even average players, it would be rare for a player to need a 2nd job in the offseason, unlike their predecessors who played as late as the 80s. How much time are they putting into that job in the offseason to earn those 6 and 7 figure salaries that the fans help make a reality?

I am salaried and make nowhere near the minimum salary for a MLB player and probably work an average of 50 hours a week and I get 20 days paid vacation a year for my "off season". Nobody wants my autograph, of course, but if it came with the job, then I suppose I would be a signing fool.

The sooner people realize athletes don't owe you $hit, the better the interaction between athletes and fans are gonna be. You going to the ballpark twice a year is not paying their salaries...

what is the minimum salary threshold for outsiders to dictate what should and should be your job? If ballplayers made $70K like I do would they still be expected to do fans' bidding? After all, they'd still be paid by "us."

Why doesn't anyone bitch that Tom Cruise or Taylor Swift don't sit outside their venues and sign for fans?

For those of you who feel players "owe" us free autos at the park or wherever, how many? 1 each? I can hear the bitching already from people who have "only two" items. For an hour? What if there are more people? How about 100 free autos every day? Is that enough? Not to number 101!

What about the smile factor? If Joe Shlub gets all "Willie Mays" on you, will you bitch? I've seen it on here, just like people complaining about the penmanship of their free autos.


Hey, Rats: I'm not asking about you working extra time when needed. I'd imagine we all do that. I'm asking you to work extra every day you're on the job. And in your driveway. And when you're at Target. And at the local pool. Somebody buys your company's product or uses its services, right? Then I say those people have a right to demand extra from you, whether you are on the clock or no, whether you are at the job or not.

In the - travel to spring training for a week scenario above - you are paying for the experience/vacation/enjoyment/relaxation, right? If you manage to obtain a few sigs along the way - great! That is a bonus IMHO.

That is one poor example. It reminds me of Barry Bonds who said "When I go to see Batman. I don't expect Jack Nicholson to come out afterwards and sign autographs for an hour." Alas, Barry doesn't get it and neither do you. We all know how beloved Barry is........

True, but there is plenty of competition for the entertainment dollar and baseball is no longer king. Once the fan moves on it will will be difficult to get the fan back. So wait until attendance is down and then wonder why the fan left. If players take a few minutes out of each day and sign for kids, they likely make a fan for life. That fan will attend games throughout their lifetime. The sport that takes care of the fan, appreciates the fan and understands the fan will likely never have a problem with having enough fans to support the sport.

Of course. But let us say that you head to FLA or AZ to see your favorite team and player. Which is the better scenario? Now spring training is a different beast because players are more relaxed and perhaps more willing to sign during the spring.

Scenario A: You purchase great seats to a couple of games to see your favorite team and player. Over the course of the games your player plays well hits a home run and you witness him signing autographs and interacting with the fans.

Scenario B: You purchase great seats to a couple of games to see your favorite team and player. Over the course of the games your player plays well hits a home run and you witness him being a bigger tool than Crafsman.

A friend of mine worked for one of the card companies where he would go to the clubhouses and get players to sign the cards that would eventually be inserted in the card packs. and I got to be his "assistant" for a couple of days. It is kind of interesting in that we generally only see the players for the 3-5 hours of BP/Infield/Game...but the truth is some guys are at the park at 3pm for night games. It seemed to me the majority of the time is spent in various training - extra batting practice (both the A's and Giants have indoor cages), strength and conditioning stuff, and of course the training staff tending to various injuries and such.

Some just relax, listing privately to music, play cards with teammates, and yeah, I even saw a few answering fan mail.

Most players are paid every two weeks all year, just like the rest of us. However they have to do their job with thousands of people watching and rating their performance.

Baseball attendance is at an all-time high. With that said, I still hate Mike Heath for rudely rejecting my autograph request as a 10 year-old boy. My 40 year-old self still refuses to have any card of him in my collection.....even if needed for a set.

I still imagine that baseball players, in particular, work less than the average joe for much more money. I am not talking about just the marquee players, but the journeymen as well. The minimum salary for a baseball player today is $507,500 a year. If they did work a traditional 40 hr/wk job, that is a cool $244/Hr!

I don't hold that against anyone who can make it happen. If you have the skills to play at the MLB level and want to do it, then go for what you can. And, if you can get something like $40 million a year, good for you.

I do believe that nobody goes into professional sports without a clue as to the microscope they are under as well. Maybe back in the day when players played for love of the game, yes. Now you are definitely in the spotlight constantly and they all know that going in, but they are also paid appropriately for that exposure. They have to expect that pressure, as it is part of the job.

I am not in the camp that expects players to do anything for the fans, but am one that believes that smart players who appreciate what the fans bring to the equation should want to interact with them as much as reasonably possible. That is just good business.

Interesting article: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...ce-tv-ratings/

Please explain to me what I "don't get."

Lifetime autograph collector, and I am getting close to 50yrs old. I went through the 90's autograph craze when everyone thought that this would be part of their retirement. I did it for the love of the hunt and would only get guys at games, events or autograph shows. It gets old when guys like Jeffrey Leonard and George Hendricks ignore you for a whole series when they are low level minor league coaches. For the last couple of years I stated doing the Heritage minor league set from topps. I was able to get Joc Pederson as he came through Sacramento. The J P he scribbled on my card looked like the other hundred or so minor league cards I had signed. These kids do not know how to write their own names. It is a lost art form. We don't teach cursive or penmanship anymore in the classroom. You should see what I get from students at the high school level, it is really bad. I have narrowed my autograph collection down to two items(74 topps set and the topps complete collection book from1990) and am about ready to move on from both. It was an incredible hobby growing up as was collecting complete sets, but it has changed and I have myself have probably changed. I think we put so much time, effort and love into the hobby and it doesn't love us back and we can get bad reputations as collectors from a few that ruin it for everyone. None of my 3 teenage boys show interest in baseball or my collection so I will not pass it on to them. Geez, sorry for the long post, but I think you can see the emotional attachment we have to doing something our whole lives.

Paul Stewart

When I got back in to collecting about two years ago, one of the first things I did was send in a card to Jon Lester for his Steiner signing. When it came back, I took one look at the signature, thought "I paid $150 for THAT?!" and decided to stick with the old timers who have legible signatures, and who are very appreciative of fan mail. Lester has one of the nicer signatures from modern players; most of the ones I see I think are done by a drunk four year old.

Well, you never know. I have a similar story.
I was at Petco around 10 years or so, ago. I tried to get Ryan Klesko to sign a ball, however he didn't want to use my pen. At the time, I thought it was a dickish move, but I wasn't going to use a crappy pen he had from someone else. His autograph wasn't going to make or break my collection anyways.

So, fast forward to a few weeks ago. I'm in Atlanta catching the Mets series, because its the final season for Turner Field. Its still a nice stadium, though the neighborhood/parking seemed to be the major issue towards moving to a new stadium.

Anyways, on Sundays, they have Alumni Sundays with former Braves signing autographs before game. Lo and behold, Ryan Klesko is one of the signees. He ends up using MY pen (same type to what he didn't prefer to use years ago).
Dude was really cool and he engaged in conversation with everyone.

Now I'm not saying hold your breath, but you never know.... Witster