Please sign Mr Jeter - NY Times article about collecting Jeter in Fla

[Exhibitman]

The instructions for getting a signature sound like the Soup Nazi's ordering ritual.

Now this is more like it:

"Tyler Austin, one of the organization’s top prospects, always makes himself available — an easy decision, he said. He recalled attending a Chattanooga Lookouts minor league game as an 8-year-old and positioning himself for postgame autographs by moving down the right-field line, just past a gate that led to the team’s locker room. A couple of players stopped. Many more did not. “I remember it vividly,” said Austin, an outfielder who has hit .331 in the minors. “My mom looked at me and said, ‘One day you’re going to be there, and I swear if I ever see you walk by anybody and not sign a thing for them, I will come and personally slap you right across the face.’ ” "

So someone sells the 'graph, so what? A guy like Jeter makes $200,000,000.00+ over a career and he's miffed that some shmuck ekes out a living selling signatures? What, is the guy taking money out of Jeter's pocket? Taking away a business opp? No and no. And if that was the case, Jeter could simply be polite about it and make a blanket announcement or deal with it like a gentleman. Cary Grant did not sign autographs but he was unfailingly nice to the people who asked. Ringo Starr until relatively recenty signed TTM and when he decided to quit he made a video about it and posted it all over the place just to alert fans not to send him more stuff. Derek Jeter is bigger than a Beatle?!?! Bigger than Ali, as Travis pointed out? There was a recent story about George Clooney in a restaurant in Europe where he thought that his party might have been too loud so he surreptitiously picked up the dinner tab for the table next to his. It's called "class" and Jeter and the rest of the A-hole Brigade don't have it and never will.

The real bottom line about Jeter and the rest of them is what the late boxing broadcaster Nick Charles said was his philosophy: "Judge a man by how he treats someone who can do nothing for him."

[yanks12025]

But don't most minor leaguers start off like Austin signing for everyone and then become a dick once they're a super star.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

The instructions for getting a signature sound like the Soup Nazi's ordering ritual.

Now this is more like it:

"Tyler Austin, one of the organization’s top prospects, always makes himself available — an easy decision, he said. He recalled attending a Chattanooga Lookouts minor league game as an 8-year-old and positioning himself for postgame autographs by moving down the right-field line, just past a gate that led to the team’s locker room. A couple of players stopped. Many more did not. “I remember it vividly,” said Austin, an outfielder who has hit .331 in the minors. “My mom looked at me and said, ‘One day you’re going to be there, and I swear if I ever see you walk by anybody and not sign a thing for them, I will come and personally slap you right across the face.’ ” "

So someone sells the 'graph, so what? A guy like Jeter makes $200,000,000.00+ over a career and he's miffed that some shmuck ekes out a living selling signatures? What, is the guy taking money out of Jeter's pocket? Taking away a business opp? No and no. And if that was the case, Jeter could simply be polite about it and make a blanket announcement or deal with it like a gentleman. Cary Grant did not sign autographs but he was unfailingly nice to the people who asked. Ringo Starr until relatively recenty signed TTM and when he decided to quit he made a video about it and posted it all over the place just to alert fans not to send him more stuff. Derek Jeter is bigger than a Beatle?!?! Bigger than Ali, as Travis pointed out? There was a recent story about George Clooney in a restaurant in Europe where he thought that his party might have been too loud so he surreptitiously picked up the dinner tab for the table next to his. It's called "class" and Jeter and the rest of the A-hole Brigade don't have it and never will.

The real bottom line about Jeter and the rest of them is what the late boxing broadcaster Nick Charles said was his philosophy: "Judge a man by how he treats someone who can do nothing for him."

+1

[Jim F]

Would Babe Ruth or Dempsey have signed as much if they knew there was a huge market for their autograph? Would they have signed as much if there was ebay? How about if they had a memorabilia deal? Would they have signed as much if they kept seeing the same faces asking for autographs day after day? Times change, people change. Doesn't mean he's a jerk.

[David Atkatz]

F#ck him and his memorabilia deal. Ultimately, his fans put every single cent he makes into his pocket.
If he can't give a bit back, he's a jerk.

[JimStinson]

Anyone that would drive through downtown Tampa at 3 am for ANYTHING is NUTS..
_________________
jim@stinsonsports.com

[Jim F]

His "fans" aren't the ones in line for the most part. I live in downtown Toronto. A block from the Air Canada Center where the NBA and NHL teams play, and also a block from the hockey hall of fame. It's always the same faces with binders of stuff standing out there every time something is going on. I can tell if a team is staying at a certain hotel just by the same clowns standing outside. I see his point.

[dgo71]

Originally Posted by Jim F

Would Babe Ruth or Dempsey have signed as much if they knew there was a huge market for their autograph? Would they have signed as much if there was ebay? How about if they had a memorabilia deal? Would they have signed as much if they kept seeing the same faces asking for autographs day after day? Times change, people change. Doesn't mean he's a jerk.

This is also a great point. There are a ton of athletes who turn people down for autos. Eventually most guys sign but people are people and they will have different ways about them. Because he rolls by and doesn't speak to the fans doesn't make Jeter a jerk. It means he doesn't feel like signing that day.

Also to be fair, the article tells of the security guy being the one barking out orders about not speaking to Jeter, etc. Now, I'm not saying with certainty that this wasn't the exact message Jeter relayed to the guy, because we will never know what conversation was had. But I will say that I have seen my fair share of security guards getting their kicks off of their 15-minutes of fame and being overly rude to collectors just because they can. The times I've seen Jeter interact with fans, which admittedly has not been in about ten years, he was fairly personable. Quiet overall, but definitely not rude.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by dgo71

Because he rolls by and doesn't speak to the fans doesn't make Jeter a jerk.

Uhhh... yes, it does.

[travrosty]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

Uhhh... yes, it does.

yep,

joe louis didnt have a inconsiderate bone in his body for his fans. he would talk, sign, he was gracious, he got asked ALL the time for 40 years. he wouldn't pull this "i am better than you" routine. There were probably days he didn't feel like signing and maybe didn't sign, but he didn't act like he was better than the "unwashed" masses.

[dgo71]

Originally Posted by travrosty

yep,

joe louis didnt have a inconsiderate bone in his body for his fans. he would talk, sign, he was gracious, he got asked ALL the time for 40 years. he wouldn't pull this "i am better than you" routine. There were probably days he didn't feel like signing and maybe didn't sign, but he didn't act like he was better than the "unwashed" masses.

Did you hear Jeter say "I'm better than you?" Or is that just the extent of your hyperbole after you read the quotes of a security guard, written from the angle of a journalist who is out to get his article noticed? I'm willing to bet you've not had enough encounters with Jeter to put words in his mouth.

One thing you guys fail to realize is that a large portion of autograph hounds can be extremely rude, pushy and downright nasty to deal with. They invade the athletes' private lives and stalk them just to get a signature, yet these same people won't pay for a GA ticket to try and get the same guy at a ballgame. Interrupting them at dinner, following them through the streets, calling hotels to find where they're staying...it's insane. I don't care how nice an athlete is, that crap would get old. The dealers are even worse, especially in New York where Jeter has played half his games over 20 years. The dealers do all those things AND will push and shove because if they don't get a graph that day, they can't pay their bills. Then when a guy doesn't sign, they yell at the athete or curse them out. Yeah, that really makes a guy want to sign in the future. The Babe Ruth comparison is really apples and oranges because autograph collectors in Babe Ruth's day weren't pushing kids out of the way to get 20 of the same 11x14 signed. So if after dealing with all this and much more over the course of his career, if Jeter wants to roll by the line of autograph seekers and wave, I think he's earned that right. And it's not even like he NEVER signs. The one guy in the article got him 30 times!

[dgo71]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

Uhhh... yes, it does.

Uhhh...no, it doesn't. Have you seen Jeter, through the entirety of his career, every single time he's been asked for an autograph? Even if you somehow had, you would have only that one aspect of his persona to judge him by.

Do you stop and give change to every guy on the corner with a sign? If not, does that make you a jerk? How about if you do 99% of the time, but the one time you didn't I happened to see it and wrote an article about it? Are you a jerk then?

I get that it doesn't take much to sign a graph, and you can compare him to Ruth or Joe Louis or whatever athlete you want from 60-70 years before Jeter played...but the fact is whether he signs autographs every day or never signs a single one, I don't think that fact alone is enough to speak to his character. Athletes are not obligated to sign autographs for anyone.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by dgo71

Athletes are not obligated to sign autographs for anyone.

If you mean it's not in their contracts, you're right.
But if they don't feel they should treat their fans well, then they are arrogant pricks. (If not jerks.)

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

The instructions for getting a signature sound like the Soup Nazi's ordering ritual.

Now this is more like it:

"Tyler Austin, one of the organization’s top prospects, always makes himself available — an easy decision, he said. He recalled attending a Chattanooga Lookouts minor league game as an 8-year-old and positioning himself for postgame autographs by moving down the right-field line, just past a gate that led to the team’s locker room. A couple of players stopped. Many more did not. “I remember it vividly,” said Austin, an outfielder who has hit .331 in the minors. “My mom looked at me and said, ‘One day you’re going to be there, and I swear if I ever see you walk by anybody and not sign a thing for them, I will come and personally slap you right across the face.’ ” "

So someone sells the 'graph, so what? A guy like Jeter makes $200,000,000.00+ over a career and he's miffed that some shmuck ekes out a living selling signatures? What, is the guy taking money out of Jeter's pocket? Taking away a business opp? No and no. And if that was the case, Jeter could simply be polite about it and make a blanket announcement or deal with it like a gentleman. Cary Grant did not sign autographs but he was unfailingly nice to the people who asked. Ringo Starr until relatively recenty signed TTM and when he decided to quit he made a video about it and posted it all over the place just to alert fans not to send him more stuff. Derek Jeter is bigger than a Beatle?!?! Bigger than Ali, as Travis pointed out? There was a recent story about George Clooney in a restaurant in Europe where he thought that his party might have been too loud so he surreptitiously picked up the dinner tab for the table next to his. It's called "class" and Jeter and the rest of the A-hole Brigade don't have it and never will.

The real bottom line about Jeter and the rest of them is what the late boxing broadcaster Nick Charles said was his philosophy: "Judge a man by how he treats someone who can do nothing for him."

+2