Slop autographs

[Aquifer]

Minor rant but just disgusted at what stars are willing to pass off as an autograph these days. Trying not to exaggerate but I can't decipher at least half of what I see (and I think it's closer to 75%). Come on, people, have some pride when signing. We're not asking for Charlie Gehringer quality here but at least something readable, not a scrawl of the first letter of your name and then an EKG scribble. Some years back, a company I worked for sponsored a tennis tourney and Maria Sharapova was one of the players. She stood at a reception tent signing posters and just slopped through them. I wanted so badly to say "come on, sign it right" but the company president was standing nearby and I chickened out. Still wish I hadn't

[parker1b2]

Tell me about it’ my youngest son just got Jazz Chisholm auto at our local Dick’s this weekend. If he didn’t sign it on a photo I would have no idea whose signature it is.

[Brent G.]

Originally Posted by Aquifer

Minor rant but just disgusted at what stars are willing to pass off as an autograph these days. Trying not to exaggerate but I can't decipher at least half of what I see (and I think it's closer to 75%). Come on, people, have some pride when signing. We're not asking for Charlie Gehringer quality here but at least something readable, not a scrawl of the first letter of your name and then an EKG scribble. Some years back, a company I worked for sponsored a tennis tourney and Maria Sharapova was one of the players. She stood at a reception tent signing posters and just slopped through them. I wanted so badly to say "come on, sign it right" but the company president was standing nearby and I chickened out. Still wish I hadn't

These athletes and everyone in their age group haven't had to physically write anything since kindergarten — so it looks like a kindergartener. They don't know how to sign their name at a bank. The next generation will probably use an actual "X," like in old cartoons.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Things really started getting bad in the 1990's. The 80's were already going that way, but it was becoming more and more insufferable trying to collect a signature of every MLB debut due to the scribbles. There was no fun in it anymore. I put a cap on my completist collection with the year 2000 debuts, just to end it at a very nice, round number, but I can not tell you how painful it was to go to the end. I should have ended it earlier!

[REG1976]

The difference between the past and now

[johnlenhardt]

I once had a Ryan Sandberg that was so bad, I had to tell people who it was. After awhile I gave it a new home........the Goodwill.

[RICHIEHARRIS]

A killing of the decent autograph..legible first and last name…also stems from the companies such as Panini, Topps, etc offering their ‘certified’ authentic signatures on cards. They send a sheet or sheets of blank white horizontal labels to the player to sign…sometimes in the hundreds…and the player scribbles label after label, returning the sheets to the card company which then sticks the labels on player cards to give the appearance of the card having been autographed. Mass production, assembly line autographing.