Are there any player's autographs that you refuse to collect?

[earlywynnfan]

Originally Posted by phikappapsi

I only refuse to collect people that are only "famous" due to a blunder...

Example:

Buckner
Or
Scott norwood

If the player is only remembered for a blunder, or because they gave up the game winning or historic HR etc etc then I don't see th point.

Why celebrat mediocrity mixed with failure?

I respect your collecting choices, but Buckner was definitely not mediocre. He was a very good player, and I think he's collectible despite his error.

I have auto's of Bonds, AROD, McGwire, and Raffy that I had for years and have painted baseballs of, so I keep those, but since then I have no interest in adding Manny, Braun, or David Ortiz since they blew it.

Ken
earlywynnfan5@hotmail.com

[phikappapsi]

Originally Posted by earlywynnfan

I respect your collecting choices, but Buckner was definitely not mediocre. He was a very good player, and I think he's collectible despite his error.

I have auto's of Bonds, AROD, McGwire, and Raffy that I had for years and have painted baseballs of, so I keep those, but since then I have no interest in adding Manny, Braun, or David Ortiz since they blew it.

Ken
earlywynnfan5@hotmail.com

Understood, he was a "good" or at minimum above average player, that said, without the error nobody would care about him, his name would linger in mild 1980s obscurity... That play is the only reason anyone other than maybe some diehard red sox fans would really see him as collection worthy.

[johnmh71]

I have no interest in anyone that has been linked to steroids. And I definately don't want an OJ autograph.

[Orioles1954]

Eric Show committed suicide?

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

Eric Show committed suicide?

Eric Show died of drug overdose (abuse). He had taken a speedball (cocaine and heroin) and had a massive heart attack, FWIW.

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

Eric Show died of drug overdose (abuse). He had taken a speedball (cocaine and heroin) and had a massive heart attack, FWIW.

That's true, but it was mostly believed he took an overdose on purpose. Again, much like the Don Wilson saga, we'll probably never know for sure. He was troubled and was a bit of a flake but anything could have happened.

[mr2686]

Several people have brought up OJ, and I agree completely. I had two of his autographs from the early 80's and ended up giving them both to a friend because I didn't want them in my collection.
As for players that are known for a famous blunder or only known for one famous event, I look at it like this; I'm not collecting the player because of the blunder, I'm collecting the event because it's a part of baseball history. Whether it's Branca giving up the homerun to Thompson, or Buckner and the groundball, or Torrez giving up the homerun to Dent, or Gionfriddo taking away a homerun from Dimaggio, etc etc, it's all part of baseball history...and for the most part, all of these things are in just about every baseball documentary so I feel it's worthy of collecting.

[Mr. Zipper]

Originally Posted by mr2686

or players that are known for a famous blunder or only known for one famous event, I look at it like this; I'm not collecting the player because of the blunder, I'm collecting the event because it's a part of baseball history. Whether it's Branca giving up the homerun to Thompson, or Buckner and the groundball, or Torrez giving up the homerun to Dent, or Gionfriddo taking away a homerun from Dimaggio, etc etc, it's all part of baseball history...and for the most part, all of these things are in just about every baseball documentary so I feel it's worthy of collecting.

I agree. You could add mickey Owen and Tommy Heinrich dual signed pics to the list. I love "famous moment " SPs with multiple participants.

[Bilko G]

Wouldn't want autographs of OJ Simpson, Chris Benoit, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden (Don't actually know if his autos exist on the market), Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson, Fidel Castro.

[phikappapsi]

Originally Posted by Mr. Zipper

I agree. You could add mickey Owen and Tommy Heinrich dual signed pics to the list. I love "famous moment " SPs with multiple participants.

Again, I understand the historical perspective, I just feel like sports have enough positive history to collect parts of that I don't personally get satisfaction from owning the "blunders"

Just my own perspective, I completely understand those that do

[Deertick]

Originally Posted by mr2686

Several people have brought up OJ, and I agree completely. I had two of his autographs from the early 80's and ended up giving them both to a friend because I didn't want them in my collection.
As for players that are known for a famous blunder or only known for one famous event, I look at it like this; I'm not collecting the player because of the blunder, I'm collecting the event because it's a part of baseball history. Whether it's Branca giving up the homerun to Thompson, or Buckner and the groundball, or Torrez giving up the homerun to Dent, or Gionfriddo taking away a homerun from Dimaggio, etc etc, it's all part of baseball history...and for the most part, all of these things are in just about every baseball documentary so I feel it's worthy of collecting.

About 25 years ago, I bought and sold a photo of the Thompson homer (with a dotted line tracking the flight) signed by both Thompson and Branca. Bobby had insrcibed it "Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did!" and Branca wrote "Eh".

Kinda sorry I sold it now that I'm a little older and appreciate the history more than the few dollars profit.

[drc]

I'm not fond of nightmares, so wouldn't want any serial killer personal artifacts in my home. Thought the famed Jack the Ripper 'From Hell' letter would be fascinating item to own. I didn't say I'd buy it.

Trivia question of the day: Sent to the home of the head of a volunteer anti-crime group, what was included with the From Hell letter?

Answer: A woman's kidney.

[rjackson44]

byce harper ooops sorry guys

[drc]

If steroids do players like Bonds no good, then why do the take them? Why do they still take them today? And if the players believe there is nothing wrong or cheating about steroids, then why do they always deny taking them, even back when they weren't banned? Roger Clemens apparently would prefer to go to prison than admit to any one he took PEDS. Bonds apparently would prefer to be convicted of a felony than admit he knowingly took PEDS. These acts show two baseball player who feel taking PEDS is cheating and feel it would damage their reputation and taint their numbers if people knew they took them. Hard to argue otherwise.

And, yes, I think Bonds was a great player before he took steroids, a Joe DiMaggio or Willie Mays type, and was the best player on steroids after.

[J.McMurry]

Yep, no doubt Bonds was a HOF'er before the steroids, my question is, if he hadnt turned to steroids when he got older,would he have gotten to the 600 HR plateau?

If roids didnt give the players an advantage, they wouldnt be taking them.

[HOF Auto Rookies]

I never said steroids do no good. I was just stating that they aren't going to improve those I stated. Obviously they will make you bigger, stronger, not faster necessarily, and help recover from injuries/surgeries, but they aren't going to help those factors I mentioned above.

Bonds took them because he was jealous of McGwire and Sosa and wanted to chase records, smaller name players took them following injuries so they can get the paycheck to afford life after baseball and to compete, others did so to be the best and to get the richest of paychecks.

But if you looked at the list of players who were caught taking steroids, a lot of them had marginal improvement because they lacked having been born with the perfect genes like Bonds for example. Bonds' eyes were so good, he could pick-up the seems on the pitchers release point and know what type of pitch was coming. And based off of where his arm would be angled, he knew whether that pitch would be in his zone or not. He never struck out, and had a pretty good average. Obviously top tier players were blessed with those abilities.

[Splinte1941]

Originally Posted by phikappapsi

Understood, he was a "good" or at minimum above average player, that said, without the error nobody would care about him, his name would linger in mild 1980s obscurity... That play is the only reason anyone other than maybe some diehard red sox fans would really see him as collection worthy.

Buckner had over 2700 career hits with bad ankles and knees. Another healthy season and change and he's in the Hall of Fame regardless of 1986.

[HOF Auto Rookies]

Steroids don't help improve your optical focal vision, you still got to see the ball and hit the ball. It isn't going to improve your hand-eye coordination, and it certainly doesn't help improve your quick twitch muscle types. And if you were to look at home run charts abotu close home runs and no doubters, there isn't too big of a difference.


Bonds is the best ever, plain and simple, who cares about steroids. Was going to be best ever even before he started juicing. He was a player who did it all. Stole, hit for power, hit for average, strong arm, amazing fielder. There is no one better IMO.

A lot of the players who used steroids didn't necessarily use them to be the best, or break records. They used them as a means to recover quicker from surgeries or injuries to get back onto the field and get there paycheck