I've posted before that I was headed to Arizona for my honeymoon this March. And me and the Missus are taking in a couple spring training games. While I have no idea how many autograph opportunities I'm going to get I'd like to take a few baseballs and cards along just in case.
I know there are quite a few of you out there that have been and collect autographed baseballs. My question is this. Should I spring for the official major league baseball by Rawlings which go for about 15 to 20 bucks a pop new and unsigned or should I just take some nice new official league baseballs, which are the same size and weight as OML balls and only cost about 2 to 3 bucks a pop?
Right off the bat, I'll tell you I'm cheap and I'm probably just going to grab a bunch of cheap balls and go. It doesn't really matter to me if it has the MLB logo on it and I'm not going to be selling the ones I get.
For me if the player is worthy of a ball, then they're worthy of an Offial Major League Baseball. I guess I have 3 types of players when it comes to in person autographs. Ball worthy, 8 x 10 worthy, and card worthy. I get Hall of Famers and superstar players (future Hall of Famers on a ball). For All-Stars I will try to get an 8 x 10, and everyone else I'll try a card.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found to be the biggest problem with non-official MLB balls is that the leather tends to be of lesser quality; therefore, autographs have a tendency to fade quickly or naturally smudge. Think of the difference in the quality of autographs found between early sweet spot autos and more recent sweet spots (like 2007 versions). They changed the kind of ball they used and that lead to lower quality autos that seem to fade
ReplyDeleteI live in the Phoenix valley. Let me know what games you are going to. I'll see if I can make some of the same ones...
ReplyDeleteI like the official ones, though I probably get 1-2 autos a year when a Cardinal is signing somewhere local and free or cheap, so the extra few bucks isn't such a big hit to the wallet.
ReplyDeleteAlways go with the Official Major League Baseball. Signatures will begin fading into the cheap league balls pretty quickly. (Remember those Upper Deck Sweet Spot autographs that have almost faded into oblivion? That's what you have to look forward to if you decide to "save" money)
ReplyDeleteThanks guys. Point taken. I actually found some OML balls and holders at Target for a decent price. This is why I ask these things. And Adam I'll let you know. I can't remember the dates but we have tickets for the Brewers/Cubs and Brewers/Mariners at Maryvale.
ReplyDeleteI have to worl the day you are going to see the Mariners but looks like the Cubs game is a Saturday so I'll see if I can make it to that one.
ReplyDeletePen choice is important, too. Do NOT use a Sharpie on a baseball. Use a good ballpoint pen, or go to a specialty store (pen store, scrapbook store) and ask them what works well on leather.
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