Which do you prefer to collect and why
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Which do you prefer to collect and why
This is really easy--- bats. When there is a jersey for every holiday, and a player has about 30+ jerseys a year made, it takes away the fun of it.
Bats all the way.
Bats for me. Always been fascinated with the different models and makes of lumber. Then there is the aroma of pine tar.....mmmmm!
Jerseys for me. Before the advent of alternate jerseys and multiple sets (pre-1990), there were typically only two sets of home jerseys and two sets of road jerseys each season. Many baseball teams would pass their jerseys down to their minor league teams until they were worn out (sometimes sent to the trash bin), so it further reduces the number of available jerseys. Football teams would often use jerseys in more than one season, and it was common to use old game jerseys in practice until they were no longer of any use. For the most part, there are just not a lot of older jerseys available which adds to the fun of the treasure hunt!
Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net
***ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WORLD FOOTBALL LEAGUE JERSEYS AND NFL/AFL DURENE JERSEYS***
Pre 2005, jerseys are cool cause only a few sets for entire season and used in minors. Stupid special days, holidays, tribute days created a silly overblown saturated market. Bats are the same in a way, older players didn't save their bats....way fewer in existance than today's stars. Basically i'm saying both but pre 2005
I collect both but prefer jerseys.
While i do have a few jerseys in my collection, the overwhelming majority are bats. I've always loved the connection between a bat and a player in terms of preparation (tar, mota, tape). As well i have always enjoyed looking at each ball or seam mark on a bat and wonder if it was a foul ball, single, pop up, or homer. The unique use on a bat makes it different than any other and to me at least jerseys are too "generic" and don't show as much character as a bat always will. Plus you wont look as crazy taking a few cuts with a bat as you would trying on a jersey a player has used.
I collect bats and have been building a nice collection for years. Similar to the sentiment others have already expressed, a bat is one of the most personal (and unique) items on a baseball field. No two bats are going to be prepared in necessarily the same way and further, if you can find a bat that was used to specifically alter the outcome of a game or season, how cool is that?
Good question and I look forward to hearing from others.
JDF
I collect both, but prefer jerseys, as they're the game used species I've studied and immersed myself in for almost 40 years. In terms of personal collection interests, while jerseys are also my favorite there, bats move up to an almost similar status because of the number of bats I've gotten from MLB players, either as gifts or in swaps for memorabilia they have interest in. I've gotten 40+ bats over the years from MLB players and coaches, but only 4 jerseys, 3 of which were BPs.
Dave Miedema
Five years ago I'd say jerseys. Now, with the mass production and special event jerseys, finding a nice bat has often become tougher than a jersey.
It's hard to beat the majority-season used jerseys thought and I believe those will hold their value.
I prefer jerseys - they’ve always felt “closer” to the player than say a bat, glove, or a ball. That being said, I would love if teams stuck to a couple sets for the whole year instead of wearing (what I believe) could be up to 50 jerseys a year.
For all those bat collectors out there, how many bats do you suppose a player goes through in a year?
GB
Jerseys all the way for me. I have several jerseys cases in my basement and rotate them by season. However, the recent mass production of special event. jerseys takes some of the fun out of it.
I could do without the run of those jerseys with the exception of the Players Weekend Jerseys and really cool TBTC jerseys. I did buy a handful of the nickname jerseys as well as the Indians TBTC red jerseys.
bats, specifically home run bats that i have matched myself. i love the hunt of finding bats and then subsequently matching them to home runs. they make for a great personal collection. plus, storage space and display considerations lead me to favor bats as well.
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by flota89
I prefer jerseys going back about 5 years down. I haven't bought one in about 2 seasons and feel the mass production and greed from MLB has negatively affected interest from the hobby.
But, there are a ton of terrific players who didn't have mass produced jerseys! To define this for me, I look at teams where they used 3-5 per style per season, usually on stars. For example, I don't think 9 David Ortiz jerseys per season is mass produced (you won't find a season where he only used 2) . . The 1 jersey per game (or more) that happened with him in 2016 was!
Bats are great too, but even there you see the manufacturedifference examples. I would consider all the Gwynn hit numbered bats this category . . .
I prefer jerseys much more. I have a few bats, although I only display a couple, whereas the I have several jerseys on display.
I use to be bat only guy... then I got my first jersey. I love it and the few to follow. To me there are many ways to look at this. Jersey do take up more room to display (display the way I do). However, jerseys show the team and the player. Yes some bats have the team name under the players name but a lot of those are minor leagues and have not been a trend in major league past last several years. Bats are easier to display and can show awesome use and player characteristics. I love bats and jerseys and I don't deem myself a collector of one over the other but I have to be a true fan of the player to buy a jersey where as a bat I'm alittle more willing to buy.
I own a few bats but I definitely prefer jerseys. I think jerseys are the quintessential representation of game worn/used memorabilia since they transcend to all sports. I especially love vintage jerseys. Vintage jerseys were used over and over again until a team had no use for it anymore. Baseball jerseys were used year after year and then passed down through the minor league system until they were shriveled up rags. Sometimes finding an all original specimen is virtually impossible. Vintage football jerseys were used year after year and then used in practice until they fell apart. It amazes me that some franchises like the Steelers or Patriots held onto their vintage jerseys until now. I don't have too many jerseys from the past 10 years because of how over produced they are but I might buy some if the price is right or if something significant happened with that jersey (rookie year, milestone, hit home run, etc).
Bats only. Jerseys don't do much for me as far as appeal nor are they cost effective to display. Bats have more player characteristics than jerseys do and are easier to display and more fun to collect in general.
I've never been into jerseys in any sport. I'd much rather have a bat or helmet.