Probably a touchy subject...

[jake33]

Godwolf, I have heard people over the years get some random auto on notebook paper and when the player leaves, he will ask the crowd of guys getting autographs, is he thinks it would be worth somewhere in the $10-$30 range. I have had this happen 3-4 times over the last couple years with 3-4 different people

[godwulf]

Okay, that's weird. Yeah, I guess that people who, themselves, don't buy and collect a thing would likely have some strange ideas about value. Like the folks who wouldn't think of listing ANY major league jersey for less than $199, and want a grand for a run-of-the-mill HR ball of some minor star.

Back on the subject of dealers, the more I think about it, the more I think that the players who have it right are the ones who, when somebody pushes an album page with twenty cards in their face, signs ONE CARD and moves on. I would certainly sign, graciously and whenever possible, when asked, but I would have to draw the line at providing some random stranger with a living, at the cost of having to ignore a lot of folks who simply wanted my autograph because they were fans.

[jake33]

To play devil's advocate, this is a postive I see about dealers though.

When players get made about people selling their autograph, that is understandable, but the people who are buying it are actually fans who for whatever reason are unable to meet the player to get the autograph themselves. It isnt like it goes to someone who displikes the player.

Not the best middleman opperation, at all, but the autos will eventually get into a fan's hand.... in theory.

[godwulf]

Yeah, I can understand that perspective, and I think it's a valid one...as long as - and this is important - the player's time isn't so taken up by signing twelve cards for this dealer and fifteen cards for that dealer that the player's hand starts to cramp up, or it's time to go running off into the dugout or get in his car and go home, whatever, and the fan, kid or adult, with a single ball, photo or card is left standing there with nothing. I don't know whether you've seen this happen, but I certainly have - on numerous occasions. Sometimes I was one of the fans left with nothing.

As a player, I doubt that I would begrudge some guy the chance to make a few dollars on my autograph - especially not if I were a top prospect and was probably going to be earning a high six-figure salary (or more) in the Majors soon. As a fan, though, who enjoys getting the occasional autograph, I feel justified in resenting the half-dozen to ten guys with albums standing between me and the player, potentially taking up all of his time before he gets down to my spot in the line. Sure, some of those sigs are going to end up in the collections of folks who will never be able to get close enough to the player to get one in person - but what about all the fans who were close enough to get one, but weren't able to because the dealers took up all of the player's time?

[dscards]

My personal 'graphing rule is that if I'm going to ask for multiples (more than putting two or 3 cards on a page), I'll get one signed and then go to the end of the line the player is signing for. When the player gets to me, I say "Mr. (whoever), you already signed one for me, but if you don't mind I have a few more cards I'd love if you'd sign". A few players have said "Only one" or "I already got you" and I know they would have signed for me had I not said anything, but the majority have no problem and a few have thanked me for being honest and waiting.

Kids can be incredibly rude. It's normally the kids/teenagers that make derogatory comments to players when they don't sign, and the majority of the pushing/shoving is done by younger graphers. I'm in my early 20s and have been graphing since I was 13ish. I was always the one there hours before and always had my research done. I was never pushed by an adult (though they often used their height to reach over me) but I was shoved around/budged in front of by other kids numerous times. Even caught a few kids trying to steal items out of my backpack after I had them signed. It always amazes me how many kids never got the memo on "Mr./Mrs." and "please/thank you".

Back to the original point of this thread...it does occasionally drive me crazy to see the pages of cards that get in front of players. I missed Josh Hamilton a few years back because a kid shoved his way in front of me and then put 9 cards in front of Josh. Josh left after signing the last one. But in my mind, it's the player's choice to sign 9 for 1 person instead of 1 for 9 people and I can't be unhappy about it.

[sox83cubs84]

It's always an interesting exercise to try and figure out: if YOU were in the players' shoes, what would YOUR signing policies be? Most young people and hounds state without hesitation that they would sign for anyone who asked at anytime. Of course, if they were in agony with a kidney stone trying to hail a cab, or standing in the men's room taking a whizz, or being interrupted when conversing with a friend by a rude signature seeker, they may feel differently. (BTW, all three of those thing have happened at hotels or ballparks in Chicago, with the same guy guilty of the first and third instance).

For me, I WOULDN'T sign for anyone at anytime. I'd answer by-mail requests within reason, but I would not sign at my hotel (to me, an invasion of privacy) nor would I sign outside the park (too many dealers and hoarders). I WOULD, however, be willing to sign for as many fans as time allowed inside the stadium. IMHO, the people who buy tickets are supporting the game, and autograph signing is a way of showing appreciation for that support. The autograph dealers and hoarders and hotel invaders are usually seeking something for nothing. But, for a person who is willing to make the expenditure of buying a ticket, even if it's the cheapest in the house, to me that shows they care enough about the game to warrant attention and autographs. Sure, I know that some dealers and hoarders will buy tickets, too, but at that point they are financially supporting the game...whether or not they sold my autograph afterwards would not be important to me.

I'm curious what other GUU members would see themselves doing if they were the celebrities being asked?

Dave Miedema

[dscards]

Really good question Dave.

For me, I would try and sign whenever I was approached politely and I had the time. As someone who has 'graphed since I was a kid, I know how a scribbled signature from a ballplayer can make someone's day. In the extra ten minutes it takes me to get home at night because I stopped to sign outside the park, I could make a lot of people happy. Also as a 'grapher, I know that adults autograph seekers aren't usually the scum of the earth like they're made out to be. Many are genuine fans who appreciate the autograph much more than a kid sticking a sharpie in the face of anyone in a uniform. (That said, I would absolutely make an effort to make sure every kid who wanted one left with an autograph.) I think I'm pretty good at picking out dealers and wouldn't mind saying "only one" to someone who gave me that vibe. I'd make sure all fan mail requests got signed, though I could see myself being one of the players who waited until the off-season to do the majority of it.
Would I have days when I'm not in a good mood/poor performance/life when I wouldn't feel like dealing with hordes of people? I'm sure. To say that I'd sign in every situation would be foolish. But, my general rule would be that if a fan was polite and respectful to me, I would be the same back and try to accommodate their autograph request.

[dscards]

To add:

And in response to the person asking me to sign a page/sheet/absurd amount of cards, if there was a crowd and I felt like I might not have time to get everyone, I'd sign 1-3 for the person and ask them if they would wait until I finished signing for the rest. It'd make sure I got to as many people as possible and that I didn't have to rush my signature to finish up the page of cards.

[godwulf]

Of course, if they were in agony with a kidney stone trying to hail a cab, or standing in the men's room taking a whizz, or being interrupted when conversing with a friend by a rude signature seeker, they may feel differently.

A few years ago, a former Major League pitcher was coaching in the Fall League, and I had one of his GU uniform caps that I wanted to get signed. He came out of the dugout after a game, and I was about to call him over, when he walked over to the screen and began speaking with a woman whom I realized was the coach's wife. I kept my distance until they parted, and then came over and respectfully asked the man to sign. The first words out of his mouth, even before I said anything, were, "Thanks for waiting." A little common courtesy really does go a long way.

[jtnatalierica]

Got a good multiple autograph card signing. When I was with the Tigers as a batting practice pitcher, I used to hang around with Jim Walewander. When we were sitting at our lockers after bp, he showed me a plastic box containing about 15 of his cards wanting them autographed. He laid them in the floor one next to another and script wrote his full name, J_I_M_W_A_L_E_W_A_N_D_E_R across all 15 cards, picked them up, put them back and stated "Let me see how much they can get for this card with the E on it, or the N on it". Laughed my butt off.