Tag: Baseballs

Awesome New Carlton Fisk Items

Carlton Fisk is a player I have come to appreciate more and more as I got older. When I first became a Sox fan in 1991, I was all about the young exciting players. Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura, all those good young pitchers, etc. I kind of thought of Fisk as a grumpy has-been.

I didn’t quite realize how great he was in his extended prime. I know now that he was truly one of the best catchers of all-time. And when I met him properly for the first time, he was very nice to me.

Years ago a collector friend of mine had a yearly opportunity to get stuff signed by Fisk for $20 per. I really regret not getting more stuff done then. Every year I’d get a few cards signed. If I had that opportunity again today I think I’d probably send 30+ items. Oh well!

These new Fisk items are now some of my favorite items in my collection. The jersey came from my sales rep at Fanatics. It’s part of a limited 25 piece run that hasn’t been made available to the public. The HOF baseball also came from him. The All-Star baseball came from a collector on Facebook.

   

Steve Sax Private Signing

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I am a big Steve Sax fan. Why am I a Sax fan? It’s certainly not because of the terrible 69 OPS+ he put up during two bad years with the Sox. It’s also not because of his charming personality, as he’s never been a super friendly guy to fans.

It all comes down to my mother. I grew up with a single mom in Southern California. My mom was a huge Dodgers fan. More specifically, she was a big Steve Sax fan. But she never referred to him as Steve Sax. He was always “Sexy Saxy”.

Let me be very clear. His “sexiness” has nothing to do with my fandom. My mom loved him, so I loved him. Later in life, I’d come to realize that Sax was overrated as a player. But that did nothing to dim my Sax fandom. And so, here I am, probably the only person alive that is a fan of both Sax and the Sox.

Steve Sax was one of many players attending the HOF Classic game in Cooperstown, NY this year. Jamie Blye conducted a private signing with a few of the players, including Sax. So I sent him a few items to get signed.

A couple of items didn’t turn out perfectly. One ball and one card are kind of smudged. But the most important item, the bat, turned out perfectly!

   

   

   

   



Cespedes & Colas Baseballs

Somebody on Facebook posted that they had a couple of Oscar Colas baseballs available for a decent price. I think the White Sox have five prospects with a legit chance to be a star. Colson Montgomery, Bryan Ramos, Lenyn Sosa, Norge Vera, and Colas. So I was very interested in a Colas ball. When I reached out, he mentioned that he also had Yoelqui Cespedes balls available. You’ll notice that I didn’t have Cespedes listed in that group above. He is kind of old for AA, and yet he is striking out too much, and not walking enough. The power is solid, but nothing special. I think he’ll probably make the bigs, but only as a regular for a few years while the team (the Sox or otherwise) hopes he’ll break out. Still, he is a name prospect, and the price was right, so I picked up a Cespedes ball as well.

   

Ken “Hawk” Harrelson Hall of Fame Baseball

Ever since Hawk made the Hall of Fame, I’ve been on the lookout for a reasonably priced Hall of Fame baseball with inscription. The dealer that will not be named had some available, but at a pretty high price.

Last week I found some on eBay that allstarjef4ydp was selling for a much better price. So I jumped on one. I’m not sure what type of pen they used. It is a very bold signature. Let’s hope it holds up!

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Jim Kaat HOF Baseball

Jim Kaat has finally made the Hall of Fame. I don’t think he was a glaring omission, but I do think he was deserving. He falls a bit short when it comes to sabermetric stats, but between the 283 wins and 16 Gold Gloves, he certainly isn’t out of place.

I picked up a HOF baseball at a decent price from Tom Orr. It’s a beaut, and I’m thrilled to have it. Now I need to get a 16×20 with HOF inscription!

Paul Konerko Private Signing

Big T Authentics, AKA Jackson Traylor, recently had another private signing with Paul Konerko. Paulie isn’t an especially cheap signing, so I typically only get 1-2 things signed when he does one. That was the case here.

As you can see, I completed what is now one of my favorite multi-player cards. I also got a 2002 All-Star baseball with inscription. I’m thrilled to add these to the collection!

   

Lance Lynn Private Signing – Part 1

Brian Meltzer over at BM Authentics just conducted the first ever private signing with White Sox star Lance Lynn. Funds are a bit tight, and it wasn’t the cheapest signing (starting at $60), so I couldn’t get all 9 items I wanted to get done. I settled for 2 cards and 2 nicer items. My cards are stuck in the mail system (thanks USPS) but I have received the other two items. I got a Field of Dreams game 16×20 and 2021 All-Star baseball done. Both turned out great! These are my first Lance Lynn autographs. He was near the top of my current/recent player wantlist, so I’m thrilled to get these. Thanks Brian!