There are so many autographs added to the market with every release, I was just wondering if there are any present players that are hard to find?
Any there any present day player autographs that are hard to find?
- Thread starter greyminis
- Start date
Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
Ichiro! Best regards, David
Certified? non certified? I don't think anybody recent is terribly hard to find in general, most players do enough PR work, charity events, many do TTM, at the ballparks, etc. that their autographs aren't that tough. I look for Ichiro auto* on ebay and get 330 live auctions, even if you toss out 100 or so for 'autographics', 'no auto' 'facs auto', etc, you're still right around 225 available. If you are talking straight certified autographs, I'm sure there are more than a few that get tougher to find, 2nd, 3rd string catchers, 30 something middle relievers, utility guys, etc. Mike Redmond was one of my favorite Twins, not much in the way of certified autos out there since he was pretty much a backup catcher for 13 years (13 seasons, 5 seasons of 200+ AB and only 2 of those 5 seasons did he get over 250 AB's, 256 and 278 AB's in those years), but a quick ebay search for Mike Redmond auto* and Mike Redmond sign* brings up roughly 30 items or so between them, deducting for overlap, still plenty to cover the demand
"Tough" is all relative, but some modern players that I have noticed that do not have certified autographs in as many sets as other players (and some of these are modern, but not current): Mariano Rivera, Mike Piazza, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Jim Thome, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Pedro Martinez, Barry Larkin, Jorge Posada, Carlos Ruiz, Omar Vizquel, Asdrubal Cabrera, Jason Varitek, Albert Pujols, Mike Napoli.....
Tim
Tim
Money gets you about any signature you'll ever want.
Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, as noted, along with a few other big names (Piazza, Maddux, etc) have been tough in certified sets, but open your wallet and you can have any of them.
Find me ANY Noe Munoz auto though and we can talk!!
Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, as noted, along with a few other big names (Piazza, Maddux, etc) have been tough in certified sets, but open your wallet and you can have any of them.
Find me ANY Noe Munoz auto though and we can talk!!
Find me Byron McLaughlin, and that'll be an amazing talk.
McLaughlin pops up now and again. I just landed a team ball with him and have two of his RCs signed as well. I'd love to find his 80 and 81 Topps & 81 Donruss though (at a reasonable price) to round out the M's collection.
I instantly thought of Bernie Williams. He's not active but recent. His autos are not cheap and few and far between.
Great input. Thank you everyone.
Recently picked up a Bernie Williams. He did the 2010 Sterling and the 2011 Triple Threads. Haven't found an Ichiro autograph yet. I'm picky about signatures and haven't been able to find one of his 04 Sweet Spots with a solid signature. His 2011 Leaf autographs are priced in the stratosphere.
Mariano Rivera has a great signature, and was part of the Turkey Red release that I went all in on. Still looking for a Mike Piazza...super tough. Found my Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux with 04 Certified autos, Jim Thome in A&G, Jeff Bagwell on a PSA certified photo in Sox minor league uni, still looking for Craig Biggio, waiting for the summer to pick up a Barry Larkin signed HOF Plaque, 07 Bowman Heritage Jorge Posada, 2010 Peak Performance Carlos Ruiz (sticker auto), no Omar Vizquel yet, though I see he was part of that huge 1996 Leaf set, no Asdrubal Cabrera, no Jason Varitek, 206 Albert Pujols, Topps 52 and A&G Mike Napoli.
Recently picked up a Bernie Williams. He did the 2010 Sterling and the 2011 Triple Threads. Haven't found an Ichiro autograph yet. I'm picky about signatures and haven't been able to find one of his 04 Sweet Spots with a solid signature. His 2011 Leaf autographs are priced in the stratosphere.
Mariano Rivera has a great signature, and was part of the Turkey Red release that I went all in on. Still looking for a Mike Piazza...super tough. Found my Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux with 04 Certified autos, Jim Thome in A&G, Jeff Bagwell on a PSA certified photo in Sox minor league uni, still looking for Craig Biggio, waiting for the summer to pick up a Barry Larkin signed HOF Plaque, 07 Bowman Heritage Jorge Posada, 2010 Peak Performance Carlos Ruiz (sticker auto), no Omar Vizquel yet, though I see he was part of that huge 1996 Leaf set, no Asdrubal Cabrera, no Jason Varitek, 206 Albert Pujols, Topps 52 and A&G Mike Napoli.
Given that NOONE has seen him in almost 25 years, due to him being on the run from the law, anything that "pops" up would be suspicious to me. Look at the graded/authenticated one on Ebay, signed in thin blue sharpie- I'd bet GotMelkys collection that it's a fake.
Try bidding on one and see how much it would cost you!! If you have deep pockets and most people don't! Best regards, David
He asked if they were hard to find, not if they were expensive, there is a big difference. I stand by the "if there are hundreds on ebay at any given time, they aren't that hard to find" If you've got the money, they ARE available. As Curt pointed out, do an ebay search for Noe Munoz. I see 1 item total, a 1994 minor league card, that's it, no autographs, no equipment, no PSA graded cards, no other cards or acknowledgement at ALL, including completed listings. THAT is hard to find. Is Ichiro less plentiful than Ripken, Pujols, Jeter? Just like Bob Gibson autographs are less common than Bob Feller autographs. I still don't have a problem finding Gibson autographs.
I can't say I know his signing habits, but he played for a number of years before becoming a fugitive. I'm sure he probably signed his fair share of items at spring training, TTM, games and such. Perhaps he was a decent signer in his day...I don't know? Even if he was a reluctant signer, we can see that even the toughest signers, like Mike Marshall, do sign things after all. Because McLaughlin has been under the radar for so long, not much tends to surface and a fair share of his autographs that do surface are either sucked up fast into collections or are spendy. To say that everything that appears is fake is taking a pessimistic attitude about forged autographs to a new height though. Heck with his background, the guy could work a scheme to filter his autographs into the market and make a healthy sum of money that way!! Nothing like his shoe deal, but he is in hiding after all...
Is one certified by PSA fake? That is certainly quite possible. They are not perfect as we have seen time and time again. Are any or all of my signed items fake? It's possible too. At this point, I am not moving them so I am the only one hurt if they are. One of my cards was actually advertised as being signed by another player on the card. The seller apparently didn't notice who had actually signed. As for my 1979 Mariners ball, you can decide for yourself, if you are an expert on his signature. He is the 2nd signature from top. This ball was also not advertised as having McLaughlin on it by the seller. I just happen to spot in when I checked out the item. It was still a hefty price. It looks pretty good to me and fits, given the rest of the names on the ball. In both cases, I bought the item not because McLaughlin was advertised or even mentioned...not something a scammer would do, that is for sure, although I still give you the possibility that a fake item could be introduced into the market before the current seller moves it and the current seller is unaware.
Is one certified by PSA fake? That is certainly quite possible. They are not perfect as we have seen time and time again. Are any or all of my signed items fake? It's possible too. At this point, I am not moving them so I am the only one hurt if they are. One of my cards was actually advertised as being signed by another player on the card. The seller apparently didn't notice who had actually signed. As for my 1979 Mariners ball, you can decide for yourself, if you are an expert on his signature. He is the 2nd signature from top. This ball was also not advertised as having McLaughlin on it by the seller. I just happen to spot in when I checked out the item. It was still a hefty price. It looks pretty good to me and fits, given the rest of the names on the ball. In both cases, I bought the item not because McLaughlin was advertised or even mentioned...not something a scammer would do, that is for sure, although I still give you the possibility that a fake item could be introduced into the market before the current seller moves it and the current seller is unaware.
Beckett ran a pretty decent article years back that spoke of the more limited selection of certified autographs from certain players. I do remember Piazza was one of the least seen guys at that time. I'm afraid I don't know the issue or even the year at this point, but someone else might. A lot of the biggies have tons of autographs and are still expensive but easy to find (Griffey, Jeter, Arod, etc), but some guys like Piazza have many fewer and are still extremely tough to find at what anyone would consider bargain prices.
I got the Piazza I always wanted, his SPX Commemorative auto'd card. I think it was from around 95 or 96. It was relatively cheap, considering what most of his signatures were selling for. I know I got it for under $100.
I got the Piazza I always wanted, his SPX Commemorative auto'd card. I think it was from around 95 or 96. It was relatively cheap, considering what most of his signatures were selling for. I know I got it for under $100.
Daisuke Matsuzaka hasn't had too many autos on eBay and some sell pretty high.
i would say greg maddux and jim thome
My point about the PSA graded rookie signed by him on Ebay was that it's signed in thin blue sharpie, which doesn't fit with the era (77-83).
1979
A new style tip is introduced in four colors, the Sharpie Extra Fine Point marker.
Pretty sure Sharpie wasn't the only ink pen maker back then either, although I would say ball points are more common from that era. Maybe the person who got it was ahead of their time.
A new style tip is introduced in four colors, the Sharpie Extra Fine Point marker.
Pretty sure Sharpie wasn't the only ink pen maker back then either, although I would say ball points are more common from that era. Maybe the person who got it was ahead of their time.
You didn't look at the signature in question, didja? If you have used Sharpie blues for signatures, you should know the distinctive coloring, and you would also know that an extra fine point could NEVER leave that sig. 100% percent sure it's a "THIN" aka Ultra Fine Point. It was a big deal back then(early 90s) because it was the size of a pen, had a clip, and felt like a pen in your hand, not like a chunky marker. It was really the "pen" that changed the autograph hobby forever- it was really the first permanent marker that didn't smear, dried quickly on paper/cardboard & was fairly inexpensive. I bought a box of them for spring training in 1990, and my only fault with them was they dried out quickly in the Florida heat, an issue they fixed in later versions of Sharpies by lessening some of the butanol in the ink. In those days, we used to swipe the sharpie across the back of our hands to make sure it hadn't dried out, imagine my concern when we found out Sharpie ink is toxic to humans...but I just think it's a suspicious looking sig, and having it PSA certified makes me laugh..
Last edited:
No, I did not look at it. I checked now though and had seen it before. That is not something I would have noticed, because I don't know the pens the way you seem to. I had to look up the history of Sharpie to leave the last comment, so you may be right. I certainly will never defend PSA as the know all autograph certification experts.
That seller has a ton of nice stuff and I noticed him when I did a Carlos Lopez search recently. He also wants really good money for most of what he has listed too, which would probably and hopefully bring more scrutiny for those items before a buyer pulled the trigger.
However, and I have always thought this, having it slabbed/certified doesn't necessarily make an autograph legit (just watch that Sal Bando video) and using that as the only reason to buy with comfort (or more likely without fear) is a dangerous game.
Now, not a current player, but another common toughie that came to my mind. Tony Curry seems to be a near impossible find for those 60s Phillies fans out there!
That seller has a ton of nice stuff and I noticed him when I did a Carlos Lopez search recently. He also wants really good money for most of what he has listed too, which would probably and hopefully bring more scrutiny for those items before a buyer pulled the trigger.
However, and I have always thought this, having it slabbed/certified doesn't necessarily make an autograph legit (just watch that Sal Bando video) and using that as the only reason to buy with comfort (or more likely without fear) is a dangerous game.
Now, not a current player, but another common toughie that came to my mind. Tony Curry seems to be a near impossible find for those 60s Phillies fans out there!
Similar threads
- Bumped
Sponsors
