It's Spring Training

We can hardly believe it, but it's Spring Training already. Great article in the New York Times today about autograph collectors and dealers down at Spring training in Florida.

Click here to read the full article.

Be sure to read the comment from the collector at the late line of the article. He's not too happy to have spent 5 hours waiting and only have a single autograph to show for it.

15 years for an autograph?

Take a look at this autograph story. Where are you going to be in fifteen years? Better make sure that you leave a note, just in case some of your long lost through-the-mail requests come back...

Story at Slate.com:
http://www.slate.com/id/2154698/?nav=tap3

Bravo to athletes who never forget about their fans!

"I'm being taken advantage of"

I hope you’ve already added this guy to your collection. I just came across an article stating that Anthony Hopkins is no longer signing autographs for his fans - he says that fans are trying to make money by selling them on eBay. Here’s the quote from Fox News "The only time I really resent the system is when I'm being taken advantage of.  Like when people get you to sign your autograph and then they turn around and sell it on the Web. That, to me, is a pain in the butt. Now I don't do autographs anymore and for only that reason."

I guess that means we shouldn't bother asking Sir Hopkins to be the official spokesman for AutographBin.

Autograph Magazine?

I'm not a subscriber to (Autograph Collector Magazine) but maybe I should be. This magazine looks like it’s full of great autograph related stuff. Here’s what the web site lists as some of their features; 300 FREE Celebrity Autograph Addresses in every issue! (highlighted feature), In-Person and through the mail collecting experiences and tips, In-depth features on autograph subjects ranging from History to Hollywood, Music to TV and Politics to Sports, The latest news, Upcoming events and auction action, Articles by top autograph experts on fakes and forgeries, How to buy safely, How to build a collection and so much more you won’t believe it!

So maybe I should believe it. The web site has monthly articles and a few FREE addresses – it’s worth checking out.

Justifiable 2005: A Set Worth Collecting

Just Minors is about to finish production of their [Justifiable 2005] Minor League baseball set. If it is anything like last years, it should be worthy of buying. The (90) card set was excellent for through-the-mail autographs, the non-glossy surface and simple design showcased a clear, readable signature just about every time- even for those players whose signature looks like player spit some tobacco on the card. My Justifiable 2004 set is over 50% complete and I look forward to starting the 2005 set.

Justifiable 2005 includes many players from the 2005 draft. Some of the top names from the draft are Ryan Zimmerman, Jeff Clement, Jay Bruce, C.J. Henry, Colby Rasmus, Craig Hansen, Steven Drew, Kendry Morales and Atlanta 17-year old sensation Elvis Andrus.

On the Road with Pat Neshek

Ever wonder what it would be like to be a baseball player or what a player does with his free time off the diamond. We’ll, maybe you should ask Pat Neshek - actually he’ll tell you.

Pat is currently a pitcher in the Minnesota Twins farm system, he’s pretty good one too and he’s got his own webpage, why? This is what Pat says “I figured hey, why not start a webpage about my life in baseball and talk about everything that goes on in it, especially autographs.” How cool is that! He not only talks about his life in baseball, he also talks to his fans in his message board, he’ll sign autograph requests and even give away tickets to games for random autographs of one (or more!!!) signed card(s) of any current or former minor leaguer (or NHL player)...anyone!

Check out Pat’s [story] on “The Topps Contract”. Good luck Pat!

The Autograph Flap in London

We just had to post something about this news item... Apparently due to issues he's experienced with fans, Kevin Spacey has installed an "autograph flap" [full article] at the theater he is running in London. According to the article, Spacey has been overwhelmed by the support and crowds that have attending the production of "Richard II".

We applaud Spacey (and his team) for coming up with a clever invention that allows him to continue to sign and meet with fans as opposed to cancelling any interaction altogether. One question mark remains: how much interaction does "the flap" allow between Spacey and fans? How does a fan know that Spacey is actually the one signing the autograph if all they see is a hand?

It will be interesting to see if over time, more celebrities adopt similar "systems" that allow them to meet fans on some level, but have some level of security.