SoCal Autograph Odysses

 I picked this beauty up on Ebay the other day.  A Panini Flawless Signatures Clayton Kershaw numbered to 25. This is my second signed Kershaw item, the first being the signed Major League Baseball with his Triple Crown inscription from 2011.  I ordered that ball from a public signing Clayton did in Houston in 2012 at the Tristar show.  That purchase ended up being a shrewd move, as this card nine years later cost me about the same to buy now as that ball did then.   To rehash from an older post, here is the Kershaw ball I am speaking of;

 This past weekend I was surprised to open the mail and find a package from the offices of Major League Baseball.  I had sent a letter of request to the commissioner of baseball Rob Manfred back in May, so after some time I stopped expecting to get this one back.  I realize he isn't exactly the most popular figure in sports with a lot of the decisions recently making controversial changes to the game, but I still think it's quite a significant add.  There aren't many commissioners over the history of the sport, and most if not all end up in their corresponding halls of fame.  

 Most of the signed cards I've been posting on this blog are relatively cheap, or acquired through the mail for free (or a small donation).  This one was not, but I see it more as an investment because I do think this kid is on the path to stardom and any memorabilia of his is only going to escalate to Mike Trout territory.  Trout signed cards can't be had without shelling at least a few hundred dollars, and that is extreme low end and lucky if you find it at that level.  

 As people who follow this blog know, I am a member of some Facebrook groups that specialize in different areas of the autograph game.  One of the groups is called Autographs 101, and I have been seeing some people posting in that group that they have been having some success in finding signed books at places like Goodwill or the DAV.  I was driving by one the other day, and for the first time in my life I stepped foot into one of the stores.  It was moderately successful, as I found a hard copy book of Origin, which is the recent book in the Davinci Code, signed by author Dan Brown.  The price point for these signed books by Mr. Brown are all over the place but apparently he's only had a few signing events in the US in his life, so it's not like he is a super common auto.  Either way, I paid the $2 for the book and brought it home.  I am not entirely sure what my plan is, as I don't really collect signed books.  You can't really display them....

 The second card I received as part of my last post is a Fleer card signed by Bobby Abreu in blue sharpie.  Both this card and the Todd Helton cost me less than $10 a piece.