No autographs allowed … except this once
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jan 20, 2009 
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I told this story to a friend the other day and she suggested I post it on the blog. So here goes:
Once you become a sportswriter, it’s considered unprofessional to ask for autographs and I never have. I like my job too much to do something that could endanger it.
But Mickey Mantle wouldn’t take no for an answer.
I was 22 when I started at the Norwich Bulletin, a small paper in Connecticut that had a great sports staff at the time. It was a great place to work and I was fortunate enough to cover some interesting events.
A few years into my tenure there, I was sent to write a story on a charity dinner at the Foxwoods Resort and Casino. Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and Billy Martin were the guests of honor and they held a press conference.
There were only a few writers there and one or two television stations. We asked a few questions and when the formal part of the press conference broke up, I walked up to Mickey to ask him another few questions.
I had my notebook and pen in hand as I approached. “Excuse me, Mr. Mantle …,” I said.
Before I could get my question out, he grabbed the notebook and pen. “Sure thing, kid,” he said as he scrawled his name with those distinctive M’s. “Here you go.”
I told him I wasn’t trying to get an autograph. “Tough (crap),” he said. “You got one.”
I was tempted to throw ethics to the wind and get Whitey and Billy, too. But my conscience won out. Still, I had Mickey and that was pretty good. Drink in hand, he answered a few of my questions and we shook hands.
I tore that page out my notebook and added it to the modest collection of signatures obtained when I was a kid. I have Juan Marichal, Sparky Lyle, Paul Blair, Sen. Ted Kennedy, assorted Patriots, and the wrestler Don Muraco. I tried to get the Grand Wizard and was rebuffed.
As autograph collections go, it’s pretty lame. But having Mickey makes up for it.
Pete,
Great story! some autographs can make you feel ‘dirty’..especially if you have to pay money for one,,,autographs with ‘meaning’ and back stories or as a child,,now they mean something!
I would never pay for an autograph.
To me they only have any value to them if you have a story to go along with getting one, like this one from Pete.
Never really understood why people would shell out the kind of money they do for some autographs where they don’t even get them in person.
this is a stupid question, but did the kid, Oscar interviewed on CNN thank the Yankees for his trip to the inauguration?
just curious
“I have been reading all over other blogs and even on the Yankees website that Cash said something along the lines of Molina seeing the most pitches come ST. If this is true Posada will be a month behind and will NOT be in sync with the staff and at the plate.”
I posted this in the last thread. I have been hearing A LOT of unconfirmed buzz about Posada not being ready for P&C. If this is true it will cause the Yanks to get off to another dreaded slow start.
“I tried to get the Grand Wizard and was rebuffed.”
Senator Robert Byrd said no??? Can you tell that story too?
Ive always hated the moniker “The Grand Wizard.”
As a history major, the negative connotation that comes with it as the spiritual leader of the KKK always bothered me.
But cool story, Hansel…
There’s a picture in my house with my grandfather and a close family friend with Mickey Mantle…
from the last thread
Question that i was asked yesterday that someone might be able to answer.
Has any quarterback led two different teams to the Super Bowl let alone won with both?
There is a great story on si.com from Tom Verducci talking about how little money is left in the marketplace for the remaining free agents.
It should be required reading for everybody on here who thinks the Yankees are going to sign Manny and/or Andy Pettitte will get more than the 10 million the Yankees had on the table for him.
Lots of guys, and their agents, miscalculated the market and are paying a very expensive price for their mistake.
SoS,
Left a message in a bottle for you on the last thread.
SOS,
Craig Morton is the only QB to start for two different Super Bowl teams (Dallas and Denver). He lost both games.
I never have any good stories when it comes to meeting celebrities or athletes- I think the only marginally famous person I ever met was Ann Coulter- we had a smoke together outside of a restaurant in Spokane, WA. The only other “famous” person was the racecar driver Jackie Stewart.
My friend in high school was a bus boy at a restaurant and was taking a leak next to Larry Bird at the urinal. While pissing he tells him what a fan he is and extends his hand to shake- Bird shakes his hand and my friend realizes they’re peeing at a urinal and says, “Sorry, I haven’t washed my hand.” and Bird grabs it anyhow and says, “That’s okay, I haven’t either.”
that is awesome, pete!!
thanks for sharing the story.
Great MM story. I was lucky enough to be the floor manager at a Yonkers TV studio in the late 70s when MM, Whitey and Billy (they always seemed to travel as the three muskateers) taped four 30-second Carvel ice cream commercials. It took us eight hours! The pranks they played on Tom Carvel were classic and we had to keep re-shooting. I was 20 or 21 and in my glory, not being told until 15 minutes before that we would be shooting the commercials and hand picked to be the day’s studio floor manager. Imagine cueing Mickey and Whitey on what cameras to look into and call out the countdown and yell “cut.” And my autographs of Micky, Whitey and Billy on separate 8X10 pages from that day, enhanced with my pencil artwork depicting each of them, hang proudly in my family room — all in one frame overlooking the original Yankee Stadium.
Peter: do something nice with your collection so that they are preserved for your heirs.
Nice story..
In the late 80′s my father took me to a baseball card show in NJ where the Mick was signing. He explained to me that Mickey was his Don Mattingly. When we met him my pops froze and he made me do all the talking. I was six, and I have family from Oklahoma so he chatted with me about that for a few minutes while my father’s hand trembled on my shoulder. I will never forget that.
Thanks for sharing.
O.k. mel. Ill take it from your answer that there isnt a sneak peak of some sorts for being the first few posters. Fair enough.
I thought there might be a qb that has done it but i cant think of any. Im starting to think it hasnt been done.
Pete,
I have a similar story.
My Dad was a bank manager in the city pretty much his whole life. In the mid 80′s when I was out of elementary school on holidays, I’d go into work with him and run around the bank.
Dad and I are sitting at his desk and in walks Mickey. I had no idea who he was on sight but of course I knew the name when Dad introduced me to him.
Mickey liked my Dad and never went to the tellers. He just came up to Dad whenever he came to the bank and my Dad took care of everything for him.
I, of course, had my Yankees cap on which wasn’t really a cap, but a plastic Yankee batting helmet from a give-a-way day at the stadium with the French’s mustard logo on the back.
Mickey talked to me about the Yankees and asked me who my favorite player was (Mattingly) and tried to sign the helmet with a black marker (no silver markers at Dad’s desk) and he didn’t like the way his signature looked on the helmet so told my Dad to send someone to go find a baseball so he could sign it for me.
My Dad, who was a huge Yankee fan, was all business and never asked Mickey for an autograph in all the years he knew him at the bank and told him it wasn’t necessary. Dad felt it was unprofessional to do something like this.
So Mickey left the bank and came back 20 minutes later with a baseball which he of course signed for me and sits on my desk.
SJ,
Do you think if we over paid for our 3 big signings now that everyone else is taking pay cuts? Could we have gotten the same players for less if we waited or was it inevitable that those 3 got paid big bucks.
If Warner wins another super bowl, is he a hall of famer being that no one has won on two seperate teams?
better than my autograph collection..i have kevin smith (direct behind the jay and silent bob movies…i was 13 when i got it), jonathan davis and brian welch from the rock band “korn”, Reggie Jackson and Gary Sheffield. wahoo!
wow – a mantle autograph… that’s awesome!
Pete is there a story behind not getting the Grand Wizard’s autograph…and Don Muraco nice!!
SoS
Warner definitely a hall of famer if/not wins super bowl…he has some crazy #s over his career that support it..not to mention the cool back story of his ‘rise and fall and rise’..
Last QB to throw 2 TD’s in the 4th quarter of a Superbowl is Eli Manning.
Pete & G-Love,
I’m sooo jealous of both of you. The only autograph I got, was Pat Neshek, Twins’ set up man.
great story pete, but you actually told mantle you weren’t asking him for his autograph ? you can tell you didn’t grow up as a yankee fan.
actually, on the last day of a season, players sign balls and bats for each other all the time. i’m sure at that time , you could get a few signatures without appearing unprofessional. for instance, a mussina autograph would have been nice at the end of 2008.
i think it’s actually a sign of respect if it’s done at the rare right time. plus if a player like mussina doesn’t give it to you, just tell him there goes that hall of fame vote. just kidding.
somehow I see the Yanks and Pettitte finding a way for him to get his 10 mil and be happy or retiring. At this point, the latter wouldn’t surprise me.
SOS,
Sabathia, Burnett and Teixeira were going to get their money, even in a bad baseball economy. They were too talented, the right age, and had the right offers to get their deals done at the numbers they ended up receiving.
CC would have gotten at least 125 million from the Brewers. Perhaps more (from other teams) if the Yankees pulled out.
Burnett had an offer on the table for 80 million from the Braves. He was headed to Atlanta if the Yankees didn’t sweeten their offer.
The Red Sox went to 172 for Tex.
Its not overpaying if you hit your targets. The only people complaining that the Yankees “overpaid” for these guys are uninformed fans and media (in terms of how the business works) and owners who don’t want to pay anybody.
Free agency is about filling your needs. The Yankees did so and these three guys were never going to be bargain basement choices.
Regardless of the outcome of the Super Bowl, I think Kurt Warner cemented his HOF status just by getting the Cardinals to the Super Bowl. To go from the leading the “Greatest Show on Turf” to taking the football equivalent of the Cubs to the Super Bowl, along with his great numbers, I think he has done enough to get in.
Autographs are not my thing. I think memories of the game or the stories are cooler than the actual piece of memorabilia.
I got the ‘pirate parrot’ autograph in pgh the year the cocaine scandal came out, the Parrot evidently was the dealer to billy madlock and others?!
ahhh yes, the pre steroid era…good ol’ days?!
Great story.
I had a similar situation before. I was working at film set and TV station as assistant director and production assistant. It is certainly a unprofessional behavior if I ask for autograph to any celebrity.
I almost do that once when I had a chance to meet one of my childhood idols.
Autographs are so strange. People actually pay tons of money for a guy’s name. Strange.
SJ: Timing is everything. The free agents picked a bad year to be free agents.
Ed,
What was kind of was lame was that I didn’t really know who he was at that time. I was little. I just knew his name like I knew Dimaggio and Ruth, etc.
I was way more into Mattingly and I think Mickey got a kick out of the fact that I wasn’t too impressed with him after asking him if he really knew Don Mattingly.
I still have the batting helmet he signed, but of course like an idiot I wore it all the time and the signature wiped off eventually.
Verducci’s column talks today about Pettitte mulling an offer for less than 10 million from Houston. If that’s true, then its safe to say Andy had two numbers in mind to play this year. One from the Yankees and one from everybody else.
Meaning, what he said last year (if Verducci’s source is correct) about only wanting to play for the Yankees, wasn’t exactly honest.
As I have said over and over in this saga, Andy overplayed his hand. He should have taken the 10 million from the Yankees and he could have finished his career, and regained some of his honor, in the process.
Now, the 10 million isn’t in the marketplace, his ego has gotten the better of him, and he may take less money from Houston just to hang on for a paycheck.
Hard to understand his thinking if that’s the course of action he eventually takes.
G Love,
LOL…it happens. you were young and didnt know what was “autograph”. I once wore my brother’s autographed jeresey (it was Wade Boggs) when I was 10, he had my behind whooped when I got home.. Then I knew autographs are precious.
“Lots of guys, and their agents, miscalculated the market and are paying a very expensive price for their mistake.”
I think you are reading too much into Verducci’s article. I suspect every year too many free agents are chasing too few spots, but it always sounds worse than it is because a number of those free agents are over the hill.
I notice all of Verducci’s sources are management.
Name me five true free agents so far who have signed for less than expected.
If Andy takes less money to play for Houston because the Yanks wouldn’t budge from $10MM, that’s nobody but Andy’s business, but IMO, and assuming Andy would have negotiated down from $16MM, the Yanks will have been penny wise and pound foolish, and will have made a big mistake.
The absolute funniest is when Bonds was charging people 200 bucks for his signature and over 500 for a personalized message. What a buffoon I hope MLB wises up and renames Hank Aaron as the HR King.
Back when the NY Giants used to practice over at Farleigh Dickinson University in Madison, my parents would take the whole family to watch. I guess it was in ’86, and I was maybe 11.
At the end of the day my brother and I would just kind of hang out in the parking lot and wait to see if any of the players came out. Harry Carson was extremely nice, Jim Burt, Leonard Marshall, were great too. I remember leaning against a purple Porsche 911 when Lawrence Taylor walks up and asks if I want my ball signed. I almost had a heart attack. Then he got into the purple Porsche and took off.
The old days, when players didn’t charge for those things, were great. By the end of the ’86 season I had every single player on that team and never paid a dime.
Rebecca,
Absolutely. What’s interesting though is, we got a clue as to what was to come in the marketplace when Cashman didn’t offer Abreu arbitration.
The kneejerk reaction from many was that Cashman was “crazy”.
Time now proves his take on the market was accurate. He knew Abreu wanted to stay with the Yankees and would have accepted arbitration. Abreu was telling his friends the Yankees were where he wanted to finish his career.
Cashman saw that offering Abreu arbitration, which would have put Abreu’s number at about 17 million, would have limited his off-season (namely Tex) options. It also would have been much more than Bobby would have gotten as a FA.
He also knew he would take a lot of heat for not losing the draft pick. Especially off the Cole fiasco of last year. Yet, he did it and it worked out.
He accurately gauged the market, got Teixeira, and still had the payroll under what it was in 2008.
Cashman’s detractors will never give him credit for this move. Yet, that move is a big reason, perhaps THE reason, they got Teixeira.
Hard to quibble with exchanging Abreu for Teixeira. Bobby is still a good offensive player. His defensive has decayed badly.
Teixeira is a cornerstone player. That’s a swap you make anytime, IMO.
I got Joe Namath’s aoutograph when I was 9 or 10. He was renting a house near ours while he was doing the play “Damn Yankees” at the Jones Beach theatre. My friend and I ambushed him as he left the house for the limo to take him to the theatre. He was very nice, thankfully he didn’t go Suzy Kolber on us!
“”Al from BK
January 20th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
The absolute funniest is when Bonds was charging people 200 bucks for his signature and over 500 for a personalized message. What a buffoon I hope MLB wises up and renames Hank Aaron as the HR King.”"
I agree,,,how they will ever ‘officially’ NOT recognize Bonds is beyond me, but it is a travesty to the record book…if the HOF can ‘ignore’ Mcgwire et al, its ashame they cant ignore Bonds more than they have…maybe an indictment will be the genesis of the asterisk…
I pride myself with my autograph collection, the best thing is.. I’ve gotten all of them myself..
Yankees
Mariano(Ball w. Wang)
Wang
Edwar(Ball)
Melky(Bat)
Giants
Osi(Authentic Jersey)
Feagles
Tuck
Toomer
Burress
Manning
Jacobs
Diehl
Snee
O’hara
McKenzie
Smith
Robbins
Pierce
Webster
Ward
Bradshaw
Deossie
Blackburn
Moss
Kiwanuka
Madison
and a friend of the family got me Bob Gibson on a ball
and my dads got a Mantle ball.
I actually have one of Jacobs gloves, and one of plaxico’s towels signed that they wear on the front of their pants in the game
Rob Neyer makes an excellent point that Posada could be on the outs as a catcher. So the question is – should the Yanks go all out and get a Miguel Montero/Salty or other replacement *starting* catcher? Sounds good to me. I’d really rather not go the “wait and see” route about Posada’s shoulder.
Who’s to say Abreu wouldn’t have turned down the Yanks’ arbitration offer, as Varitek turned down Boston? Only Abreu and his agent.
Cashman didn’t offer Abreu arbitration because he wanted Tex all along and couldn’t afford to take the chance that Abreu would say yes.
Very different from “accurately gauging the market”. That, we can’t know.
A colleague here in Austin this summer told me Jeter was in a Starbucks on the corner with the chick from Friday Night Lights he was/is? dating. So I went with a ball I had in my car (from my adult league baseball game) and a Sharpie. Walked in and right up to them, fumbled out some words about being a big fan and appreciating the way he treats the game and asked for an autograph. Thanked him and left. He was real nice.
Felt like a total fool for days. Wish I had never bothered him. The autograph doesn’t really mean much to me, just a name on a ball.
Now I am a huge Yankees fan. I have probably watched 85 percent of the Yankees innings since 1982. I just feel like I don’t need to know these guys or have an autograph — I just want to watch them play.
My Mickey Mantle story-
I used to work for a company in the hardware industry and Mickey Mantle was hired to do a promotional appearance at a hardware trade show in Chicago. He would hang out in the booth and autograph pictures for the show attendees. Around lunch time it got really quiet in the convention center and I got a chance to speak with him. I told him my Dad was a big fan and we talked about a friend of my Dad’s who worked for the Yankees whose name was also Mickey who had told us stories about the players all the time. He gave me a picture personalized to my dad that said any friend of Mickey R. is a friend of Mickey M. and signed his name. My boss said I shouldn’t have let him personalize it because it is worth less as if my dad would ever try to sell it. Don’t know what I was thinking at the time but never thought to get one for myself.
jd- The saddest thing is that Bonds was a HOF’er before the PED’s which I suspect started in the late 90′s. Bonds already had over 400 HR’s and was an all-world player now his image is a greedy, cheat with a toxic personality.
g. love-
how much do you want for that ball? great story.
i’d rather have a signed mantle ball, but i have one that i like. even though he grew up in maine, my father is a die hard yankee fan doing back to the time of ruth and also a die hard notre dame football fan.
during my bullpen catching days, i was stretching on the outfield grass with stan and stu cliburn( now the twins triple a manager and pitching coach) when this african american player from the opposing team comes jogging along the warning track up to us.
it turns out it’s anthony davis the heisman trophy winner from usc. he’s working out with the other team. i tell him that he sure wrecked a lot of my father’s usc/notre dame games.
he asks me for a ball and taking a few moments writes something on it and flips it back to me with a smile saying give this to your dad.
it was signed :
anthony davis
1972-6 vs.N.D.
1973-1 vs. N.D.
1974-4 vs. N.D
stan , stu and i all cracked up when we read it as did my father when i gave it to him.
Fuggedit
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn.....=Neyer_Rob
Joe Buck said it best, “That was a HOF drive by Kurt Warner” (on the game winning drive).
Re: autographs. It’s cool if you’re a kid, but nowadays e-bay’s ruined it for everyone. Stars (the paranoid ones anyway) are so jaded it doesn’t mean as much as it used to.
If I see a star in person, I don’t get to worked up about it. I wouldn’t approach them because I’m sure they value their privacy as much as I value mine. I often have my kids with me and will point out famous people if we see them, but I don’t send them over to get autographs.
I got Joe Namath’s autograph when I was about 9 or 10. He was renting a house near ours while he was in a musical play at Jones Beach theatre. My friend and I ambushed him as he left the house to get in the limo taking him to the theatre. He was very nice, even spoke with us for a few minutes. Luckily, he didn’t go Suzy Kolber on us!
Wave,
How would the Yankees be “penny wise and pound foolish” if Pettitte signs for 20% less than what the Yankees offered?
How would it make any sense for any team, let alone the Yankees, to pay any player more money than their highest offer? That makes no sense.
You have said over and over Andy was going to get offers exceeding 10 million dollars. Now that it doesn’t seem to be the case, its not “anybody’s but Andy’s business” if he accepts less than 10 million? Come on, that’s a weak argument.
Pat Burrell made 14 million dollars last year, the last year of a 4 year, 56 million dollar contract. He helped the Phillies win a World Series and he now signed a 2 year deal for 8 million a year. That’s one example of a FA signing for MUCH less money than expected in the marketplace.
Jason Varitek and Bobby Abreu will be two more guys that will sign for much less than their original asking prices. That’s 3.
If you want to throw Ben Sheets in there when he signs, that’s going to be four.
When was the last time so many guys, many of them still productive players, still looking for work this late into January? It hasn’t been like this for years.
Its one thing to be a contrarian. Its another to be completely blind as to what’s happening in the marketplace.
Your problem in this entire discussion has been that you are so into Pettitte, and want to see him back in NY at any price, you are blind to what’s happening in the marketplace.
If he signs with another team for less than 10 million dollars, that’s on him, not the Yankees.
“”Al from BK
January 20th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
jd- The saddest thing is that Bonds was a HOF’er before the PED’s which I suspect started in the late 90’s. Bonds already had over 400 HR’s and was an all-world player now his image is a greedy, cheat with a toxic personality.”"
Great point…i grew up during his ARROGANT pgh years..so i am biased..
CORRECTION…it was incorrectly reported as Byrd,,it was Teddy Kennedy who had a massive seizure evidently..
SJ:
It’s kind of funny that Cashman has so many detractors…if he was really that bad, he wouldn’t still have his job after ten years!
The Yankees are lucky that baseball is the primary Steinbrenner business, so they don’t have to worry about their owners’ businesses getting into hot water, like the Cubs (who are going to be sold), and they can still afford to spend more that most other teams.
Manny Ramirez will likely be number 5. At least in years, if not yearly salary.
I can’t remember a year where this many potentially productive players are out of work this late. Many of them-Abreu, Dunn, and others aren’t even rumored to be talking with anybody!
“Joe Buck said it best, “That was a HOF drive by Kurt Warner” (on the game winning drive).”
If Joe Buck said it, then I cannot agree.
Vin,,
joe buck hater?
why?
Although I’m not one for autograph hoarding my uncle has just about every Yankees autograph from the mid 70′s til now. Even though its not my cup of tea I do admit its cool seeing the memorabilia hanging up in his sports room. Heres the names starting with the earliest: Bobby Murcer(his first), Graig Nettles, Reggie Jackson, Lou Piniella, Dave Winfield, Willie Randolph, Thurman Munson, Mike Torrez, Sparky Lyle, Goose Gossage, Dave Righetti, Don Mattingly, Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, David Cone, David Wells, Roger Clemens, El Duque, Mariano Rivera, John Wetteland, Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, Alfonso Soriano, Joe Torre, Scott Brosius, Paul O’Neill, Joe Girardi, A-Rod, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada, Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu. Thats it for now but I’m sure he’ll be in Tampa getting Sabathia, Burnett and Tex sometime next month, as you can see he has no problem getting them since hes retired in Florida(must be nice)
With all due respect, even though he offered it voluntarily it was still unprofessional to accept the autograph.
Therefore, I demand that you immediately mail it to me for safe keeping!
Seriously, nice story, Pete.
I have to say, I’m not a big autograph person, though I have a few.
The best experience I’ve had was meeting Brooks Robinson…he has to be most of the most gracious and classy persons I have ever dealt with. His autograph, alongside a handful of Yankees including a Joe D, proudly stands on my desk at home.
A friend of mine went to CES (cosumer electronics show) here in Vegas a couple weeks ago and scored me a Joba autographed card and an David Ortiz autographed ball. He’s not much of a baseball fan, but he knows enough to know that I’d love one and loathe the other. Appreciated it anyway.
Wave,
Why is it so hard for you to give Cashman any credit? To say, “only Abreu and his agent would know if he would have accepted arbitration” simply isn’t true.
More than one beat writer, Pete and Kepner immediately come to mind, wrote about how Abreu would accept arbitration if offered by the Yankees.
It was widely discussed throughout the industry that he would have accepted it. This isn’t “news”. In fact, up until the time he wasn’t offered it, it was assumed that his acceptance of arbitration was a mere formality.
I think one of problems I have with Cashman detractors is they never give the guy credit for anything. Its always something else, other than his decisionmaking, on issues that are favorable to the Yankees. If something goes wrong? He’s the worst person on the planet.
Many of us who are supportive of him have no problems discussing his misses. Why is that?
The basis for any logical debate is to be able to see both sides of an issue. Unfortunately, when it comes to Cashman, its either black or white. I will never understand it.
“You have said over and over Andy was going to get offers exceeding 10 million dollars. Now that it doesn’t seem to be the case, its not “anybody’s but Andy’s business” if he accepts less than 10 million? Come on, that’s a weak argument.”
Just to be clear, I still think Andy will sign with the Yanks and will sign for more than $10MM.
In my opinion, Andy is worth more than $10MM to the Yanks because of the advantages he brings that no other starter left on the free agent market will bring.
So if the Yanks hold to their ceiling and let Andy walk because they wouldn’t go to $11MM to $13MM, the Yanks will be the loser. They will have been penny wise and pound foolish.
I know nothing about Andy’s personal finances, but at the end of the day the Yanks need to win more than Andy needs the money.
So let me repeat, I still believe Andy will sign with the Yanks, and for more than $10MM. But if the Yanks do lose him, the Yanks will have made a big mistake.
Randy,
As you can guess, it’s not for sale, lol.
There was a time in early 90′s when I was selling a lot of my baseball cards and stuff and I considered seeing what I could get for the Mantle ball, but it was a fleeting thought.
The only thing I’m pissed I didn’t sell was the 50 McGwire Topps US Olympic Team cards I still have. That was considered his true rookie card and at one point I must have had close to 100 of them. I was an avid collector as a kid.
They were like a savings account. I used to sell one whenever I needed cash in college and they were constantly going up until he his stellar appearance in DC.
Now I use them as coasters.
Cashman never gets the benefit of having foresight.
…its all considered dumb luck if it works for him.
and its considered ignorance on his part ,if it doesnt work…
over analyze anyone to the degree they have him and anyone would be crucified…
all part of the ‘glory’ of a high profile position…
Abreu is still jobless because he doesn’t fill 2 important criteria of today’s game. Youth and defense.
I don’t know enough about Dunn to make a definitive statement, but I suspect his strikeout rates and glove leave a lot to be desired.
Nothing wrong with Joe Buck. McGarver’s the one I can’t stand. Buck Martinez gets on my nerves with that voice. Joe Morgan’s a reverse racist. I kind of like Jon Miller, though.
“The Rock” Don Muraco…nice.
SJ44-
I am not a Cashman detractor. I don’t always agree with him, but I was in favor of the Yanks’ re-signing him and posted comments saying so.
At the time, it was not clear the Yanks were in the hunt for Tex, and I did criticize Cashman for not offering Bobby arbitration. I thought, and still think, Bobby wouldn’t have accepted it because at the time he thought he was in for a bigger payday.
But I do not criticize Cashman for his decision not to offer Bobby arbitration, because, since Cashman presumably knew all along he wanted to land Tex, the risk of losing Tex because Bobby accepted arbitration was greater than the possible benefit from the draft choices.
I think that makes more sense than granting Cashman Nostradamus-like powers.
The autographs I have: Jose Molina, Mariano Rivera, Phil Hughes, David Cone, Yogi Berra, and then I have an edition of the Yankees Encyclopedia that’s signed by like twenty different Yankees, including Phil Rizzuto, Bobby Murcer and others.
I also have a Matt LaPorta signed bat. Yay recession for letting me get it cheap!
I would take Abreu back on a one year deal in a heartbeat to hit in front of Arod. Move Tex into the five hole, Matsui, Posada, etc.
I have Scotty’s autograph from Star Trek, yay geek!
Nady news..
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
BroNeill,
I forgot to add that contract demands (multi-yr. deal) are probably part of Abreu’s present situation.
jon millers a great announcer, O’s screwed up as usual when they let him go……
though jim palmer is annoying . he’s a great unbiased announcer for the Os,,hes not afraid to call a spade a spade..
“Abreu is still jobless because he doesn’t fill 2 important criteria of today’s game. Youth and defense.”
That is true, but the point is that most years it doesn’t matter. If a player is even a minor name with some decent years left, he would have been snapped up long before now. In most years, the faults of players are overlooked in the race to throw money at a name to satisfy the fanbase. This year, teams are being more responsible in offers to players who can help in more than a one-dimensional fashion.
“If Joe Buck said it, then I cannot agree.”
lol
IMO, Joe Buck is the worst… i can’t stand him.
M
Abreu is going to be on the unemployment line with those demands.
I’m waiting for Joe Buck’s head to open up, and an alien pop out, like Men in Black.
How is knowing the market “nostradamus-like” powers?
Could it be that he and his staff did the research necessary to conclude, as has been shown in numerous examples in this thread, that the market wouldn’t be there for Abreu?
Knowing the market isn’t being “nostradamus”. Its doing your job.
Do you think Andy Pettitte is the only pitcher in baseball who can fill a role with the Yankees this year? If you do, then you pay him what may be 50% more than the next best offer in the marketplace. It would be dumb to do so but, you do it.
I don’t think he’s the only guy to fill that role. I also don’t think the pitching staff will go down the tubes if they don’t sign him.
In other words, the season will not rise or fall based on Andy Pettitte.
If he accepts a lesser deal to play somewhere else, its clear he wasn’t being honest about wanting to finish his career in NY.
Its certainly his choice to change his mind. However, in doing so, he just puts another question mark around what he says and what he does and that’s why a lot of people won’t believe what he has to say about it.
The Yankees have been more than fair with Andy Pettitte. Not giving him a blank check, or bidding against themselves, isn’t being unfair to him. Its making a smart baseball decision, based on what’s happening in the marketplace.
um, Wave, before the season ended I read in more than one place that Abreu would likely accept arbitration if offered and that his first choice was to remain with the Yankees. The fact that we got Tex was a happy result, but Cashman clearly didn’t want to risk Abreu accepting arbitration regardless. It was a great move. To suggest that Abreu probably would have turned it down or that ‘we just don’t know’ isn’t a strong argument.
Great story Pete!
It’s silly. Just get autographs.
dumb question…
do we know for SURE andy told the yanks to pound salt on the 10 million?
so much BS generated by both parties im too cynical to believe anything till the the fat lady sings…(yanks arent getting tex)..
though i guess the PR machine as it is, being so negative, he should issue some formal statement during negotiations to save face?,,,cause hes gonna lookk like an arse …
or im sure its ‘negotiation 101′ NOT to comment directly until outcome is determined…good drama if nothing else..
SJ44-
Look, I’m sure the Yanks’ front office have researched this year’s market a lot. I’m sure the Red Sox’ front office researched the market a lot.
They offered Varitek arbitration, and my guess is at the time they were pretty sure Varitek wouldn’t get what he was demanding on the open market. But they offered him arbitration anyway, maybe because they thought he would turn it down, maybe because they needed a catcher anyway. But they were prepared to pay Jason an arbitration-determined salary, and they got the draft picks.
The Yanks didn’t offer Abreu arbitration. They were similarly placed to the Red Sox’ position on Varitek in all respects except that the Yanks wanted someone else, namely Tex.
So the Yanks were not willing to risk the arbitration offer. That’s good business, and you don’t need to take the further step of believing Cashman saw everything coming down the way it did. Maybe he did, but Occam’s Razor says you don’t need to go that far in your explanation.
With respect to Andy, you have decided he’s not worth $10MM and the Yanks are generous to offer him $10MM. That’s your judgment, but it isn’t a “fact”.
IMO, if his threat not to play for the Yanks is real, then the Yanks would not be stupid to outbid themselves. He’s worth more than $10MM to them.
Name me another free agent pitcher that meets the Yanks’ needs as much as Andy. We have been through them all on this blog, and none of them gives the Yanks what Andy does.
If Cashman is as smart as you say he is, which he may be for all I know, he knows this. That’s why I think the deal will yet get done.
“Dave, Let. It. Go. With each dissertation, you are showing what you don’t know, rather than what you do know, about the game and how it operates.”
SJ,
When you dont say why you think this or what you disagree with and why that tells me you are just saying this just to disagree. And dont pretend I am the only one in here who thinks the yanks need another starter – i was just explaining why they do. And I have not repeated that info over and over again. This was one of my first posts in which I discussed why we should just give pettitte the extra money or add incentives or at least get back to the negotiating table. This post exemplifies everything i dont like about some of the posts in here – it portrays arrogance, superiority on your part and a lack of intelligence on mine without giving any opinion or point of view or support to back up that opinion. Great – so thanks for disagreeing with me without saying what you actually believe or even why you disagree with my post. Any one can say – that post was dumb or you dont know what you are talking about but it takes a little more thought to explain yourself or better yet, give your own thoughts on the subject. No insight, no point of view, no thought just knocking my post while adding nothing to a potential conversation. Dont disrespect me or if you want to knock me, how about putting a little thought into it? I certainly took some time and effort to write my post. You can have the courtesy to do the same or at least be respectful of others opinions if you have nothing of your own to tell me.
“To suggest that Abreu probably would have turned it down or that ‘we just don’t know’ isn’t a strong argument.”
Nick in SF-
I’m not arguing that Cashman was incorrect in refusing to offer Abreu arbitration. Given that they wanted to sign Tex, IMO Cashman was correct. I don’t know how to be clearer than that.
My point was that none of us know what Abreu would have done had arbitration been offered. Abreu or his agent surely never called Cashman or a reporter and said I’ll accept if offered. So we all treat as “fact” something that is not a fact.
And a little newsflash for SJ and all the other posters who think they are better than everybody else for some reason – just because you disagree with someone else’s oponion does not make them wrong and you right or them dumb and you brilliant. In case you have noticed, there often is NOT one single correct answer in the game of baseball.
wave your hat,
You are absolutely correct- there are ppl in here who would have you believe abreu called up cashman and told him i would accept arbitration if offered. I really doubt that happened esp if bobby knew the yanks wanted him gone. And just like we did not know what the market was going to be like and many other players had no idea that the market was going to be this bad esp for corner outfielders, i seriously doubt abreu knew what how bad the market would be for him.
Just because he is not getting any decent offers now, does not mean he would have accepted arbitration in a heartbeat if offered. Sheets even turned down 14 mil in arbitration – you dont think bobby may have turned down 17 mil for one year with a clean bill of health? Hindsight is 20-20 but bobby could not predict the future – i think it is perfectly reasonable to think he may have decline arbitration if offered.
Wave,
The Varitek and Abreu situations are not remotely similar.
Varitek declined badly last year. He is less of a player than Abreu is at this point in their respective careers.
Bobby Abreu is at least a productive offensive player. Jason Varitek is not.
Despite that, both guys are still looking for work. That’s judging the market properly. You may not believe it but, its not blind luck with guys like Theo and Cash. They have a full staff of researchers, as well as their own abilities to judge the marketplace. Whether you believe it or not is immaterial.
None of these guys make decisions in vacuums. They really do know what they are doing.
Dave,
I have gone chapter and verse, as have others, with you on numerous issues. Most notably Ben Sheets. You choose to reject any opinions that differ from your own. That’s your right.
There actually many “right” answers in baseball. You may choose to reject them, you often do, but there are “right” answers all throughout the game.
It has nothing to do with anybody thinking they are “better” than anyone here. That’s never the case.
You just can’t keep beating a dead horse. If you do, folks are going to comment on it.
That is a good story Pete, if anything else at least you have the Micks autograph. I think my one good autograph I have is probably Joba Chamberlain, i am more interested in meeting them then the autograph itself. I met him right before he came up with the Yanks down in Trenton. He was a great guy and I will never forget meeting him. I think getting these guys when they are in the minors is the best way to go. On a funny note, i could of had Kei Igawas autograph in Scraton last year and didn’t want it, one girl got it and everyone else ignored him including me, it was so funny.
Admit it Pete, you DID ask for his autograph! Time to come clean! Just kidding. Pete, that would of made an excellent guest writer blog story.
I won an autographed baseball signed by about 11 of the 1962 cardinals for hitting the first homerun at a brandnew pony league field. (1st year after little league) Weird thing was just before game time I went to get a cold drink and heard the umpires telling the two coaches there would be a prized autographed ball for the first homerun, if it happened. It did.. Yay me.. lol
Cool story Pete, but I have to correct you on facts that I think you’ve gotten confused. I was at that fund raiser too(working it in fact), but it wasn’t at Foxwoods, couldn’t have been since Billy died in ’89 and Foxwoods opened in ’92. It was at the Groton Motor Inn and the benefit was for cancer, called the Southeastern Connecticut Sports Foundation dinner. Another former Yankee was present and was the main reason for it, John Ellis. My lasting memories from that event (was 16-17 at the time) was Billy Martin introducing himself to me and Mickey Mantle being so sauced getting out of the limo he needed help getting out.
Funny story Pete. Enjoyed it.
My most famous autograph was Joe D. at the SFO airport in the summer of 1969. I was just a kid and my legs had to motor to catch up with him as he sped on by. Thankfully, Mr. Coffee obliged and signed in mid stride.
Great story Pete. My cherished memorabilia is a signed Mickey Mantle baseball.
My best autograph would definatly be Derek Jeter I recieved at a game in toronto when I was 9. I have since gotten autographs from many players including one day at braves spring training when I recieved 22. Once Gary Sheffield stopped in his car to sign autographs for fans that was cool. alot of players dont like to sign anymore but i really cant blame them when a guy goes there with a dozen baseballs that is just stupid. I even witnessed a guy who followed Matsui to a restruant after he left the minor league complex in Tampa. I bet more players would sign if fans showed more respect.
If only all Klansmen were like Sen. Byrd.
Pictures > Autographs.
I met George Clooney, and didn’t even bother asking for an autograph once the pictures were done. The only autographs I have are David Dellucci, Diane Sawyer (yeah, I know..), Jeff Gordon, and a bunch of other NASCAR drivers.
Pete,
Thanks for sharing the story. I live in Norwich and work just around the corner from the Bulletin. It’s a great paper in a great community.