Ripken Jr. Autographs: Best, Most Reasonable

Cal Ripken Jr. was the quintessential professional baseball player. Calm, reasonable, and always approachable, it is plain to see why Ripken Jr. was and always will be a fan favorite. As a result, Ripken autographs are highly coveted.

Many active MLB All-Stars sign hundreds, if not thousands  of autographs per year. Retired legends such as Ripken Jr. are in a special class, as they are surrounded by a crowd virtually every time they are seen in public, often leading to a mini-frenzy, which the seasoned Hall-of-Famer is more than prepared to handle.

Amongst the throngs of random fans swarming upon Ripken Jr. on any given day, many are simply looking to have a baseball signed.

There is no way to calculate what percentage of those autograph seekers are going to quickly turn a profit on ebay or a variety of other websites, but Ripken often obliges everyone, keeping a safe personal distance from the fans, but all the while being engaging and caring to the specific requests of the fan. On one particular occasion outside of an airport, Ripken was approached by an autograph-seeker with two pens in hand. “Which one do you want me to use- the black or the blue?” Ripken asked. After a bit of deliberation and giggling, the fan requested he use the blue pen.  He’ll blow on an item in which the Sharpie marker or pen ink is still wet.

Ripken Jr. is asked to sign a wide array of baseball and non-baseball related items.

He has been asked to sign basketballs, hockey sticks, guitars, and even toasters. Ripken signs baseballs about half of the time, but he also signs a high number of jerseys, posters, baseball cards, baseball bats, hats, and portraits. The most popular and coveted Ripken Jr. photos involve the record breaking day of September 6, 1995, on which Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig’s record of consecutive games played, which had lasted almost 60 years.

Two of the more popular items are the Cal Ripken baseballs that were created to honor the streak and his career.  The #8 baseballs were designed to commemorate the streak and were used in the record-tying and record-breaking games at Camden Yards.  You can get the exact same ball.   The “farewell” designed Ripken balls were used in his last game in 2001.  Both are  great  to add to any collection and are available directly from ProSportsMemorabilia.com.

Attaining Cal Ripken Jr. photographed merchandise is easy to do in the era of modern technology. You might be a bit surprised about the availability and affordability of many of the offerings given that Ripken Jr. is among the all-time greats of Major League Baseball. There are a number of reasons for this, the primary being the overwhelming availability of the retired star, who often obliges a crowd of autograph-seekers several times on any given day.

He’s also made a number of autograph show appearances and signed as part of memorabilia deals he’s put together to make his signature readily available.

Another reason for the price of Ripken autographs remaining low is the fact that he represents the prototypical blue-collar worker, a guy who went out and did his job every day before he went home to his family. Everyone can respect and admire that. Thusly, investing in and collecting merchandise signed by the great Cal Ripken Jr. is always a sound investment.

About Upper Deck Authentication

Very few sports memorabilia manufacturers have centered their industry focus around authenticity like Upper Deck Authenticated.

In fact, authenticity has been a major factor in the Upper Deck process since it first appeared in the sports collector world with their famous inaugural baseball card set 1989. Despite being relatively new, Upper Deck has managed to be quite innovative and often a field leader in the authentication of sports memorabilia.  Plus UDA takes pride in providing a constant guarantee for collectors of autographed sports memorabilia.

Upper Deck provides a five step process for authentication of its sports memorabilia and they stick to it.  Upper Deck uses a very technical printing technology which adds a trademark hologram to the cards. That means an Upper Deck Authenticated piece of memorabilia or trading card is virtually impossible to counterfeit. In other words, Upper Deck has somewhat set the industry standard on authenticity.

The five step authenticity process developed in 1992 includes one feature that will give great comfort to sports memorabilia collectors. Each autograph has to be witnessed by an Upper Deck representative. This guarantee is one of the many reasons Upper Deck Authentication is considered by many sports memorabilia analysts to be top of the line. When you are purchasing an item for a high price, it’s only safe to say that you want to be absolutely confident in that investment. Upper Deck Authentication provides that and more.

The Upper Deck five step authentication process includes a witnessed signing, an authenticated serial number hologram, a certificate of authenticity and a registration card. These simple but often necessary steps provide the safety of mind for consumers that their product is 100% legitimate.

Upper Deck Authentication also has a database where collectors can register their memorabilia. The Hologram Data Center allows prospective buyers to enter a Hologram number to see if it corresponds with the correct registration number. This will give the consumer accurate knowledge if the product they are interested in is actually authentic.

Upper Deck also has signed major sports athletes to the brand. Can you imagine a who’s who list of premium athltes like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Ken Griffey Jr? Those are just a few of the names accompanying the Upper Deck brand.  Knowing one of these top tier athletes with staying power is on board only continues to add value to the Upper Deck brand.

The value continues to increase with a very reliable authentication process.

You can find dozens of high quality autographed items carrying the Upper Deck Authentication guarantee through the links in the upper right portion of the pages here at Diamond Autographs.

Most Popular Sports Autographs

The most popular sports autographs will generally be the hardest to come by, and if you are purchasing them, they will probably be the most expensive.

The top athletes list includes a few dozen names from every sport, including baseball, basketball, football, hockey, boxing, NASCAR and golf. Many vendors of sports autographs may also carry NCAA memorabilia that has been signed, as well.

When looking for MLB autographs, you can choose from well-known names, like Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth, to name just a few. Bats, balls, photographs and jerseys are especially collectible, and you will want to be sure that all your potential purchases are authenticated before you decide to buy them.

One of the most popular sports autographs ever is that of Babe Ruth. He signed many autographs in his short life. He was well-known for not turning many autograph seekers down, and he sometimes signed hundreds each day. Babe Ruth is truly an icon in sports, which is why his autographs command so much money. Supply simply doesn’t match demand. Unfortunately for collectors, there are forgeries of Babe Ruth’s autograph available as well, so you will always want to buy a Ruth autograph authenticated by a company like PSA/DNA or James Spence Authentication.

As a rule, autographs of New York Yankees stars, past and present, are popular collectibles. They have a fan base from all over the world, and some of the game’s greatest players have worn Yankee pinstripes. Not only Babe Ruth, but Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio are highly sought after sports autographs. Many former stars have actually signed more autographs since their retirement, than they did when they played.

Nolan Ryan autographs are still sought-after, since he is quite popular among MLB fans. He had a very large fan base, and a fan-friendly attitude, so he was easier than some stars to approach for signatures. Ryan feels that signing a lot of autographs means the value of his signature will stay low enough to stop forgers.

Perhaps few autographs are more treasured than those of Mickey Mantle. He was always very popular, and he had inexpensive signings when he first started signing with memorabilia companies and at card shows, although some fans still complained, at the time.

Whatever sports autographs you collect; photos, bats, balls or jerseys, be sure to buy those with a COA such as those we’ve brought you here via eBay and Amazon.com.