Journeyman Jersey Collecting / Mike Zagurski Appreciation Post

I have a problem. I have a large collection Mike Zagurski jerseys. I should be in the Guinness Book of Records for it.

Who is Mike Zagurski you ask. Well, he was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2005 as a lefty reliever. He’s had a few stints with the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Pirates, and Yankees. Last season, he was in Japan, playing for the Hiroshima Carp.

This is the first jersey I ordered off of MLB.com. It is a replica cream color jersey.  Majestic Athletic, the official jersey manufacturer of MLB, doesn’t produce jerseys like this anymore. It made of thick polyester and the lettering doesn’t match what the authentic Phillies jersey has. If you buy a replica jersey now the lettering matches the on field jersey and it is Cool Base jersey, which is a light fabric that breathes easy.

This is an authentic road Phillies jersey that I got customized on MLB.com. It has the Mike’s number on the left sleeve and the 2008 World Series patch on the right sleeve. He wasn’t on the World Series team but I could save money by getting  a patched customized jersey instead of an unpatched jersey. MLB will put World Series jerseys on clearance usually after the following season.

This is a Pittsburgh Pirates Crosstown jersey that Majestic Athletic was selling a few years ago for a lot different teams. This was also purchased and customized on MLB.com.  For less than a hundred dollars, it looks pretty good. The lettering looks authentic and it looks and fits better than the replica Phillies jersey.

This is authentic game issued road Pittsburgh Pirates jersey I bought off of eBay for one hundred dollars. You might have noticed that the numbers don’t match. Mike wore the number 57 for the Pirates. I don't know why he was given number 52 or 57. I do know that the eBay seller was selling a 57 jersey at the same time as this, which leads me to believe this was issued by the Pirates.

(Many months later I checked the authenticity seal on it and confirmed it was issued to him.)

This is a Yankees game issued batting practice jersey I bought from Steiner Sports. Steiner Sports carries all sorts of Yankees' and other teams' memorabilia. It came with baseball pants, a Yankees jacket, and a replica model of the old Yankees Stadium.  

Should Mike Zagurski get another major league job *cross fingers*, I’ll add to collection and have something else to share on here.