Game Used Baseballs

Last week I wrote about the Game Used Baseballs that were being sold on MLB Auctions website. On Saturday I received them. This is what $60 ($30 each) got me.

San Diego is spelled wrong on the labels.

There is a seal on both balls, which you can use to see when these were used. The one on the left was used during a Padres/Rockies game in 2014.

The baseball on the right was thrown by former Padres pitcher Ian Kennedy to the Rockies' Justin Morneau. It might have been from this game.  

I am not actually sure what to do with them. I don't want to spend the money on display cases for them.

The Kennedy baseball also features the 10 year anniversary logo of Petco Park. I didn't know the Padres used commemorative baseballs during that season.



Two more things:

Kobe Bryant's last game netted the Staples Center $1.2 million in Bryant merchandise sales. I guess there is a market for $40K hats.

The NBA owners approved ads on jerseys for the 2017-18 season. Many people are upset with this because there are already enough ads in any telecast. I feel like most people won't notice them but I wouldn't buy a jersey with an ad on it unless it was a soccer kit.

Miscellaneous

I have a few quick items to write about this week.

I bought this Pittsburgh Pirates MLB Cooperstown 59FIFTY Cap at Ross for $10. It isn't an official on field cap but it does match my Pirates Road Jersey. Ross has a good cap selection. The trouble is finding your team and size. I got lucky again.


I started an Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/sportsfinds/. As I go around to different places, I'll post on there the deals I find. I'll save so much money because I won't have to buy as much. This blog will still updated regularly. 



Tonight is a big night in sports. The NHL playoffs start with three games in the opening round. The Golden State Warriors will go for win number 73. The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls won 72 games and no one ever thought any team would get that close to perfection. Can the Warriors make history tonight?

This is also Kobe Bryant's last game in the NBA. I bought one Bryant jersey awhile ago, which was my first post on here. 

The Lakers sent out an email with all the commemorative merchandise they're selling for his retirement. 

is all I could think while looking at some of the items.

A Look Back at the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

 At the end of the 2001-2002 NHL season, I went to my first Mighty Ducks of Anaheim game. I had a great time at that game even though they lost. A few seasons later, after an ownership change and a re-branding to the Anaheim Ducks, the team won its first Stanley Cup. This post is about my first years as a fan.

This is the first Ducks shirt I ever owned. It was bought at the Ducks' Team Store for $50. It's a bit pricey but it's made out of a thick fabric and the logo or the material hasn't worn out from all the times it has been washed.

 

This is a replica road jersey made by CCM. Before the great NHL lockout of 2004-2005, color jerseys were the road jerseys and white was worn at home. After the lockout, the NHL mandated that color jerseys were home and away teams wore white. Most teams before and after the lockout had color alternate jerseys, which meant traveling with extra jerseys and matching equipment on road trips. The switch meant teams only had to carry one set of jerseys on the road. 

On occasion, some teams will switch for certain games and wear their white jerseys at home.

I bought this during the 2001-2002 off season. I bought it at Sports Authority and I think I spent about $50 for it. 

 I bought this replica home jersey at the team store during the 2002-2003 Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Wild. I think I spent over $200 on it. (Team stores are usually really expensive and I don't advise buying during games. Wait till there's a sale or if you're lucky, Ross, Burlington Coat Factory, etc. might have it.)

Jean-Sebastien Giguere was the goalie who carried the Ducks all the to the Stanley Cup Finals. They ended up losing to the New Jersey Devils in a close seven game series. He would end up winning the Cup several years later with the Ducks. He was one of my favorite players on the Ducks. Ironically, I don't have his signature on it. I can't remember most of the players who signed it except for Guy Hebert and Teemu Selanne.

Three last things:

Paul Lukas who writes on Uni-Watch.com wrote an article about a Royals fan who attended Opening Day and purchased a one of a kind find. The story is on ESPN.com.

ESPN has the oral history of New Jersey Swamp Dragons. The team president of New Jersey Nets wanted to change the name and everything about the branding of the team. It was very close to happening.

MLB sent out an e-mail telling me that their auction site had Opening Day mementos up for auction. I checked what the Padres had for sale and they are selling game used baseballs from last season. I purchased a couple of them. When they come I'll post about them.

Happy St. Patrick's Day. This is a green post.

Good news, I'm updating several old posts with new pics and I'll be done next week. I didn't like how some of them came out. I'm still working on a logo. 

I don't have many green jerseys. I posted about the green Dodgers Spring Training jersey I bought a couple of years ago.

I own a couple New York Jets jerseys.

Chick's Sporting Goods was a California regional retail store. They were going out of business and I bought this for $50 and I regret it.

Okay I wanted a Brett Favre jersey and they didn't have his Packers jersey. The number is heat pressed on the material and the four on the back is starting to fade.

 This is a Tim Tebow Nike Green Limited Jersey that I bought on clearance from NFL Shop. I paid less than $50 for it. I like it because it looks authentic, the numbers aren't heat pressed. and I thought Tebow was a serviceable quarterback.


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This is a Jets knitted cap that I bought from Ross awhile ago. It has a black exterior with Jets logo sewn on it. I would have made it all green.

Last but not least.

My dad bought me this Tebow McFarlane figure. I know what your thinking. "McFarlane made a Tebow Jets figure?" "Yes, they did.

Padres Finds

As of 3/16/2016, this blog has over 450 hits since I started it in late December. This is most successful blog and I like writing about sports apparel and related items. Tomorrow, I will post better pictures in some of the previous posts.

Padres FanFest will be April 2nd but tickets for the event haven't been released yet. I think they're trying to sell all the All Star Game FanFest tickets first before their own FanFest.

A few months ago I went to Ross and found two Padres tops I wanted. They were a little pricey for me and my thought was that they would go on clearance in a few weeks because there aren't many Padres fans in my area. Turns out I was right.

This is a Nike Pro Combat undershirt. I believe this what the players use as an undershirt because of the Nike logo on the collar. If you look at any players' headshot, you can see the Nike logo on their necks.

 Ross says the value is $40. They were selling it for $20 and it was $14 on clearance.

This is a Majestic Athletic Therma Base shirt. It's a thick sweatshirt with the SD sown into the chest. Ross says it was originally $50 and they were selling it for $25 before clearance.  I paid $17 for it.

Angels' Yard Sale

This is the first baseball jersey I ever purchased. It is a replica home Angels Majestic Athletic home jersey without a name on the back. I got in a sports apparel store for around $60 many years ago. It is worn out because I went to a lot of games wearing it.

Three years ago before the baseball season started, I received an email from the Angels promoting a game used yard sale that was going to be at Angels Stadium. They were going to have jerseys, balls, bats, and other things on sale. I wanted a new jersey because I admired fans at the Stadium wearing their replica or authentic Guerrero, Anderson, or Figgins jerseys. Also my replica jersey had seen better days.

I got to the Stadium gates about the same time they were about to open. There was a small line forming outside leading to the plaza near the team store. Through the gates I could see what was for sale. When I saw this, I couldn't believe it, I didn't know the team still had these, and I knew I was going to go home with one. I kept hoping the people ahead of me didn't have the same idea.

This is an Anaheim Angels Authentic Road jersey issued/possibly worn by Mark Lukasiewicz.

After their World Series win in 2002 and the ownership of the team changed hands, Artie Moreno, the current owner of the Angels re-branded the team the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. These road jerseys went away and the ones that replaced have Angels word mark on the front just like the home jersey on top of this post. I love the old Anaheim jerseys because I like when team font spells out the home team city like Los Angeles with the Dodgers' script. This jersey reminds me of when they won the World Series.

When I saw these few classic road jerseys on the racks outside the stadium, I thought to myself, "I'd spend $200 for one of them". I believe the team charged me less than $150.

After grabbing one of these, I wanted to get an alternate red jersey because I didn't have one and I may as get something a little more modern. I should mention with these yard sales teams are getting rid of jerseys of players that aren't on the roster. That means 75% of jerseys on sale are of middle relievers of days past that most people won't buy. Oddly enough there were a few people at the event excited to buy the Bat Boy jersey.

I found this jersey on the rack and I had to buy it because I liked the player cause he was a reliable and consistent reliever for the Angels and the other teams he was on. 

This is a LaTroy Hawkins Authentic Alternate Angels jersey. There isn't much to say about it. I paid less than $100 for it. The Angels had different prices depending on jersey. I believe the lowest price for a jersey was $75. I bought these two jerseys and a few unused line up cards.


Last year the Angels had their Yard Sale before a game on the Saturday before Mothers' Day. I went again because I was hoping to snag another Anaheim jersey or possibly a Disney Angel jersey. There was also a particular player I wanted because I know no one else would wear his name.

Joe Blanton. If you're a fan of the Angels, you know who he is. If you aren't completely sure just click the link to Baseball Reference. Blanton earned $6.5 million for one season with the Club and he went 2-14 with a 6.04 ERA. His tenure with the Angels was a disaster but he rebounded with the Royals and Pirates. Currently, he's with the Dodgers.

I bought another jersey because whenever I do this I buy in twos. 

This is my first Authentic Angels Home jersey. Hank Conger was a fan favorite backup catcher for the Angels. He is currently with Houston Astros. The interesting thing about the jersey is Velcro strips next to the word mark.

This is the only Angel jersey that I own that has any Velcro on it.
 The Angels were selling jerseys for $50 each. I also bought this bat for $50.

This is a game issued Raul Ibanez bat. Ibanez was great player who spent the twilight years of his career in an Angels uniform. I am tempted everyday to take it a batting cage but I don't want to break. It could have cork in it. :)

The Angels nor the Padres have announced when they are having this season's yard sales. I will post it on here when I have exact dates. These events I went to were open to the public.

Lucky Find

Awhile ago I wrote about the St. Patrick's Day jersey I got at Dodgers Fan Fest. A couple of days ago I found a matching hat for it. I went to Ross again, looking for nothing in particular, I found this:

MLB "Auctions"

With Majestic having a clearance sale, I went to their site and made a customized a Steve Delabar Blue Jays jersey for $120. I hesitated because I would rather buy a jersey that was game used or issued. I headed towards MLB.com and decided to hit up their auction site. Now their auction site has a variety of baseball related memorabilia for sale from game used bases, balls, lineup cards, and of course jerseys.

Each item for sale has a different purchasing option. Some items you can buy now and others have to bid on like a traditional auction.

There are new listings almost every day, you don't know what could show up from day to day. All I wanted was a jersey for a team I didn't own and something that would be a good deal.

I went to http://auctions.mlb.com/ and under categories I clicked jerseys. I then sorted by lowest price because I wanted to spend less than $200. After browsing for about five minutes, I found it:

 It's a game issued Colorado Rockies camo Tyler Chatwood jersey. I remember his short stint with the Angels. This was a buy now item shipped directly from the Rockies for $165.

So after purchased this I went back to the auction site and checked the listings again. The Oakland A's were getting rid of some surplus jerseys for varying amounts. I saw this:

It was a game issued Chad Smith Oakland A's alternate jersey. I am not a big A's fan but I do like the green and the gold. The A's were selling this for $50 and I bought it.

I don't plan on buying anything other jerseys till the Padres have their open house before the season starts. I went two years ago and it was great and I'll post about it when they announce it.

Dodgers Fan Fest

Last year the Los Angeles Dodgers had their annual Fan Fest. This Fan Fest had meet and greets with players, state of franchise address, and an apparel sale. I picked up two jerseys for forty dollars each, both of them rare.

This is an authentic Dodgers blank road jersey circa 2001. It was made by Rawlings instead of Majestic Athletic, which produces all the MLB jerseys. Notice the white outline around Los Angeles, the Dodgers word mark, and the Rawlings logo on the left sleeve. Another interesting feature is the jock tag is inside the jersey instead of outside like the current Majestic jerseys.

This is a Spring Training jersey issued to Scott Elbert, who used to pitch for them. This is unique because it is green. During St. Patrick's Day several teams don green jerseys such as the Dodgers and the Red Sox.

One last thing, Majestic Athletic is having a clearance sale on their jerseys. http://www.majesticathletic.com/Authentic/l/609. There are many good deals on here.

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.