The Future of Sports Authority

Many media outlets are reporting that Sports Authority will be liquidating their stores. Sports Authority came out with a statement today saying they were looking for a buyer. I don't know who would buy them but if this is the case, many of their stores will probably close.

I had a gift card to their store and I wanted to use it before they liquidated.

When I went last week, it was void of customers. There was one cashier and a few staff members stocking items.

I bought this branded baseball for less than three dollars. Maybe it will be worth something one day. It's sad how Circuit City, CompUSA, Borders, and many other retailers have gone out of business in recent years. Hopefully the people working at Sports Authority will land on their feet.

If you have any gift cards from them, use them before they liquidate or are sold. Liquidators don't take gift cards. Also, wait a week or two into any liquidation sale when there are actual discounts.  

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.