Where is the Pride? Auto's are fastly becoming scribble

I have watched many live breaks and other non-live breaks for BDP/Elite/Thread/Razor and there are very few autographs that the players should be proud of. This is the one reason that sticker autos don't really bother me because of the illegible autographs on the cards.

I know that Topps/Donruss doesn't pay much per auto, but Razor put out big bucks for exclusives and the like and the players still don't care. This is one reason that autographs from HOFers and star players who take pride in their auto is so appealing. When did penmanship become so unimportant.

I am glad I collect/prospect in Wes Hodges. At least I can make out his name vs some of the new players that haven't accomplished anything and have autos that are a disgrace.

Pride in baseball cards died in '75

Blue Hodges Reverend said:

I have watched many live breaks and other non-live breaks for BDP/Elite/Thread/Razor and there are very few autographs that the players should be proud of. This is the one reason that sticker autos don't really bother me because of the illegible autographs on the cards.

I know that Topps/Donruss doesn't pay much per auto, but Razor put out big bucks for exclusives and the like and the players still don't care. This is one reason that autographs from HOFers and star players who take pride in their auto is so appealing. When did penmanship become so unimportant.

I am glad I collect/prospect in Wes Hodges. At least I can make out his name vs some of the new players that haven't accomplished anything and have autos that are a disgrace.

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I feel ya there. I have become a big fan of Volquez's auto after Redsfest. I bet he has LOW print runs though for as long as it takes him to sign.

You have to remember, when you are signing a sticker (like most products outside of BDP and Razor are) you have a much smaller window to sign your name than usual, also if you are signing thousands of items, I can imagine it would start to take it's toll on your hand.

Blue Hodges Reverend said:

I am glad I collect/prospect in Wes Hodges. At least I can make out his name vs some of the new players that haven't accomplished anything and have autos that are a disgrace.

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No offense, but you consider this good penmanship?

No offense taken. Not the best either, but I can make out his name. Buster Posey/Gordon Beckam/Tim Lincecum/many of the razor/ bdp/donruss scribble autos are much worse. If truth be told, give me Ripken/Mattingly/Kaline/Aaron/Killibrew/etc. I see the trend of more and more autos soon being monikers and not true autos. I will never forget the disgust I had when I pull Mr. Verizon himself check mark auto.

Blue Hodges Reverend said:

No offense taken. Not the best either, but I can make out his name. Buster Posey/Gordon Beckam/Tim Lincecum/many of the razor/ bdp/donruss scribble autos are much worse. If truth be told, give me Ripken/Mattingly/Kaline/Aaron/Killibrew/etc. I see the trend of more and more autos soon being monikers and not true autos. I will never forget the disgust I had when I pull Mr. Verizon himself check mark auto.

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I don't see how you could make that out without already knowing what his name is. It looks like V. Hordy to me.

Blue Hodges Reverend said:

No offense taken. Not the best either, but I can make out his name. Buster Posey/Gordon Beckam/Tim Lincecum/many of the razor/ bdp/donruss scribble autos are much worse. If truth be told, give me Ripken/Mattingly/Kaline/Aaron/Killibrew/etc. I see the trend of more and more autos soon being monikers and not true autos. I will never forget the disgust I had when I pull Mr. Verizon himself check mark auto.

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Eh...its been getting that way and you will see the trend continue.

Back when I was coming through kindergarten and 1st and second grade...they would teach us penmanship and the whole point was to make you autograph in your own style but it needed to be readable at the same time.To this day you can read my name.Same thing with my wife's or my mom's signature.Its just the way they taught us.I would not be surprised at all if that was not a major concern these days in grade school.

This how an autographed card should look. Too bad his autographed card contract was only from 02-03

cowboysrule48 said:

Blue Hodges Reverend said:

No offense taken. Not the best either, but I can make out his name. Buster Posey/Gordon Beckam/Tim Lincecum/many of the razor/ bdp/donruss scribble autos are much worse. If truth be told, give me Ripken/Mattingly/Kaline/Aaron/Killibrew/etc. I see the trend of more and more autos soon being monikers and not true autos. I will never forget the disgust I had when I pull Mr. Verizon himself check mark auto.

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I don't see how you could make that out without already knowing what his name is. It looks like V. Hordy to me.

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I can make it out because when I look at his name on the card I can see the letters in the sig. This is not about Hodges specifically, but let's be real, his auto is 100 better than some of the "BIG NAME" prospects. Vitters/Heyward/Freeman seem to get it and Joba Chamberlain has an awesome looking auto. Probably one of the best in the last few years.

It would be awesome if the hobby got rid of rookie autos

ThoseBackPages said:

It would be awesome if the hobby got rid of rookie autos

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We know that will never happen. Maybe they should just call them what they are "scribble," but expensive scribble, especially if it is on a colored refractor. :lol:

I think that the card companies should examine the autograph on the contracts and if the autos on the cards are not consistent to that then they should compensate based on the number of autos that fit within set parameters. I would bet that most of the autos on the contracts are not scribble.

Unfortunately, it's become one of those things we don't like, but have to accept. Like stickers, manufactured patches, uncentered cuts, lack of etching, and redemptions.

Not sure where to draw the line though - the Mark McGwire sig up there doesn't look like it spells Mark McGwire, but that sort of thing works - at least there's something to it.
I can't read 'LeBron James' in his autograph, but it's a sig, and kinda cool. Ken Griffey Jr has a cool sig - I don't know what Derek Jeter was spelling, but his sig is neat. Felix Hernandez has something cool going, and Pat Neshak had one of the cooler sigs out there.

I thought about this a bit when I pulled Ike Davis. not the greatest, maybe slightly better than a Lincecum, or F-Mart, and certainly better then Vernand Morency. (the checkmark guy, who I have a few autos of)

Just speaking for myself, a guy who's autograph isn't in any kind of demand, I'm pretty sure I'd be able to sign a couple thousand signatures if someone paid me. Really, if you want, for 10 bucks I'll sign a thousand - no shortcuts. If I had a card, I'd be a little proud, and actually sign it instead of jot down a K and a line. Can't speak for everyone though, but I can't imagine Vernand Morency got away with signing term papers, or even certified mail with the way he writes his autograph.

Maybe Topps can get these guys to sign the rarer parallels with a nice signature. That'd be a bit cooler of a chase. Forget the Red or Green Ink autos, they can have the Real Sig auto /5.

Ive personally noticed that players have a different signature if they are signing for a fan or thousands of stickers that they are just trying to rush through to get their check.

While neither is amazing the IP one is a lot clearer

I think at this point in time, a collector almost has to settle for consistency rather than a great looking signature. Derek Jeter is my favorite player, and his signature is awesome because it always stays consistent even though only the "D" at the beginning and the "r" at the end are legible. While on the other hand, a player like Billy Butler that i collect, has a very inconsisten auto and it is hard to pick out the good from the bad for him. But i agree that IP autos are usually much better, as is the case with Butler.

Surprisingly my friend who majored in art loves Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey's sig, he thinks of it as cool, consitant mark or seal. My local store owner likes posesys. So too you scribble, to some, its appealing.

Ryan Kalis's sig is just weird.

How an auto should look:

Ty Hope said:

How an auto should look:

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Personally my favorite.

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

I like his auto