For what’s supposed to be a quick and easy type of post to write, it sure did take a half year to get back to this series. How about we return with a bit of a bang? A semi-rare sighting of an autograph from one of my original player collections. I guess autographs are a bit of a rarity on here anyway. That’s what this series is supposed to help rectify a bit. Let’s revisit that introduction in italics as always:
Even after having a hand in the case-breaking world, Autographed cards still fascinate me. Allow me to explain with this series introduction from the early days of the blog. To see the other parts of the series, click on the “Card-ography” tag at the bottom.
Now that I’m back into collecting, one of the biggest surprises greeting me at the door was that signatures on cardboard (or on stickers placed on cardboard) are now a regular part of the hobby. In fact, it’s basically expected at this point. I know there are plenty of people who feel that if their box doesn’t have an auto – or even the RIGHT auto – then it’s a waste of money. Hell, I’m still not completely jaded by relics, so I can’t understand this theory. I know that most of the autos aren’t all that valuable, but seeing that blue, red, and sometimes black ink on a card in your hands still holds significance to me. It still makes for some of the most enjoyable moments in collecting. That’s why I’m starting a series that will analyze the signatures we see. It’s common to see people lump them into “good” and “bad” categories, but I want to take it farther than that. This player took the time to sign your card (although some of them don’t take tons of time). I’m going to take the time to inspect it.
Love this signature series set
This card was bought at the National in 2017 and I maybe overpaid a bit. However, at the same time, there’s still a small market for Kerry Wood autographs and so my typical tactic of picking up cards for $.99 +s/h on ebay doesn’t work as too many people place bids.
Literal:
Xmy W-backwards L
Style points:
There isn’t a ton of style on display. What you see is what you get and what you get is rather typical cursive with very few flourishes.
Space Usage:
Kerry’s full-ish name auto allows him to make good use of the card from left to right. In the few Wood autos I’ve had, I’ve never felt cheated on space and it’s never blocked anything in the main design.
Laziness:
It’d be hard to make the argument for laziness in this signature. You can try to make the argument for those two “o’s” in the last name, but c’mon….
Intangibles:
I love the consistency. He’s not an extremely frequent signer in card products, but that autograph above is what you would see from his minor league days to now.
Overall:
As I mentioned in the caption, I love this card set. This is the most common version. Maybe this year at the show I’ll get to pick up one of the others without those pesky ebay bidders getting in the way. Or at least one other autograph out of the few he has out in the wild.
That’s a beautiful card and I, too, also appreciate KW’s consistency with his autographs.
Sweet card. Love this autograph set.