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Month: August 2015

‘Devine’ baseball caricatures offer inspiration for all collectors

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(Courtesy Devine Sports Caricatures)
(Courtesy Devine Sports Caricatures)

Three cheers for Ariana and Brian Devine!

She is the gifted artist. He is the wise husband who saw baseball-related possibilities.

See for yourself on their new Facebook page.

Sure, getting cards, photos and balls signed is standard. Why not?

Well, it’s a matter of standing out. Of giving and getting.

Infielder Marcus Giles showed the difference that special effort made. He told Brian he wanted a picture of himself with the artwork before autographing it. I think most athletes would want to autograph such a unique collectible first.

But I’m not an artist!

Anyone can make an effort. Some DIY ideas:

1. A box score of a debut or other milestone. 

2. A headline. Write it yourself, then go font crazy. 

3. A quote. Everyone has a sentence or two immortalized on the Internet. Why offer a boring, blank index card?

4. Commission Ariana to depict your favorite player.

Score did it once. Such artwork could be coming soon to a baseball card set near you!

Hobbyists, don’t ignore back-to-school sales!

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Can you ever have enough of these? By Evan-amos (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Can you ever have enough of these? By Evan-amos (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Just in case you’ve escaped every commercial and advertisement during August…

It’s Back to School Time.

Sharpies. Index cards. Post-it Notes. 

All kinds of supplies are available at great prices. EVERYWHERE.

Don’t let kids have all the fun. Remember, our hobby is educational, too!

Pitcher Billy Pierce gone at age 88

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Even in the 1950s, the hurler didn't embrace "Billy' in his autograph.
Even in the 1950s, the hurler didn’t embrace “Billy’ in his autograph.

Babe Ruth may have hit 714, but Bill “Billy” Pierce signed just as many.

The former hurler, a major leaguer from 1945-64, died last week at age 88. The ever-impressive www.sportscollectors.net credited Pierce for signing 95 percent of requests, a coincidental 714. His 95 percent success rate would have been higher, but his final replies were logged for May. Plus, a few collectors seemed to realize that the senior signing machine might not crank out autographs forever.

Here’s what Mr. Pierce shared with “Baseball By The Letters” in 2010.