What's Going On In The Deep Waters of The Vast Autograph Ocean

In a monthly post I will try to go over some things observed in the industry. Feel free to comment, agree or disagree. Some points may have been discussed prior as this will be monthly touching only the main issues in the autograph universe.

For the month of July 2016: With the All-Star break in full swing, lets review the current situation in the baseball market. The two big names are without question Mike Trout & Bryce Harper. On the field they are quite different, but not nearly as different as they are off the field with their autographs/game used accessibility. 

First subject: Mike Trout

Lets start off by realizing if Trout plays the way he has during the beginning of his career, he will break several all-time records. 

Player comparison: Mickey Mantle

Autographs/Game Used items: Mike Trout grew up in New Jersey & has been followed by scouts/autograph hunters for quite sometime. Trout, Frazier, Doolittle were well known in the NJ area with really only Trout making the jump to superstar. With that being said, Trout has typically been keen on his market & has released a good bit of material with Anderson Authentics, which is great for collectors, but also reflects his value. 

Signing Difficulty: Medium/Easy

Second Subject: Bryce Harper

Bryce is a hard player to read due to his streaky nature, but what makes him most interesting for us isn't how he plays, but his signature difficulty.

Player Comparison: Duke Snider

Autographs/Game Used Items: Bryce is not only keen on his material, he goes out of his way to destroy game used items & conserve autograph encounters. For every signed Bryce Harper baseball on the market, I would guess there're 3 to 5 Mike Trout signed baseballs to compare on rarity. For that reason, despite being arguably the worse of the two players moving forward, his autograph holds more value than Trout.

Signing Difficulty: Extreme/Hard

How do you value these two players moving forward?

With a Trout baseball going for 200-250, and Harpers bringing 300-350, which would you rather add to your collection knowing how they feel towards signing?

To what extent does West/East coast markets & winning reflect on their value? 

Why do you feel Bryce brings more money, is it purely due to how much he signs? 

Catch of The Day: Dr. Dre signed Dre 2001 album.
Hip-Hop, really? Yes, really! Dr. Dre and other Hip Hop legends have seen a recent spike in the market with the release of popular motion pictures. With living artist such as Dr. Dre, Slim Shady, Kanye West, NAS & JAY-Z all being hard signatures to obtain, and a target market growing into their money making years, Hip Hop will remain on a steady rise and should be looked at in your collection if only for investment purposes.