ShareThisDear Babe: I have a 2008 All-Star baseball autographed by Brian Wilson on the sweet spot. -- Randy Muzio, Red Bluff, Calif.
Young pitchers are tough to value and that's even more so for closers. Few stand the test of time. They are just a pitch away from arm trouble that ends many a career. "The ball would have a retail value of $59,'' said Bobby Mintz, vice president of operations for Houston-based www.TristarProductions.com, which hosts a couple of major shows in the Bay area each year.
Dear Babe: I have a set of books with baseball tips by Babe Ruth that were distributed by Quaker Oats Co. They are about 3-x-5 inches in size. The books are: "How To Throw Curves,'' "How To Play Infield,'' "How To Play Outfield'' and "How To Knock Home Runs.'' They are still in the original envelope that has a one and a half cent stamp on it. Can you give me any information on these books? -- Danny Ferguson. Kingston, Ga.
It's hard to imagine in today's image-conscious marketing world that an overweight, notoriously poor eater would be the poster boy for a supposedly healthy cereal. In the mid-1930s, Quaker Oats wanted Babe Ruth, and they got him. It appears that Quaker paid the original Babe around $39,000 for three 15-miunte-radio broadcasts a week for 13 weeks. In simple terms that's $1,000 a show. Not bad, especially when you consider what $1,000 meant back then. The radio show ended, but Quaker started paying the Bambino $25,000 year to be the Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice poster child. Quaker did not miss a trick when it came to premiums available for a few box tops. There was a Babe Ruth club with a membership pin, a watch fob/scorer, an 8-x-10 photo, pocketknife, Babe Ruth's Big Book of Baseball, a 26-card game on baseball facts, a brass pin, and a movie book (I think you flipped the pages to view "action"). Oh yes, there was a set of four "How To'' books, which gets us to your question.
"These are nice, because they are in the original envelope,'' said Phil Regli, owner of P&R Publications in Irvine, Calif. and a long-time magazine dealer. "The item is not rare for a Babe Ruth item, and I've seen them run from $150 for the set to $400 with the package. I suspect in today's market it would be in the $200 range (or $50 each)."
Dear Babe: In January 2006, you published my question about the value of a Bobby Orr (rookie-year) signed Boston Bruins puck. In that article, it was suggested that I consider framing (protecting) the signed puck along with a color photograph of the 1966-67 Bruins team, which would increase the value. I did that. -- Paul Yetman, Nashua, N.H.
Da Babe's experts often offer advice like that, but we rarely hear what happens. Not this time. Mike Heffner said how the puck was displayed was all a matter of taste, but it might reach as high as $1,000-$1,500.
BABE NOTE: Topps' last basketball product for the foreseeable future pays homage to the 1948 Bowman release -- considered by most to be the first major basketball set. 2009-10 Bowman has 121 cards -- 100 veterans, 15 numbered rookie cards and seven "Play'' cards reprinted from the original Bowman issue. For complete details, visit my blog at www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak.
(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
