ShareThisDear Babe: My husband, Ed, has a signed baseball. His dad worked part-time at Ebbets Field as a concessionaire and would ask for the autographs. The ball is signed by Art Fowler, Carl Furillo, Wally Moon, Norm Larker, Johnny Podres, Gil Hodges, Charles Neal, Walt Alston, Rip Ripulski, Pee Wee Reese, John Roseboro, Jim Gilliam, Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax among others. -- Marcia Howland, Anderson.
His dad might have worked at Ebbets Field, but it looks like this ball is from 1959 -- after the team moved to Los Angeles. Art Fowler was with the Dodgers just one year and that was 1959 -- the year Dodgers beat the White Sox to win the World Series. It took the Dodgers decades to win a Series for their loyal Brooklyn fans, but they won it all in just their second year on the West Coast. Condition is the key. The ball should be worth $600-$1,000, said Mike Gutierrez, consignment director for Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com) in Dallas.
Dear Babe: One of my customers pulled a Chris Long 2008 Bowman box loader redemption card. We don't know anything about it. -- Tim A., Casper, Wyo.
The redemption card is good for a regular-sized card signed by the No. 2 pick in the 2008 draft. There are 10 signed cards, said Clay Luraschi, a Topps spokesman. Since there are so few cards and they are redemptions to boot, there's no way to track down a value. In checking a few online auctions, it looks as if Long autographed cards that are numbered to 10 are selling for $10-$20. I suspect this card will fall into that range as well.
Dear Babe: I have an Upper Deck Prime Cuts Orel Hershiser card that is "1/1.'' -- Michael Taves, Montgomery, Ill.
The "one of one'' designation is not that big of a deal anymore, since so many products contain inserts and parallels that are numbered "1/1.'' When I search "Completed Auctions'' on eBay looking for 2008 "1/1'' items, nearly 1,000 entries came up. The cards that seem to do well are those that are autographed or have a piece of a bat or jersey, especially for a long-deceased Hall of Famer. Hershiser is alive and well, but he's not a Hall of Famer, and he is a pitcher. I don't think the card is extra special. It might be worth a few dollars, but that's just my guess.
Dear Babe: I have ticket stubs from the games in which Mark McGwire hits home runs Nos. 61, 62, 66, 67, 68, 69 and 70 in 1998. -- Tom Eads, Jackson, Ga.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. "McGwire is so cold right now. Those tickets have little value as stubs. They're worth maybe $10-$15 each. No. 70 goes for $25 for a stub. For full tickets you can double the values. The record has been broken as has McGwire's reputation,'' said Mike Heffner, president of www.lelands.com auction house in South Dennis, Mass.
Dear Babe: I have a couple of items that were signed by Jack Nicklaus in 1986 including a Masters program booklet (also signed by Bernhard Langer on the inside) along with a Masters visor signed on the outside bill. -- B. Hammer, Atlanta
Mike Breeden, an autograph expert and editor of Tuff Stuff's autograph guide, Mike Heffner, president of www.lelands.com auction house in South Dennis, Mass., and David Kohler, president of www.SCPauctions.com in Laguna Niguel, Calif., put the program in the $100-$200 range with the visor valued at $50-$150. For top value, "The visor would have to be signed in a displayable manner and not sideways or something like that,'' Breeden said.
(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)
