Archives

2022 MLB All-Star Game

Sports Collectibles

The Midsummer Classic is finally here. The MLB figurative intermission between the season’s two acts poises to be one of the best All-Star games we have seen in a while. Los Angeles will host baseball’s biggest stars for a couple of beautiful evenings in mid-July. Pete Alonso is looking to retain his Home Run Derby Championship and become a 3-Pete Champion. Please don’t say Three-Peat around the Lightning fans in the office, too soon… Pete is challenged by seven others including ‘The Machine’ Albert Pujols and, despite his advanced age for the sport, knows Chavez Ravine well.

The All-Star Game this year is littered with some of the most talented players in baseball today. Starting with Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox, The Bronx Bombers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron ‘All Rise’ Judge. One of the most exciting players in the history of the game, the two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, The Strikeout Machine of the Tampa Bay Rays, Sugar Shane McClanahan, and that is just the American League.

On the National League home side, a few of the guys won’t even have to leave their home stadium with the Los Angeles Dodgers sending Trea Turner, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Tony Gonsolin and Clayton Kershaw. They will be accompanied by long ball specialists Pete Alonso, Nolan Arenado, Kyle Schwarber and Juan Soto. The National League bump will be manned by studs like Sandy Alcantara, Luis Castillo and Josh Hader, with all of them looking to take down the American League in the City of Angels.

With all of the star power, this year’s All-Star game is must-see TV viewing. Clear your calendar for Tuesday July 19th at 7pm EST because this is a can’t miss game!

Check out our MLB All-Star Mystery Baseball Deal – ending Tuesday 7/19 – For only $64.99, you’ll receive a randomly-selected authentic autographed baseball from a past or present Major League Baseball All-Star player. Some of the players you could receive include Kris Bryant, Lucas Giolito and more! Click here to shop now and for more details. Terms and Conditions may be found here.

Shop SportsCollectibles.com for all of the best autographed baseballs, autographed baseball jerseys, baseball bats, autographed photos and more!

SC.com Blog Dog:


-Barkley is the best boy ever! He’s been with the SportsCollectibles.com team for 3 years and couldn’t imagine doing anything else! He enjoys LONG walks around the neighborhood and playing fetch. His hero is Air Bud. His favorite foods are pizza and tortilla chips. His favorite teams are the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs.

America and Her Pastime

Sports Collectibles

With the birthday of our great country celebrated this past Monday, we look back at some of the America’s greatest gifts to the world. Creations such as Rock n’ Roll, Hollywood Movies, Internet and the Telephone have highlighted the American contribution to worldwide life. Although, there is one that tops all.
The Game of Baseball.

The history of baseball is an odd and confusing road. There are a couple different variations on who created the game, the origins of the game, and when it became an official sport. The most well-known tale of Baseball is of course Abner Doubleday starting the game in 1839 here in America. Doubleday, a cadet at West Point at the time, is widely credited as the inventor of baseball when he started the first game ever played. The game was played in Cooperstown, New York, now the home of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. To this date, the MLB and the HOF still acknowledge that Doubleday created the game.
Others though, believe there is another story to the game. According to History.com, the first-time organized baseball was seen in September of 1845. The article states, “a group of New York City men founded the New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club.” In this story, it is a man of the name Alexander Joy Cartwright that is credited with the birth of our pastime. Cartwright and company claim to have created baseball off inspiration from “rounders”, an old colonist game, and the sport of cricket. The story is that Cartwright was the one who created the rules we know of baseball today. The shape of the field, the limits of foul lines, and the number of strikes allowed per batter. In 1846 Cartwright and the Knickerbocker Baseball Club were said to play the first game of American baseball when they took on a team of cricket players.
The emergence of baseball as a traditional American sport is not the clearest story. There is still a decent amount of disagreement, even if Doubleday is credited by the MLB Hall of Fame. None the less, the sport grew in popularity and by 1869 we saw our first professional team in the Cincinnati Red Stockings. By 1876 we had the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs (modern day National League) created by William Hulbert, a wealthy Chicago businessman. The league held eight teams that include modern day Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs. In 1901 the league we know as the American League today was founded and by 1903, we had cross league play for the World Series Title.

SC.com Blog Dog:


-Tucker, a Military Brat pup hailing from Connecticut, loves going for relaxing walks, ear rubs, scratching rugs, and eating entire bowls of chicken enchilada meat before his family can eat it! A HUGE fan of the Yankees, Giants and most things New York (with the exception of a borderline-unhealthy obsession with LeBron James), TuckTuck is so excited to get to blog about his favorite thing – SPORTS, especially baseball.

Kansas City Royals Memorabilia

Sports Collectibles

Kansas City Royals Memorabilia
Right on the border of Kansas and Missouri resides Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals. The Royals franchise was dormant for nearly three decades until a core group of stars helped bring the passion back to the fan base. A long, trying rebuild finally ended in 2015 as the Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Mets in the World Series to end a thirty-year title drought. General Manager Dayton Moore can take a lot of the credit for bringing winning baseball back to KC. Moore’s blueprint included the acquisition or drafting of Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, Alex Gordon, Yordan Ventura, Mike Moustakas and more key players. This group of star’s autographs were highly coveted after the final out in New York City. Autograph prices nearly doubled for all players on the active playoff roster. The best items signed by Kansas City Royals would be a 2015 World Series Baseball. These balls commemorate the amazing series against the Mets. Throughout the years, Kansas City autograph collectors and fans have collected autographed jerseys, bats, baseballs and photos. A good Royals collection must contain the past and present. It is relatively easy to track down a signature from a member of 2015’s club but to truly honor the tradition of the Royals, a walk down memory lane is in order to boost a collection. Which players should a collector target? Where can they find these exclusive signed Royals memorabilia items? These and more will be answered below.

1985 World Series Memorabilia
Missourians will never forget the “I-70” Series between the hated St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals. The Royals ultimately came out on top but it took them seven games to cage the Cardinals. Manager Dick Howser orchestrated through the American League gauntlet with a 91-71 regular season record and a 4-3 series victory over the upstart Toronto Blue Jays. Not every Game 7 of the World Series is created equal, some include pitch-by-pitch, edge of your seat drama but in this Game 7, the Royals cruised to victory, 11-0 in front of a capacity crowd inside Kauffman Stadium. These World Series Champion Royals became immortal in the midwest. The World Series roster included: Lonnie Smith, Willie Wilson, George Brett, Frank White, Jim Sunberg, Steve Balboni, Darryl Motley, Buddy Biancalana and World Series MVP Bret Saberhagen. Autographed memorabilia from any one of these players may not hold strong value over team but if you were lucky enough to get a team signed baseball from this team, that is where the value lies. A combo item signed by George Brett and Bret Saberhagen is a strong piece of sports memorabilia. Those lucky enough to witness both World Series titles would love this World Series Ticket Collection featuring replica tickets from both the 1985 & 2015 World Series.

2015 World Series Memorabilia
The Royals rode the momentum of a great 2014 campaign to qualify for the postseason with a league leading 95-67 record. Dayton Moore pulled the trigger mid-season to acquire All Star Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist to an already first place club. These acquisitions paid off when Cueto got the ball in the postseason and Ben Zobrist continued to come up with clutch hits. The Royals scratched and clawed through the Houston Astros in the ALDS then outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays in six games to advance to their second straight World Series. When November rolled around, the Royals lineup consisted of: Salvador Perez, Eric Hosmer, Omar Infante, Alcides Escobar, Mike Moustakas, Alex Gordon, Jarrod Dyson and Lorenzo Cain. The pitching staff for Kansas City was led by Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto and anchored by Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera. Ned Yost was on his game for most of the postseason, pulling the right strings when needed and had his Royals running on all cylinders. The Royals closed out the World Series with a remarkable comeback win at Citi Field. The key play in the World Series was the Eric Hosmer slide to tie the game. Christian Colon came off the bench to take the lead then the rest is baseball history. Wade Davis recorded the final out via strikeout. The best memorabilia from the 2015 fall classic would be a team signed Major League Baseball, a photo of Wade Davis getting trampled on the mound or a photograph of Eric Hosmer’s daring dash home.

2017 Kansas City Royals
Catcher Salvador Perez
1st Base Eric Hosmer
2nd Base Whit Merrifield
Shortstop Alcides Escobar
3rd Base Mike Moustakas
Outfielder Alex Gordon
Outfielder Lorenzo Cain
Outfielder Jorge Soler
Designated Hitter Brandon Moss

Starting Pitcher Danny Duffy
Starting Pitcher Ian Kennedy
Starting Pitcher Jason Vargas
Starting Pitcher Jason Hammel
Starting Pitcher Nathan Karns
Closer Kelvin Herrera

Manager Ned Yost

Fans have to be excited about the 2017 Kansas City Royals, a lot of household names in the line-up and a manager who knows how to put the pieces together. Our top autograph recommendations: Eric Hosmer Signed Baseball, Alex Gordon Autographed Jersey and Danny Duffy Signed 8×10 Photo.

Down on the Farm
Kansas City Royals memorabilia collectors are waiting anxiously for top prospects Hunter Dozier, Jorge Bonifacio, Matt Strahm, Kyle Zimmer and Chase Vallot. Prospecting for autographs can be a tricky business venture. Royals fan know this especially after hearing about Top Prospect Bubba Starling for years only to see him fizzle out in the Minor Leagues. KC collectors who bought into the idea of prospecting did well when Dayton Moore’s top talent reached the bigs and ultimately won the World Series.

Facts & Figures
Kaufmann Stadium (1973-Present)
2 World Series Titles (1985 & 2015)
4 American League Pennants (1980, 1985, 2014 & 2015)
Colors: Gold, Powder Blue, Royal Blue & White.

Retired Numbers
#5 George Brett
#10 Dick Howser
#20 Frank White

The best Kansas City Royals Memorabilia can be found at SportsCollectibles.com
Royals Autographed Jerseys
Royals Autographed Baseballs
Royals Autographed Photos

Eric Hos MEM

SALVY EMM

Cain

Hosmer