Mystery Autograph!

Jim "Catfish" Hunter wore number (27) in his playing days.

Pinetarman--
You are correct on that. I am not sure. Who ever did sign the ball played in Major League baseball. The man at the store I bought it from told me they are all signed by ex major leaguers. I just got your email, give me a couple days to get back to you with a response.

Everyone--

I have got loads of stuff backed to me signed from ST. I will have a post up a couple days before Opening Day for all of you. I have been really busy with homework and other stuff. I will try and respond to all of your emails by Friday. This weekend I will be free and I will be putting up a couple new photos into my photo album.

The J looks like how Hunter signs his, though he has always signed "Catfish" as part of his signature from what I've seen.

Do a Google images search and you can see plenty more samples of Hunter's signature to discern for yourself.

http://perfectpitch22.mlblogs.com

Chris,
I'm not a handwriting analyst but I looked up Catfish's autograph and it's not the same as the one on the ball you posted.

Catfish's looked like this

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/catfish_hunter_autograph.jpg

Also it looks like a #22 on the ball to me (not #27) so I'm not sure who's autograph it is.

Sorry I can't be of more help and I don't mean to rain on the parade. It is gonna be cool to see if you can get to the bottom of this mystery!

Good luck on your search, buddy!

Thanks for all the posts over at my site. I always love hearing from ya. Good luck to your Blue Jays and your new third baseman. I've always loved Scott Rolen. Good pick up!

http://bravesblog.net

JB in ATL

Pinetarman, that autograph is of Josh Hamilton, now an OF for the Rangers.

Here's a link to one that is for sale from UDA for you to compare it to:

http://www.sportsauthority.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2770360

Hamilton wore #22 throughout much of his minor league career. In fact, this autograph looks like some of the ones that I have from 2000-2001.

Sorry, not Hunter, but hopefully this kid will keep his life going in the right direction. And not a bad deal at $10.

Pinetarman, I was checking out your pictures and saw the two sets of batting gloves. Where did you get those frames. I've got a pair of Chipper's gloves that I want to do something cool with but haven't found anything yet. Thanks.

Gregg--
Yes, I googled it alot and I also looked on ebay. He signs alot with "Catfish". I do not think he signed it 75%. Thanks for trying to help!

Jaq--

Thanks for helping out on the "Mystery Autograph". I think it is pretty good the Jays got Rolen. I would still prefer Troy Glaus, but both players are almost the same. I think Glaus is better at hitting tho and Rolen is good at defence. I have not heard too much news about Glaus this Spring. I hope he has a excellent season over there in St.Louis.

Chrisk--

Wow! I think you are 99% correct on this. The signatures match up very well. I am happy I have this young prospect's autograph. I looked on ebay and his ball is selling for $80.00. So, I got this ball for a good price. I was the one with the batting gloves and I bought those frames at a local craft store. They sell art supplies and frames. You can find thick frames for batting gloves and you can also find card frames. I have a card frame and I think it is an excellent way to display my collection.

Chris, congratulations on the good buy. You got an excellent deal. I had no idea Josh's signed bb's were selling for $80.

If you don't know about him, I urge you to look him up. This poor man has been on top of the world. He's also stared death in the face. He's coming back now and did something last year that a lot of folks couldn't have predicted -- he made the Reds 25-man after not playing in a baseball game in over 3 years!

Like I said, if you don't know the story, look it up. You'll want to cry but you'll be filled with inspiration.

By the way, he's a great guy. I met him a number of times when he played in my hometown. Very generous with his time. Someone you really want to root for.

Thanks for the tips on the thick frames. My wife is a good shopper but I am not. But since I know what kind of store to look for I think I can find something out. Those CJ10 gloves (signed, of course) will look good on my wall with my other "stuff". Take care.

Hey Chris,

As you know, I'm a huge fan of the game and think that autograph on the baseball is Brian Hunter-a speedster that played in the '90s and eary '00s with Houston and Detroit...and a few other teams in between. I'd have to dig out some of my baseballs to confirm, but it probably is. Still a great buy...Good job!

Steve, while I am familiar with Brian Hunter, I am not familiar with his autograph. However, I am very comfortable in saying that this autograph is Josh Hamilton. I've seen many versions of it since he was drafted in 99 and this looks very much like one of his earlier ones.

I have one on a shelf in my son's room. He's asleep now and I don't want to disturb him but I'll take a picture of it tomorrow and post it. You'll be as certain as I am that this is a Hamilton auto once you see it. Cheers!

Well, the Hamilton baseball that I thought was on my son's wall apparently is in one of two big boxes. However, I found a couple of other examples of his autograph for the sake of comparison.

In this first one, you will notice the #22 in the lower left corner of the card. That's the number he wore as a Riverdog.

http://www.autograph-cards.com/sp1_d10410_Josh_Hamilton.asp

http://www.autograph-cards.com/sp1_d17238_Josh_Hamilton.asp

Chris and Chris,

I need to get with the times on some of the new (hot prospects/future stars)autographs. I'm an avid fan of the history of the game and the old timers....

Thanks for sharing the links...That's definitely Hamilton's autograph. I did find my Brian Hunter's autograph and they are pretty close-amazing.

Steve, I've got tons of young players autographs mainly because I live in a minor league town and 'graph at the park there. I've gotten some really good ones, and a whole lot more that never panned out. It's fun either way and my son will never have to worry about having enough baseballs for batting practice when I cull the "duds" out of my collection!

I also have a healthy appreciation for the history of the game. I've got an 8x10 Willy Mays, an 8x10 Joe Dimaggio and a 16x20 Greg Maddux (all signed of course) hanging in my home office. One of my favorite pieces is a limited (#'d to 135) print of sketches of some old-timers. It includes Slaughter, Wilhelm, McCovey, Feller, Spahn, Eddie Matthews, Burdette, Houk, Ernie Banks and Early Wynn. The best part of that is that a friend gave it to me because he knew I'd appreciate it more than him!

Hey Chris-K:

Excellent detective work on the mystery autograph and your absolutely right on the money about "Josh Hamilton" signing the ball. Hamilton, a center fielder, has been turning heads at the Texas Rangers' spring complex in Surprise, Arizona. Balls have been ricocheting off the clubhouse building and scorching liners into the gaps!

Chris, glad I could help. Wasn't so much detective work as I recognized it right away. Either way, glad I could help solve your puzzle. I've got a few that I've forgotten to label and have absolutely no idea now who they are.

To hear that Hamilton is killing the ball is no surprise. When he took bp here we'd go out into the field over the RF wall. He'd regularly hit them 450+ feet , into a stiff breeze. The park here is one of the toughest to hit in all of baseball because the prevailing winds blow in from RF, right off the river. Delmon Young is the only other guy that I saw here come close to what Josh could do.

You're a pretty young guy. Have you had a chance to read about him yet? Amazing story. Go look him up and I'll bet you'll find yourself saying a little prayer (even, if like me, you aren't particularly religious) for him to stay clean and healthy.

Chrisklob--
Wow!! You are an expert Mystery Autograph helper. Yeah, you will be able to find a thick frame for your batting gloves. Alot of craft stores have them. I love the autographs you have in your collection. It is great that you live near a minor league ballpark. It is fun to snag/autograph colllect at those ballparks. I just love when they use game balls in BP, but I see minor league teams, that use old crapy balls in BP. So I do not go to minor league games that often. I might go to 15 a season. This year I am focussing on getting alot of balls and over 200 autographs from different players in the Major League.

Steve--

It could be his too. There are so many people's autographs it could be. I love these mystery baseballs.

Pinetarman--

You know alot about Hamilton. It sounds like he is a good player. I have not seen him play yet. I hope I get a chance to see him this year.

Chris, here's a tip for cleaning up baseballs. In the cleaning product section of your favorite grocery store or Wal-Mart you'll find a product made by Mr. Clean. It looks kind of like a sponge and it cleans baseballs up like magic! It will even remove black ink (doesn't seem to work on blue for some reason). It definitely gets clay, grass and dirt off though.

I've not tried this yet. A 'graphin' buddy of mine turned me on to it over the winter. He gave me a ball that he removed an autograph from so I could get Jeff Francoeur. I swear the ball looks brand new! I'll be shining up some of my old bp balls and turn them into "pearls" once again.

And I guess I owe someone an apology. I accidentally called pinetarman by the name of "Chris" by mistake. Sorry guys!

By the way, what minor league team do you see?

Chrisklob--
Alright. I will look for that in the cleaning section. I have some old minor league baseballs with numbers on it, which I could try and get the lettering off it. Thanks for that tip! I usually see Minor league intercounty baseball. It is almost double-a baseball. Alot of the rookie prospects play in it. Do you ever get to see any Major League baseball games?

Chris, I don't get to very many games. Atlanta is the closest city and it's five hours away. I do go to a lot of minor league games. Aside from my "home" team, I also go to Myrtle Beach, Jacksonville, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina a couple of times to go 'graphing.

I used to go to spring training in Florida every year but haven't been able to go for the past few years. That's the best time to get big leaguers autographs. They are relaxed there and many will sign there. Plus, you never know what famous ex-player might happen to be there the day you go. I've gotten Nolan Ryan and Phil Niekro that way. I'm guessing that you live in Canada, somewhere near Toronto. It would be a great time to get away from the cold and get down to Florida for a vacation for you and your family!