2009 Brewers On Deck Event

[crivitzbadger]

I was planning on having him sign a Ryan Braun NL ROY bat and his Miami jersey. But had to settle for an 8 X 10 picture because there was no way I was having my name put on these items that would of looked terrible. I plan on contacting the Brewers and letting them know my disgust and there poor communication with the fans on a supposed "Fan Fest." Does this mean he will not be signing at any ballparks anymore because he is worried about someone turning around and selling it but it's fine if you pay him $150 then he doesn't care what you do with it. He is making 48 million plus endorsements, other contracts and he is worried about someone making a couple of bucks of him if they choose to.

[And That]

He is making 48 million plus endorsements, other contracts and he is worried about someone making a couple of bucks of him if they choose to.

His name is his to do with what he chooses, yes? No one has a right to his name except him.

[crivitzbadger]

Once he starts charging for his name then he gives up the right. I recall him saying when he signed his contract, "There aren't many things I can't buy with 48 million." Then he should start buying all of his memorbilia if he so worried about it.

[murdock4474]

I apologize for continuing to feed into this, but the logic is lost on me. If the opinion stated is, "once he starts charging for his name then he gives up the right," wouldn't it be more accurate to state "I'm unhappy regarding the price at which the product is being offered"? Feel free to get Ryan Braun to sign something - non-personalized - for you for the fee he charges at another event. Yes, this affects the profit margin, but perhaps the economics of autographed items has simply evolved over the years.

 

Also, it's my understanding that, upon arriving at the fan fest, Braun made it clear he would be personalizing items. There would be no way for anyone to promote that in advance.

[And That]

Once he starts charging for his name then he gives up the right.

This is not true. He has the right to his name, and to distribute his name as he sees fit, whether that means charging a fee for it or not. The only way that he would lose this right is to sign a contract that transfers the right to someone else.

 

And didn't all the money from On Deck go to a charity?

 

As I stated earlier in the thread, some sports fans seem to have a very strong sense of entitlement when it comes to getting things from the players and I think this sense of entitlement goes way too far with some people. I guess I don't see how it's wrong for Braun, or anyone else, to do with their name what they wish, or charge for it as they wish (especially if the money is going to charity).

[crivitzbadger]

As a paying customer I should know what I am getting for my money. Sorry, but I don't recall Braun walking down the line at 6 am informing everyone that he would be personalizing everything

[And That]

In the Brewers' press release for the event, it was termed an "autograph session" - if Ryan Braun was signing autographs, which by all accounts he was, it seems to me that he was meeting the terms of the arrangement. If the press release had said "sweet spot autograph session" or "signature-only autograph session" then I could see a gripe.

 

I also believe the event was targeted at fans, not collectors. I tend to doubt most of the people at the event cared whether Braun was personalizing things or not.

[bigredrobbo]

But he can make money of us by making us pay $150 for his autograph. When you start charging money for something the person paying the money has the right to choose how they want their product and not be told what can and can not be put on the autograph.

I hear your argument, but by that rationale you could buy tickets for a Rolling Stones show and demand that they play all Springsteen songs because you prefer his music. The choice you have is to pay the money for whatever is on offer, or not pay the money and don't get anything signed. The fact that it was not known until you'd waited in line was wrong of the Brewers, but apart from that, Braun doesn't have to do a darn thing he doesn't want to.

[billyhallfan]

now you are going to far, braun is an extremely nice guy, i've gotten him in person for free many times, and even collectors in other cities say that he is one of the nicest superstars, so I don't think it is right the way that you are insulting him...

[crivitzbadger]

What did I say to insult him. Just stating facts

[Dmiles23]

I'm on the fence on this topic. I can totally understand why Braun wants to personalize everything, and he has the right to do so if he pleases. But I also think it should have been noted in the press release. It doesn't matter who the money for the event goes to. If a person pays money, they should get what they want. And like Crivitz said, some items (like a Braun Miami jersey) just would look goofy personalized. And if a person is paying for a personalized autograph, it should be stated in advance so the person doesn't waste their time by waiting in line for hours for something they may not want.

 

I blame this more on the Brewers though than Braun. I'd guess they knew before hand that he was going to personalize everything. They should have put it up on the site, or at least told the people in line who had been waiting there for 4 hours before the event. If I'm understanding it right, they told people he would personalize everything when they handed out the vouchers. By that time, most of the other lines had their 250 people in them already... so you're screwed.

[Buckhunts]

There were a few people who complained enough and the Brewers simply offered them their money back. Bottom line is the Brewers didn't do anything wrong. Braun signed autographs. No one lied about it. If I had the chance to make money for charity AND tick off collectors and autograph hounds, I'd say "Where do I sign up?"

[crivitzbadger]

I love bucknuts how you throw everyone who collects memorbilia into the same pool. Sorry to disappoint you but there are diehard Brewer, Braun fans out there who go to these autograph sessions because they have special items they want signed. Like Dmiles said how goofy would it look to have my name on a Braun jersey. The Brewers did do something wrong in not advertising this beforehand. If they had put restrictions on autographs in the past at these Fan Fests fine but to just change something because you want to and not inform people of this was not right. The Brewer organization displayed poor judgement in not advertising this!!

[brewcrew779]

Sorry man, but I disagree. The Brewers don't have to advertise that he will be personalizing. Some people choose to personalize and some don't. It's wrong to blame the organization for that. If Braun wants to personalize, it's totally up to him. He is the one that put in the hours to get where he is today. All I can say is you get what you pay for. Some guys have different signatures depending on where you get them. Last year I got a Kendall ball singed at the event and it's different than the one that I got at the ball park before a game last year. It's their name and they can do with it what they please. Just as an FYI, Braun is not $150. I recently sent in items for a private signing and it was $55 for balls/pics and $100 for bats and jerseys. I for one don't think its ridiclous. There are many other guys out there who charge more than that. Favre charges $250 for example. The Brewers advertised $25 for his autograph and thats what you got.

[Hart Of Milwaukee]

If you really want to blame someone, blame the lowlifes who wait outside the hotels and ballparks with their books of cards

 

that is an extreme generalization, and not accurate at all...

Agreed BHF, im getting sick how people think if you have a binder of baseball cards your a seller. If someone is going to get Braun on a card they have no intention of selling. If I was Ryan Braun and I saw you with a Miami Jersey and especially a roy bat Id assume right off the bat you were selling my product. Im not trying to scold you or anything, but usually if I go to a players lot or a hotel I have 3-4 major league baseballs and a small binder full of cards sitting in my back pack. I'm pretty sure when most players look at this theyll assume im a seller. Just because you view yourself as a "true fan" doesnt mean the player does all he sees is two big ticket items in your hands. The g-robs as much as I hate to say it arent the ones ruining autograph collecting. It is just flat numbers there are so many more collectors especially in Milwaukee then there used to be. If it was just g-rob at the players lot every day id bet those players would sign for him every day. Im not defending g-rob's tactics here, but theres a reason why a lot of new collectors hate g-rob for the simple reason he treats them like crap because he doesnt want them there, because he has figured out that the huge growth of attendance by fans at players lots and hotels are what is cutting into his profit.

[Buckethead Brigade]

I have to agree somewhat with Crivitz here. Braun never personalized anything else, as far as i know, at any other event, especially at On Deck. I don't think it is fair to the fans who waited 4-5 hours for his autograph, not knowing that they were getting a personalized item. I can see the logic on both sides of the augument, but like I said, I don't think it is fair.

[strawbossisevil]

I know this is some people's passion, but all we are talking about is a little scribble of ink on felt, or horsehide, or wood. In the long run, what does it matter if that scribble includes your name or doesn't.

 

I understand being upset if someone is looking to sell the object to turn a profit (those people sicken me), but if you are getting it as a fan, I think the personal message makes it that much more special. It is clear then that you got the autograph in person, that it isn't something you just bought at some memorabilia store. It is part of the story, about how you got to personally meet the famous person.

 

If I were Ryan Braun, I would do the same thing. I would personalize every single signature I made.

[BrewCrew25]

On a little lighter note, one time I saw Suppan at the players lot last year and one guy explained to him that the autograph was just for him and he wasn't going to be selling it to anyone. Suppan just looked at him and said "hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, if you want to sell it, go right ahead." I thought that was pretty entertaining that a player really didn't care. The Bob Feller's of the world may not cost much, but at least everyone that wants his autograph has access to get one for cheap. On the other side, you've got a guy like Sandy Koufax that knows exactly how much his autograph is worth.

 

I'm not trying to fuel the fire either way, but I would still be kind of upset if I got in line for Braun instead of Hoffman or Fielder, only to find out my item was going to be personalized. I don't sell me items, but someday my kids are going to have little use for an autograph addressed to me.

 

I guess for the big items like a jersey I would pay the extra money to have it signed the way I wanted it. Not that everyone can afford to do that, but at least you're not dissappointed with the way that the autograph turns out. Braun is still fairly reasonable to get from a private signing.

 

On another note, I do have to praise Prince Fielder for being one of the most popular Brewers and signing so well at these events. I've seen some items that he signs at ballparks that are rushed, but he does a nice job signing items when he's at a sit down event like this.

[pitchleague]

I still would rather have a handshake and a nice conversation with a player than an autograph, but that's just me. I don't even need a picture of it.

 

I do think that this a highly debateable topic but we all need to remember to keep cool heads over it. Nobody's really stepping over the line yet, but I'd like to squelch it before it gets that far. Some of you are big collectors. Some of you are not. Don't try to prove that one way is better than the other because it is each individual's personal preference. Please continue to keep the conversation civil. Thank you.

 

For the record, I agree with strawboss that the story is more important than the artifact.

[bani1717]

Hard for me to blame Braun for personalizing when he isn't getting any money out of this. Also hard to blame the Brewers when they may not have known ahead of time that he was personalizing.

One thing that I've learned from autograph collecting: there are lots of variables. You may have an usher who is slow to scan tickets for an Autograph Friday. You may be along a fence/railing where players start to sign at the opposite end as you, even though your end is the logical place to start. You may be next to kids, who a player or is more apt to sign for, or you may be next to collectors, who players may be less apt to sign for. In any case, I have learned to be as prepared as I can, and expect the "unlucky" experiences along with the "lucky" ones, while trying to learn the tricks to put yourself in a position to get lucky

[bobbledude25]

All this Braun autograph stuff makes me laugh. Spring training his rookie year my dad and I talked to the guy for 5 minutes outside the batting cage and signed everything I threw at him, no personalization or anything. Great kid very personable. I remember my dad saying wait till he makes it big time we wont ever be able to do that again. Last year I was glad I waited for 5 hours freezing at miller park to get all those autographs at that on deck event and again no personalization by Braun. Wow how things change when you turn into the "real deal"

[rm121978]

Someone may have already mentioned this, but with many of the upper-level players, they have contracts with one or more memorabilia companies outlining what they can and can't sign. If I pay Braun for an exclusive autograph deal, I want something that distinguishes my items from what he signs for everybody else.

 

Some players will personalize things that aren't signed through their company, others will do things like add their uniform number or "Go Brewers" or something similar. Some guys won't sign baseballs on sweet spots if you haven't paid or bought it through one of their authorized companies.

 

Braun is just one of those guys. When he was in the minors, he was very good at signing virtually everything. Right before he was called up he signed a deal with Tristar (I believe) which prevented him from doing specific autos unofficially.

 

So in this case it wasn't really the Brewers' fault. If you want to blame someone (and I don't think anyone really deserves blame as this happens all over sports), blame either Braun or the memorabilia company who makes him personalize the stuff. He's protecting his brand and his company or companies are protecting their investment in his autographed items.

[crivitzbadger]

Joe Mauer has a contract with Tristar and he can't sign sweetspot. But, if you go to TwinsFest he is happy to sign anything you may have without a personalization. So, Braun could of very well signed without personalization if he wanted to. I just go back if your willing to pay him between $100-150 and he collects then he is happy to sign. I love it that his autograph company will have him sign something and then put it on ebay for $400 and people complain about autograph hounds.

[chuckiehacks]

How do you know Braun's contract is the same as Mauer's?

[SeriesFinale]

How do you know Braun's contract is the same as Mauer's?

I'd put odds down that he's aware of these things because he's a collector who keeps up on the market he wheels and deals in.

 

Ten posts and they're all upset at the Brewers and Braun because he was given an autograph that has low resale value.

 

That said, I don't care about autographs one whit (and if I did, I'd want something personalized, personally) but I do think if you've paid that much and waited that long, you should be able to get a non-personalized autograph if you want.