Robin Yount auctions keepsakes

[Madhawk23]

Anyone else find it odd that he auctioned off a bunch of his baseball keepsakes, including his 3,000 ball and bat? I think I saw where he said that he was downsizing houses, and needed to get rid of a bunch of stuff. But, why would you ever get rid of your 3,000 ball and bat? Makes you wonder if he's really struggling financially and needs the money? Or, am I reading too much into this?

[1992casey]

Robin will be 61 next month. Downsizing at that age is pretty common. I personally wouldn't want to auction off the 3,000 bat and ball, but people don't always have the same emotional attachment to things like that as others.

[MrTPlush]

I think he wants the money. Whether he needs it or just wants it. It's hard for us to imagine selling such milestones, but that's because we all are nowhere near MLB quality players and idolize them. It's a lot different when you actually have those skills. After 20 years he probably has stared at his baseball stuff long enough.

[JimH5]

I didn't bid on any of his big ticket items, but I was the winning bidder on Lot #911, a display case presented to Yount from the Hall of Fame containing a brick from the original HOF building.

[BillScottCanRake]

I obviously can't speak for Yount, but if I had to guess I'd say he doesn't need the "stuff" because he got to live it. Yount gets to remember how he felt being in the batters box, what Molitor and Ganter said to him when he got to first, etc, etc. He doesn't really need the bat he used or the ball he hit to relive the experiences of his 3,000th hit.

 

For most fans, memorabilia is a way for us to connect and get closer to the game. It wouldn't surprise me at all if having a bat or ball or something that was used in a game or is a milestone may mean more to fans than the players.

[dlk9s]

I bid on his travel bag from his early MLB days, but it got too pricey for me.

 

I do think it's weird that ALL of this stuff would be auctioned - with no word of proceeds going to charity - if he supposedly doesn't need the money (not that it's any of my business). I can understand not having any attachment to random autographed All-Star baseballs, but you REALLY wouldn't want to keep a couple of the biggies or maybe donate them to the Brewers or the HOF?

 

At any rate, doesn't really matter. Hope people enjoy the items. Wish I could've gotten something.

[sauveb]

One of the things I always liked about Robin was that he wasn't concerned with numbers and stuff but rather, all he seemed to care about was playing and winning the games. Getting rid of a bunch of memorabilia would seem to be consistent with that image.

[JimH5]

I bid on his travel bag from his early MLB days, but it got too pricey for me.

 

I do think it's weird that ALL of this stuff would be auctioned - with no word of proceeds going to charity - if he supposedly doesn't need the money (not that it's any of my business). I can understand not having any attachment to random autographed All-Star baseballs, but you REALLY wouldn't want to keep a couple of the biggies or maybe donate them to the Brewers or the HOF?

 

At any rate, doesn't really matter. Hope people enjoy the items. Wish I could've gotten something.

 

I was up very late that night, wrestling with my budget on the lot from Walter Alston's estate that contained a 1975 NL ASG signed ball, a team photo, and a commemorative bat presented to Alston with engraved signatures of the 75 NL ASG team.

 

I thought I won at 11:00, and then woke up at 2:30 to see an "outbid" email. I kept in the bidding longer than I would have had I been fully awake, but then passed on the last bid when the price got too high.

 

I mostly wanted the bat, and hope the buyer mostly wanted the ball and breaks up the lot to resell the bat...wishful thinking.

[Point Beer Is Best]

Another reason some players may get rid of stuff is they've seen what can happen to families after the patriarch passes away leaving their heirs to fight over the collectibles. Selling his memorabilia at this stage prevents all that, plus it prevents him from the agonizing decisions of which of his children/grandchildren receive which items. If he had donated the items to the Brewers or HOF, that could also lead to some angst from his heirs that these very valuable items were just given away. This way he converted the items to cash which he can spend/will as he pleases in an equitable way. Not saying this is the reason, but a plausible theory.

[jerichoholicninja]

Another reason some players may get rid of stuff is they've seen what can happen to families after the patriarch passes away leaving their heirs to fight over the collectibles. Selling his memorabilia at this stage prevents all that, plus it prevents him from the agonizing decisions of which of his children/grandchildren receive which items. If he had donated the items to the Brewers or HOF, that could also lead to some angst from his heirs that these very valuable items were just given away. This way he converted the items to cash which he can spend/will as he pleases in an equitable way. Not saying this is the reason, but a plausible theory.

 

Now his family has $200,000 to squabble over instead.

[FVBrewerFan]

My guess would be he needs the money. I know he was/is involved with various ventures, and it doesn't take much to blow through your money. Robin-Ade for example, was just horrible. I don't know how you screw up lemonade, but that stuff was awful.

[jerichoholicninja]

My guess would be he needs the money. I know he was/is involved with various ventures, and it doesn't take much to blow through your money. Robin-Ade for example, was just horrible. I don't know how you screw up lemonade, but that stuff was awful.

 

Don't they still make it though? I thought I saw it at the grocery store recently.

[FVBrewerFan]

Not sure if they're still making it or not. But even if they are, he could be losing a lot of money keeping it afloat.

[reillymcshane]

Another reason some players may get rid of stuff is they've seen what can happen to families after the patriarch passes away leaving their heirs to fight over the collectibles. Selling his memorabilia at this stage prevents all that, plus it prevents him from the agonizing decisions of which of his children/grandchildren receive which items. If he had donated the items to the Brewers or HOF, that could also lead to some angst from his heirs that these very valuable items were just given away. This way he converted the items to cash which he can spend/will as he pleases in an equitable way. Not saying this is the reason, but a plausible theory.

 

Now his family has $200,000 to squabble over instead.

A lot easier to divide 200k than a baseball.

[Baldkin]

My guess would be he needs the money. I know he was/is involved with various ventures, and it doesn't take much to blow through your money. Robin-Ade for example, was just horrible. I don't know how you screw up lemonade, but that stuff was awful.

 

They still make it, it's still at Pick 'n Save's around Wisconsin.... and I personally love the stuff. It's tart, rather than overly sweet, and my bitter old man tastebuds like it

[JimH5]

Does Yount have a financial interest in the lemonade company? Or is it just an endorsement deal?

[FVBrewerFan]

It's more than an endorsement deal. He has, or at least had financial interest. That was just an example though, no idea if he has had other investments, but he wouldn't be the first former athlete to find himself in financial problems due to bad investments. Simply using Hakim's Razor here for selling off these items.

[JimH5]

Okay, but it's all speculation on our part over his own finances. We can guess all we want about his situation, but in the end, he sold off his stuff for reasons only known to him.

[MrTPlush]

Gotta remember Yount is from a time of much smaller salaries. If he didn't invest it to grow I wouldn't be surprised if he has burned through a lot of it. Regardless he didn't make $100mil like many do these days. A $100,000 check for stuff he probably didn't value a ton is likely pretty nice.

[502 to Right]

I'm an attorney and I've had multiple clients who are former Packers or Brewers who were killed in real estate circa 2008-2013. Like life changing losses. Just saying...

[AdvantageSchneider]

There was an article in the JS about this and they asked him if he was struggling financially, and he said no. I would assume if he was hard up he could be coaching somewhere and making a pretty penny.

 

I'd buy the downsizing and just wanting to get rid of some stuff. I don't know who it was but some actor or comedian once went to Wayne Gretzky's house and was excited to see all of Wayne's trophies and things. All of Wayne's MVP awards were in the garage. Probably Robin had the same deal. No shrine to his accomplishments or anything. Just stuff in the garage.

[Outlander]

I'm not even sure what that is getting at but Yount has had financial issues in the past and his fellow teammates have as well including R. Fingers.

[jerichoholicninja]

Gotta remember Yount is from a time of much smaller salaries. If he didn't invest it to grow I wouldn't be surprised if he has burned through a lot of it. Regardless he didn't make $100mil like many do these days. A $100,000 check for stuff he probably didn't value a ton is likely pretty nice.

 

I've always wondered how the superstars of a generation ago are doing financially now since they made so little compared to today's stars. There's certainly appearance fees and other things they can do to profit off of their legacy but I can't imagine that pays enough to afford to live the same lifestyle they did when they played.

[homer]

Yount made almost $19 million in his career.

[And That]

Hakim's Razor

Occam's razor