Thursday, January 13, 2011

I'm Excited About Randy Myers


As some of you may know, Randy is considered one of the tougher autographs to obtain, at least among living players. From what I understand, he has not appeared at any card shows or participated in any private signings for the last twenty years. I've heard that he hates the physical act of signing, so he chooses not to do it. I'm sure that he's not the only player who has ever felt this way or decided not to sign, but he seems to be the only former Oriole player I've come across that feels that way. This means that most of the Orioles signed cards that are out there were autographed during his playing career which ended in 1998. All of these factors add up to make any autograph of his, especially on an Orioles card, a very tough signature to come across.

Recently, I was lucky to find this card for sale in an Orioles signed lot on ebay. I had autographs of all the other players who were included and didn't really want the doubles and triples, so I sent the seller a message asking if I could purchase only this card from the lot. He agreed and I added Randy to my collection for a very reasonable price, especially compared to the prices of Randy's others autographs that I've seen for sale and since this is the only Orioles autograph of his that I had ever come across for sale.

Randy's career spanned 14 seasons from 1985-98 and he pitched for the Mets, Reds, Padres, Cubs, Orioles and Blue Jays. He signed with the Orioles as a free agent following the '95 season and was the anchor of the bullpen for the O's last two playoff seasons, even leading the American League with 45 saves in 1997. He also led the N.L. in saves twice during his three seasons with the Cubs from 1993-95 and made four All-Star teams during his career.

Myers is best remembered as being one of the "Nasty Boys" in the 1990 Reds World Series champs' bullpen, along with Rob Dibble and another former Oriole Norm Charlton. Interestingly, none of the three are very accommodating with TTM requests. Nasty indeed.

9 comments:

Rod (Padrographs) said...

What makes it even harder to find a card of Randy is that he would only sign cards of the organization he was currently with. He is one of the players I need for my Padres collection on a Padres card.

Anonymous said...

I had actually heard that Myers would also only sign the current year's cards.

I was lucky enough to buy a card from a Norfolk, Va.-area collector who had gotten a Mets card signed back when they used to play an exhibition game against the Tidewater Tides each year. (I spent more to get that card than I have for some deceased ballplayer's autographs.)

Orioles Magic said...

Thanks guys. I had no idea that Myers would only sign the cards of his current organization or the current year. But that would explain why he doesn't seem to sign at all any more.
Like I said, I got lucky with this card, I don't think that the seller really knew what he had.

Unknown said...

I was wondering if you knew anything about signed baseballs. I have one signed by Randy Myers 1997. I have no papers with it and need to find a local place to take a look at it.

Tom said...

I took my son to a sportscard shop when Randy Myers was there in 1987. He was signing Randy K posters, and also his rookie cards! He said that day, he would only sign current year cards. We purchased 2 cards for $5 each, and the poster was free! Sadly, the poster has bitten the dust, but the cards remain in M/NM condition! Might consider selling them someday, or at least one of them.

Orioles Magic said...

Tom-Sounds like you were one of the lucky ones to actually get him to sign something, although it seems like he has been oddly specific about what he would and wouldn't sign for many years.

Unknown said...

I was at a show with Randy in 1988. He was beyond nice to each and every kid on line. He informed everyone he would only sign cards from the current year as people who met him would have unique cards as people meeting him later. I sat with him when the show was winding down and chatted with him awhile. Best part of the day, he let me put his 1986 World Series ring on. One of 6 championship rings I have had on my finger. Great Guy.

Unknown said...

I am working on getting the entire 1992 upperdeck set autographed...all 800 cards minus the checklists. I just passed the 600 mark..and did it in amazing style..with 2 signed Gary Carters and one of the Tony Gwynns. I never thought that I would find any of those.
I dont have Randy Myers and it is looking like it is going to be next to impossible to get after reading this..

Orioles Magic said...

Justin- honestly in the five or so years since I've written this post, Randy has actually done a few sit down signings in the Cincinnati area along with the other Nasty Boys. The main issue at this point seems to be having the money to cover it as it was something like $200 for the three of them.