Getting a player’s autograph in a any sport is still a pretty big deal for many sports fans, but in some cases, it’s really not worth it in the end.
Most major league ball players have a unique looking autograph, but to the average fan, you would never in a million years be able to make out who the player really is. In the case of Rockies outfielder Michael Cuddyer, this will never be a problem again.
Cuddyer is known around the league to have “perfect penmanship” when it comes to signing baseballs or any other item that comes his way. It wasn’t always that way as he explained to the Denver Post though.
“My first few years in pro ball, my autograph looked like an EKG. Like most guys”
That changed after Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew called him out during a signing session. Killebrew couldn’t read the name on the ball, and Cuddyer heard about it. From that point on, Cuddyer always puts 100% into the signature, and it shows.
Photo via: denverpost.com
I remember the day after Harmon Killebrew passed, they spent most of the day talking about him on XM Radio, and his passion for good-looking autographs was something that came up at least once. He strongly felt that if people were going to shell out big money for players’ autographs, they should at least be legible.
He was apparently still working with some of the Twins on this part of their game, and I recall that he referred to Joe Mauer as a “work in progress.”
Some other autograph awesomeness: Jose Bautista, Levi Michael, Ralph Kiner, Nolan Ryan.
Autograph Awful: JP Arencibia, all football players.
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