Christmas Gifts for Deep Pockets

If a certain somebody comes through for her father, he’ll be getting a Minnie Minoso print off a negative he bought. The only thing better, maybe, would be the first print off the negative, and who’s to say it won’t be? Regardless, I like what it shows, Minoso in an unguarded moment. This is the kind of stuff I look for on eBay. Because I happen to root for a franchise steeped in mediocrity, memorabilia prices tend to be low, relatively speaking. There are exceptions, of course. Back in spring, I had my eye on a wire photo of Old Timers’ Day at Yankee Stadium, 1956. The White Sox were in town, so Yankee management brought in people like Ted Lyons and…the spy, Moe Berg. My God, Berg in a Sox uniform. Why didn’t I just pay the $96? Otherwise, anything Berg will cost you, like $5,000 (or best offer) for a head shot. Berg and Babe Ruth in Seattle on their way to playing in Japan in 1934 (when Berg may have slipped away from teammates to do some spying for the U.S. government)? That, my friend, will set you back $3,500, unless you come up with a best offer the seller can live with. Someone is trying to sell two snapshots, one each of Ruth and Lou Gehrig, at Comiskey Park, probably 1927. Cost? $8,500, or best offer. The second most expensive Ruth photo now on eBay, is going at $30,000 obo. It also shows the Bambino at my ballpark. I wonder how the Babe would feel about his most expensive pic going for $50,000 while someone has priced a snapshot of a sixteen-year old Gehrig holding what looks to be the family dog at $499,999 obo and never mind the rip. Jackie Robinson? The man who integrated major-league baseball tops out on eBay at $8,500 obo. Make of the price differential with Ruth or Gehrig what you will, and know this—fans must’ve taken a ton of photos with and of Robinson on National League fields. My guess is those photos have been passed on from one generation to the next. Someday, that might change and there could be a bumper crop of Robinson pics available on eBay. Just don’t ask me the price. Willie Mays tops out at $15,000 from somebody who’s also trying to get $12,500 for a ticket stub from the 1926 World Series (good luck with that). Me, I’ll be happy to keep hunting for pics of White Sox players, more often anonymous than not, in a ballpark I can’t seem to forget. But I should’ve snapped up Moe Berg when I had the chance. He hit .287 for the South Siders in 1929, you know.