Catch a diamond in the rough

Home run balls, ticket stubs apt to gain in value

Joyzelle Davis, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 23, 2007 at midnight

Text size

More More Business

More stories »

The Colorado Rockies World Series run is golden in more ways than one.

The ballclub's first-ever World Series berth is likely to yield a treasure trove of memorabilia, from foul balls hit into the stands to ticket stubs pocketed after the game.

"This is their first World Series, so anything that has the World Series hologram will be valuable," said Casey Bloyer, store manager at Field of Dreams at the Park Meadows mall in Lone Tree.

Among the potential blockbuster souvenirs would be a game-clinching home run ball or the bat used to hit it, collectibles experts said. Not far behind would be a used helmet or uniform, which players rarely part with.

But not every collectible requires once-in-a-lifetime luck. World Series stamped balls and programs sold at the stadium are likely to appreciate in value, as are the front pages from the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post celebrating the day the Rockies clinched the division title.

Rockies fans in other states already are willing to pay as much as $10 for newspaper special sections commemorating the win, said Bill Vizas, the owner of Bill's Sports Collectibles in Denver.

"If you're not in Denver, those papers aren't easy to get," Vizas said.

The hard-backed ticket stubs from the game can be worth anywhere from $20 to $75 after the game. The value depends on the condition of the ticket and whether anything historic, like a no-hitter, made the game one for the ages.

While computer-ticket printouts are convenient, they have no after-market value, collectors said, because they easily can be Xeroxed or faked.

Even tickets for games that never happen can be valuable. The Rockies printed a handful of tickets during their last championship run, in 1995,for a game headlined "Colorado Rockies vs. American League Division Champions." But the game never happened because the Rockies lost the division title to the Atlanta Braves.

A pair of those phantom tickets was purchased for $250 by a collector, said Jose Mellado, owner of online retailer Squeeze Play Collectibles.

The big variable is whether the Rockies can clinch the World Series title. The marquee souvenirs captured en route to the championships - including Matt Holliday's three-run home run that capped the division championships against the Phillies, and Yorvit Torrealba's decisive three-run home run in Game 3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks - will rise or fall depending on the team's performance against the Boston Red Sox.

"The farther they go, the better it is," Vizas said.

Still, fans who bought memorabilia for obscure players heading into the season who have since caught fire are likely to see some return on their investments.

"(Shortstop Troy) Tulowitzki didn't have much value six weeks ago, but he's really rocketed up as the season progressed," Vizas said. "The fans knew he was the real deal, but nationally he was hardly known because he plays for the Rockies."

Up until just a few weeks ago, Field of Dreams didn't stock any Tulowitzki memorabilia. The sporting memorabilia store sold only Todd Helton and Holliday paraphernalia. Fueled by the team's late-season surge, the store has cleared room for Rockies players ranging from Garrett Atkins to Manny Corpas.

But most of the buyers of the store's $249 signed Matt Holliday baseballs and $379 Brad Hawpe bats aren't banking on the items appreciating enough to pay for their kid's college education.

"They just want something to keep" from this season, Bloyer said.

Then there are the truly weird items, like the handful of used sunflower seed shells purportedly chewed by Holliday during the Sept. 28 fireworks game. A Rockies fan scooped up the used seeds from left field and auctioned them on eBay, fetching national media attention and bids upward of $25.

Items to keep

Memorabilia from the 2007 Colorado Rockies run to the World Series that probably will be worth something:

• Anything that's one of a kind, whether it's a jersey worn by a player, a home run ball or a bat fragment hit into the stands

• Autographed World Series balls (which are stamped with a World Series logo) or programs

• The actual, hard paper game tickets. They'll be worth more if something spectacular happened during the game - such as a pitcher pitching a hitless game.

• Newspaper front pages of the Rockies clinching the Series berth.

Items sold

• Squeeze Play Collectibles sold a pair of "phantom tickets" to the 1995 World Series for $250. The tickets had the Rockies playing the American League Division champion. But, of course, the Rockies lost in the playoffs and never made it to the World Series that year.

Items for sale on eBay

• 2007 Phillies @ Colorado Rockies National League Division Series Program: Starting bid $34.99.

• 2000 Skybox EX Todd Helton signed card: Buy it now, price $6.99.

• Signed Colorado Rockies team MLB baseball, date and included names unknown: Starting bid $9.99.

• Used, 2007 Todd Helton game bat: Starting bid $99.

• Signed Rockies team bat, used in final series against the Dodgers, Sept. 25-27. Current bid: $128.40

• Kaz Matsui signed game bat: Buy it now price $475

• Matt Holliday game helmet, used during spring training. Current bid: $299.99

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News