Prized Possessions: My Favorite Pieces of Guardians Memorabilia

The joy these pieces bring me will always be worth the embarrassing amount of money I have spent on them

Sadly, my baseball collection isn’t nearly as cool as Geddy Lee’s.

Whether it’s a birthday or Christmas gift, something handed down, or even something you just decided to splurge on, baseball merchandise can be one of the most special parts of the game. From baseball cards to signed memorabilia, each piece of merchandise has its own special story behind it. I’ve collected plenty of Cleveland baseball merchandise over the years, but I have a few pieces that are just a bit more special than the others.

Signed Jersey

On September 9, 2017, I attended a Cleveland Guardians game against the Baltimore Orioles. At this game, the team gave away vintage jerseys to the first select number of fans that walked through the gates. I was lucky enough to be one of these fans and immediately put the jersey on. After that game, though, I had a thought. I should take this jersey with me to every game and every GuardsFest I go to so I can have players sign it. That’s exactly what I did.

First signed by Brandon Guyer and Francisco Lindor on my 18th birthday, I have since collected 41 signatures on the jersey. It boasts the autographs of legends like Corey Kluber and José Ramírez, prospects like Ángel Martínez and José Tena, and my personal favorites like Eli Morgan and Nick Wittgren. It truly is my prized possession, baseball or not, and hangs in a frame on my wall. I will continue to take it to games and to GuardsFest (once every three years, ugh) and hopefully add to the sea of Sharpie ink.

Handmade Signs

When I was younger, my trick to meeting players at games was to take a sign with their name on it. Every time I went to a game, I bought a piece of Dollar Tree poster board and put a clever saying on it related to the player I wanted to meet. Some of these included “It ‘Cims’ that I’d really like to meet #90” (Adam Cimber) and lots of “18th/20th/21st Birthday List: Go to a Game (check) Meet X Player (no check)”.

The players always enjoyed the signs and asked if I wanted their autographs on them. Of course, I said yes so I have a couple of these signs with Tyler Naquin, Adam Cimber, and Eli Morgan’s autographs on them in my collection of baseball memorabilia. They don’t hang on my walls like the jersey, but they’ll always be a special, unique piece of merch that I know no other fans have.

Signed Bat

Another extremely special and sentimental piece I have is a game-used bat signed by former catcher Roberto Pérez. He was always one of my favorite players when he was in Cleveland, so I was ecstatic to receive this piece. However, the part that makes this bat so special is how I acquired it. The bat was given to me by a friend of my parents who was a season ticket holder every year and owned a Cleveland sports-themed bar in my hometown.

While I was away at college, my parents had informed me that their friend had cancer and didn’t have much time left. They also let me know that he had visited them one last time, and left a large collection of his Guardians merchandise to me. It included this bat, multiple signed jerseys, baseballs, and more. Not only was I extremely grateful to receive all of this in itself, it meant so much to me that in his final weeks he chose to pass along some of his prized possessions to my brother and I. It’s something I will always be thankful for and always think of each time I look at the bat in my living room.

Whether it’s the player that signed it, the way I acquired it, or the personal meaning it holds to me, the individual quirks of each piece of Cleveland baseball merchandise I own makes them all extremely special. Regardless of their value on the market (which doesn’t mean anything to me anyway), they’re worth more than gold to me.