Is Bryce Harper Losing Religion in Autograph

[Big Mac McGwire]

Bryce Harper Still Does not have A memorabilia contract with a major company.
Thats not the only thing he doesnt have.

He also does not have the desire to add his famous inscription at the end of his autograph.
"Luke 1:37" Translation- Anything is Possible Through God


If you got a Bryce Harper signature last year while he was in A and AA, you got a somewhat
nice autograph. At sometimes sloppy and other times, Long, Full and Clean.

It seems now, he has shortened his autograph to accomodate the crowds. This is the same thing
Mark McGwire did at the height of his popularity. Another Player whom at the height of his fame,
I am by no means saying Bryce is at the height of his career, just saying. Anyway,
When McGwire was on top, he had no autograph contract with a company. The only way
to get his signature was at ballpark. To make sure he got as many people as he could
he devised a sloppy abbreviated signature. Im not saying Bryce Harpers "NEW" autograph
is sloppy , im just saying either his agent has told him to not give the full signature
or he really is just trying to get as many people as possible by removing the bible verse at the end.
During Spring Traning he did a signing with a company. For 130.00 , this is the auto you got,

Earlier this year in Syracuse He was giving pretty much the same thing.

Last year he had 2 versions of his signature going around.
You had "B.Harper 34 Luke 1:37"
& Bryce Harper 34 Luke 1:37" - He wrote out pretty much every letter

The two "B.Harpers were obtained in May and the one on bottom to the left was from June.
Since then i had it graded and it got a overall grade of 9.5

 

[ThoseBackPages]

Thank god he dropped that inscription crap!

 

[All In Cards]

Thank god he dropped that inscription crap!

amen

 

[Jaypers]

That's him in the corner. That's him in the spotlight. Trying to keep a view.

 

[jbhofmann]

"FCB 3:16" Translation - thou shalt not covet ones signature that has been shortened

I thought Harper's favorite was- 1 Corinthians 15:4

 

[TheRealFrankL]

Imagine how much sooner he would have hit those two homers if he hadn't been writing a novel on each ball for the last two years! <BR><BR>*kidding.<BR><BR>Seriously though, probably needed to cut down on arm cramping.  He was really nice at A AA and even ST.  Signed a LOT of balls etc.

 

[200lbhockeyplayer]

His signature has gotten "bigger" and more rushed for sure, but really saw the most change from around 2008 on. He used to spell everything out.

This is from a ball signed in 2009...

 

[fsulevine]

That's him in the corner. That's him in the spotlight. Trying to keep a view.

Paraphrasing from one of the best songs of all-time!

 

[Lars]

He's probably had to sign more autographs in-person so he changed his autograph appropriately - sometimes things get abbreviated or shortened up and in the case of Harper, one of those things was his autograph.

I don't know if it is a conscious marketing effort by his agent but it is what it is - glad you got your dozen or so out of the way over the last year and enjoy it.

 

[tikitomoka]

Guys shorten their sigs, it's just natural after signing so much. Why not drop the inscription and a few squiggles, and be able to sign 15 more graphs as a result? It's typical of younger players, no need to read that much into it.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

seems to be a trend with the younger signers. Freddie's auto has gone to crap as well. its pretty much FF now

 

[Big Mac McGwire]

He's probably had to sign more autographs in-person so he changed his autograph appropriately - sometimes things get abbreviated or shortened up and in the case of Harper, one of those things was his autograph.

I don't know if it is a conscious marketing effort by his agent but it is what it is - glad you got your dozen or so out of the way over the last year and enjoy it.

Just figured i touch on it as it hadnt been brought up.
i wish i had gotten a dozen. had to settle for a lousy octopus but yes,
i am enjoying the fruits of my labor more and more each hit he gets

 

[nborton]

I think this is less of a trend in young guys signatures, and more of a trend in just how much volume they make them sign at once these days. Compared to the older players of the past who didn't sign mega sessions.