By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

BRADENTON, Fla. - The young man with the rolled T-shirt sleeves, baggy shorts and white sneakers did not come for the nine-inning sunburn. Nor is he here to eat hot dogs and chase them with a cold draft beer.

Autograph seeker Jay Fisher, 22, instructs Reds infielder Juan Castro where to sign a baseball card. (Michael E. Keating photo)

Jay Fisher is strategically positioned along the left-field line at McKechnie Field, and he has come to an exhibition game between the Pirates and Reds well-armed.

Baseball cards organized alphabetically. Glossy 8-by-10 photographs stored in a hard-sided case. Blue art pens from Germany that cost $1.58 each.

"This is my hobby," Fisher says. "I played two years at a community college; but since I can't play anymore, I might as well do this."

The intimate and relaxed atmosphere at spring training makes it a favorite for recreational autograph seekers like Fisher. They desire the interaction with baseball's present and future stars more than they see the potential profits an autograph might fetch.

On any given day, kids may make up the majority of the autograph seekers. But there are plenty of days when professional autograph hounds come early to the parking lots trying to nab players before they enter the stadium grounds. They are also there at night when players leave, clearly looking to cash in on the lucrative sports memorabilia business.

"Players are more available and much more loose," said Steve Wolter, president of the Cincinnati-based Sports Investments Inc. "I know several people that are down there right now.

"It's much easier to get an autograph at spring training than hanging around during batting practice at the stadium or after the game at the stadium" during the season.

But the innocence of the sports autograph is waning.

Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.'s signature is one of the most sought after because it can be so difficult to obtain.

"I'm in a situation where if I don't sign, I'm a (bad guy), and if I do sign and don't sign for everybody, I'm a (bad guy)," he said. "So it's easier for me to just not do it.

"There are certain times when kids are there, and I'll do it that way. But if I feel I can't control the situation, then I won't do it."

Griffey's reluctance also stems from previous attempts by outsiders to forge his signature for financial gain.

Federal investigators, he said, have interviewed him four times regarding such cases.

"The feds come down and ask, 'Is this (signature) yours? Is this not yours? We busted these people doing this,' " Griffey said.

A regulation ball signed by Griffey can fetch $150.

His 1989 Upper Deck rookie baseball card, considered his most valuable, is worth as much as $1,000 when autographed, according to Beckett.com.

Aside from Griffey, the signatures of shortstop Barry Larkin, first baseman Sean Casey, outfielders Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns and relief pitcher Danny Graves are considered the most valuable on the Reds, Wolter said.

"If they want to (sell my autograph), want make some money doing that, fine," Reds relief pitcher Ryan Wagner said. "I know exactly what it's like just to try and make a buck."

Opinions vary.

"That's out of my control," Graves said. "You can't do anything about it."

Barry Larkin signs balls and helmets at a Spring Training game in Sarasota. (Michael E. Keating photo)

Larkin's autograph on a regulation baseball is sold for around $100.

"I don't want anybody selling my autograph," he said. "I try to avoid ... the businessmen with their suits and binders and all that different stuff.

"Those are the guys that I try to avoid. I'll try to sign for the kids here and there, the people who look sincere that they value the autographs simply from the interaction standpoint."

Many Reds players can still see a bit of themselves in the young children that now ask for their signatures.

Kearns and his family would make annual trips to Riverfront Stadium when the Cubs came to Cincinnati.

Andre Dawson, Mark Grace and Eric Davis are among the autographs Kearns still has at his family's home in Lexington.

Now on the other side of the fence, Kearns has witnessed some of the extraordinary tactics employed by recreational and professional autograph seekers.

"I think anybody would sign for the kids and real fans any day of the week," Kearns said. "But you'll see (professional collectors) give a kid a ball or picture, and the kid will come up and ask you to sign it on the sweet spot and date it.

"What kid is going to ask you to do that? Kids just want autographs. They don't care when it is."

Balls, hats, baseball cards, bats, gloves, jerseys, game programs and ticket stubs are the most common items players are asked to sign.

Wagner has signed Styrofoam cups and bubblegum wrappers.

"I've signed underwear. I've signed skin," Larkin said. "I've been asked to sign body parts and a baby's diaper."

No matter the nature of the request, Larkin and others are mindful of what they write.

"There are some people that want you to sign 'Love, Barry,'" he said. "You try not to get too personal, try to stay professional and keep some sort of distance."

On the whole, players do not mind signing autographs when time permits and fans ask politely.

"Sometimes they just don't understand that while you're working and practicing you just can't stop and sign autographs," Graves said. "There's a time and place for it. When practice is over and you have to sign, then you sign."

Players also have tricks to limit autographs to true fans.

"If they personalize something, it really hurts the value and makes it almost worthless unless it was such a rare signature," Wolter said. "But even if Barry Bonds or Alex Rodriguez personalized an item, it would still hurt the value tremendously."

Omitting letters from their name is another way players can protect against forgery.

But all this does not matter to Fisher, who estimates his autograph collection is close to 60,000.

Included are autographs from Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle.

"You just find a way to get as many opportunities as possible," he said. "Spring training is always good in that respect."

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E-mail kkelly@enquirer.com