A How-To Guide on Getting Your Favorite Player's Autograph

By Trey Cosby

I have some experience with this so I want to share with each of you on how to go about this process.  Getting an autograph begins long before the day where you actually meet the player.  Of course, getting a cool item like a Chicago Bears hat signed is a great way to support your fave team. There is a ton of information that you need be armed with and many steps that you will need to follow in order to make it to the day when you get that cherished autograph.

You are first going to need to figure out who you can get in contact with to gain some inside information.  Try to find someone who is connected to your favorite team’s front office.  You can do this by talking to friends, colleagues or other business contacts.  Make some phone calls and see what you can come up with.  If you can get into the front office, then you might be able to have your contact get in touch with your favorite player, insuring that you'll get that Tom Brady jersey into the man's hands.  Therefore, your contact may be able to obtain the autograph for you without you needing to be there.  Maybe just maybe, your contact could set something up where you get to meet the player and get his autograph, if that is what you so desire.  In return you can pass out some business cards or do something else that your contact may need you to do to help him promote his business.  A favor for a favor so to speak.

Here’s a personal example of this method in action:  My stepfather once bought a new Corvette from a dealer here in Atlanta.  They used to sit in the guy’s office long after the car deal was made and talk about everything under the sun.  My stepfather learned that this dealer had been a friend of John Smoltz.  This gave me a direct contact to Smoltz and I was able to gain an inside track on autographs and posters—in some cases even tickets.

All you have to do is ask around.  You are bound to know someone who is a friend-of-a-friend of a player who can hook you up with that Kobe Bryant jersey you're looking for.  Just get out there and pound the pavement.  If you do, something good will happen.

If that method does not come to fruition, then you may need to go about getting your favorite player’s autograph the old fashioned way.  In other words, you may need to head out to the old ball park for batting practice.

Once again, I would do some research before trying this formula.  The first thing you want to do is check on the weather.  Make sure that the conditions are favorable at the ball park on the day that you want to purchase tickets.

Next you want to make sure that the game you are going to attend is a game against a sub-par team.  The reason for this is that you don’t want to have much competition in obtaining your autograph, so if the crowds are sparse then you will have a better chance of getting the autograph that you want so badly.  If it is crowded, the players will be concentrating on trying to impress during batting practice and tire themselves out much more quickly.  If they get worn out swatting pitches then they will head to the showers as fast as possible.  You definitely don’t want that to happen, otherwise you will never get that signature.

So choose your times wisely.  Head out to the park about four hours before game time so you can catch the early batting practice.  Chances are good that if you get there early, and your favorite player is kind of taking it easy on himself, then he will be relaxed and much more likely to sign a few autographs before the later crowd arrives. Make sure you've got your Kobe Bryant cards stashed someplace easy to get in case you only have a few minutes.

There is no foolproof tactic towards getting your favorite player to sign your baseball, program, poster or whatever.  He or she simply has to be in the right mood to do it.  Some players will stick around and sign 50 to 100 autographs after practice, while others might stay and sign 20.  Quite a few players don’t like to sign autographs at all, so to get them you better be really cute or have long golden blonde hair and a supermodel’s body.

Most players are quirky and some are very temperamental.  They want to concentrate on doing their jobs and they don’t want any distractions.  The other thing to take into account is how that particular player has been playing lately.  Is he in a batting slump?  Has he not won a game on the mound in the last three weeks?  Does he have any personal problems going on that we may not know about?  All of these factors and others can weigh in when it comes to how a player is going to react when we ask him to sign something for us.

Do your best to be as kind and respectful as possible when you approach a player for his autograph.  DO NOT WAVE THE OBJECT YOU WANT SIGNED IN FRONT OF THE PLAYER’S FACE WHILE HE IS SIGNING SOMETHING ELSE!  I can promise you that no player wants your waiving your Chicago bears shirt in their face while they're signing something else .  If you are standing around the player and you are waiting patiently and quietly, then I can assure you that the player will take notice.  Just be humble and wait your turn.  Keep in mind that the player must stop somewhere, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t get his autograph the first time you try.  Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again.  You will find another game to attend and you will have better knowledge of the process and what to do from now on.

As you can see from my instructions, it’s not easy to get things done exactly as you may have planned.  There are so many variables that must fall into place if you are going to get your favorite player’s autograph.  If you will stay the course and use these directions that I have laid out here for you, then someday soon your dream will come true.  I hope this article will assist you with your plans to do what you have to do in order to make it happen.  Take it from me—the system works.  Give it your best shot and good luck.