Dear Babe: I have an official cardboard lineup card used by the Baltimore Orioles during Cal Ripken's streak. It was filled out and hung in the Orioles dugout for a game against Oakland in 1993. It's from one of the few games in which Ripken was actually replaced (his name has a line through it, with the replacement listed, etc.). It is 100 percent authentic. Former Orioles manager Johnny Oates personally gave the lineup card to me. There are only 2,632 of them from during the streak. And he was replaced in this game, which happened only a handful of times. -- Dave O'Brien, Temecula, Calif.
Actually there are probably far fewer than 2,632 out there. Methinks a lot of lineup cards get tossed. Let's face it, nobody would have realized in those first 1,500 games that Ripken might actually surpass Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak of 2,130. Still, the value is not great. "The value is around $100 to $150," said Mike Heffner, president of Lelands.com auction house in New York. "If it was signed, it would be worth around $75 more. The fact that his name is crossed out does not increase the value. Depending on what Ripken is charging these days at shows, it might be worth your while to have him sign it."
Dear Babe: I have a baseball supposedly signed by Honus Wagner. It was given to me in 1953. It's an official American league ball. I don't know when it was signed. -- Lysle Ryen, Rochester Mills, Pa.
No one will be able to tell when it was signed, but my experts are in agreement that it was not signed by Honus Wagner. Heffner, David Kohler, president of www.scpautions.com in Laguna Niguel, Calif. and Mike Gutierrez, consignment director for Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com) in Dallas, all agreed the signature on the baseball was not Wagner's.
Wagner, considered to be one of baseball's greatest players, was one five players in the Hall of Fame's first induction class.
The experts put an average single-signed Wagner baseball in the $5,000-$15,000. Of course, a creamy white baseball with a solid Wagner signature might sell for as much as $50,000.
BABE NOTES: Card wars continue unabated. When last we looked, Topps had secured an exclusive MLB license. Upper Deck countered by signing on with the Major League Baseball Players Association and as the exclusive licensee for colleges. Now Topps has announced, it has signed a multi-year deal, making it the exclusive licensee for minor league baseball. The deal includes sole use of the Pro Debut logo. Its first product will be its 2010 Topps Pro Debut Series 1 to be unveiled in early March 2010.
-- In its second season, 2009 Topps Mayo again commemorates the first set of football cards with a new-look vintage design. The base set features 180 NFL pros, 10 retired stars and 60 rookies. Each hobby box has an oversized cabinet card. Similar to Allen & Ginter sets, Mayo also has cards of famous personalities and events along with the governors of each state. There are also plenty of autographed and relic cards along with one-of-one mini printing plates. For details visit www.topps.com.
(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)
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