Expert says Randy Johnson memorabilia won’t climb in value despite Hall of Fame status
Jul 24, 2015, 10:30 AM | Updated: 10:30 am
MESA, Ariz. — Former Arizona Diamondbacks ace Randy Johnson gets inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday but there probably won’t be a jump in value for Johnson-related memorabilia.
One Valley expert said one piece of “Big Unit” memorabilia could bring in some money, but he doesn’t expect a run on people buying and selling Johnson stuff.
Mike Weber has owned the Hall of Fame Collectables store at Broadway and Lyndsey in Mesa for 24 years. He has a couple of Randy Johnson items in stock.
“Currently, right now, I have a couple of signed baseballs, and I have a nice picture that was donated to someone by the Diamondbacks,” Weber said.
Weber thinks Johnson was in a hurry when he signed one of the baseballs since it was not signed in the “sweet spot” of the ball where Johnson normally signs.
Weber is selling that one for $100, while the other ball, which is signed in the “sweet spot” is going for $175.
However, Weber said that Johnson memorabilia can be hard to come by.
“Randy is a tough cookie,” Weber said. “First of all, one of the most desirable things in the memorabilia industry is signed jerseys. Mr. Johnson does not sign jerseys.”
Weber said that the exception to that is if the jersey is being given to charity. He also said that Johnson is restrictive of which of his memorabilia can be sold.
If you do have a signed Johnson jersey, Weber says, framed, it’s worth about $1,000 to $2,000
Weber does not think that he will see a run of customers who all of a sudden want to buy Randy Johnson stuff. He said that’s because there is no excitement over Johnson’s induction. He said people have known that it was coming for at least five years.
“If you 500 home runs, you’re a Hall of Famer. If you win 300 games, and you’ve got a good earned run average, you’re a Hall of Famer,” Weber said.
“He’s had those 300 wins for over five years now, so what’s the surprise that he’s going into the Hall of Fame?”
There are several other players who are hot sellers.
“I’m putting my money in Mike Trout. I’m putting my money in Bryce Harper. I’m putting my money in Derek Jeter,” Weber said. “They’re established national memorabilia gods!”
He also says NBA star Stephen Curry and the U.S. women’s soccer team are hot sellers.
He expects the memorabilia of many of those players to rise in value for years to come.
