NEW YORK -- Baseball has come a long way since the `50s, when Manhattan kids played stickball with Willie Mays, and Brooklyn fans banged shopping carts with Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider and Gil Hodges at the local market.
Fans who want to mingle with ballplayers these days better have deep pockets: Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds will charge fans more than $8,500 to hang with them for a weekend in December.
Even by the bull market standards of sports memorabilia - Bonds' 700th home run ball sold just last week for $804,000 - collectors and dealers say the price of admission to "The Ultimate Event" is shocking.It's not unusual for a sports memorabilia company to charge $1,000 or more for a ticket to a signing. But that December weekend - billed by organizers as "The Ultimate Event" - is possibly the most expensive ticket ever in sports collectibles history, memorabilia insiders say.
"This puts memorabilia and baseball out of reach for most people," says Robert Plancich, founder of the Collectors Alliance for Reform and Disciplinary Sanctions, a California consumer-protection group. "These guys made more than $40 million this year between the two of them, so this will leave a sour taste in people's mouths."
Not in everybody's mouth, of course. Some collectors might look at the weekend as an opportunity to score memorabilia that will skyrocket in value. An autographed Bonds jersey, especially if it is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, will fetch up to $1,500, says Jeff Johnson, the owner of Coast to Coast Sports.com, while autographed Rodriguez jerseys sell for $500. As Bonds and A-Rod pass baseball's most hallowed milestones, the value will go up.
"If you look at this as an investment, you shouldn't," Johnson says. "But when Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's home run record, the value of his memorabilia will go up."
The event is being organized by AROD Authenticated, the Clearwater, Fla., company that sells Rodriguez memorabilia. Company president Scot Monette said he didn't have time to discuss The Ultimate Event last week.
But an E-mail circulated to collectors this month says that for $7,500, high-rollers can attend a Dec. 10 cocktail party with A-Rod and Bonds at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, where they can "meet and greet" the All-Stars, pose for photos and participate in a question-and-answer session.
They'll also receive a gift bag packed with $3,500 worth of goodies, including a limited-edition watch created just for The Ultimate Event. Admission will be limited to 125 people.
The following day, Rodriguez and Bonds will sign autographs at the 40/40 Club for four hours. The price of admission is steep - $1,050 - although the players will not personalize inscriptions.
Despite the expense, the organizers shouldn't have any problems packing either house. "You have to be a huge fan to lay out that kind of money," Johnson says. "But there are a lot of people who think it is worth it."
Collectors say A-Rod is much warmer than Bonds; he has a politician's knack for working a room. "He's terrific," says Queens collector Ed Schauder, who met the Yankee star at a similar event in April. "He was as nice as can be."
But some collectors say it doesn't matter if A-Rod is nice. The event _ like $7 beers and skyrocketing ticket prices - is yet another sign that pro sports is dumping its middle-class base in favor of wealthy fans.
"It just goes to show you these guys are all about money," says New Rochelle collector Stephen Gross. "There's no heart anymore. It's just business."
