I don't have a strong opinion on such a matter, I just thought it was interesting. A player can sign his name however he sees fit, from very neat to very messy to very abbreviated. As someone who has long gone by initials instead of a given first name, I'm not one to judge an abbreviated signature.
I just found it interesting, and wonder if it was the result of signing so many autographs that he couldn't bear writing out his last name, or if it just naturally shortened over time and eventually ended up in its current state.
The first time I saw his signature, it was on this TTM autograph I received from him:
Looks like it's just Anthony moving forward. Or maybe he'll be Tony one day. Or Tone. Or Big Tone. As long as just Anthony/Ant/Tony/Tone hits and catches well and plays in the Bronx someday, he can go by whatever he wants in my book.
Interesting post. Ive seen a lot of players shorten their signatures as time goes on. The most frustrating one to witness the evolution of a shortened signature is Pirates slugging 1st Baseman Josh Bell. His entire name is 8 letters. It cant be that hard, can it? Maybe I should do an autograph evolution of Cutch in a future post.
ReplyDeleteBTW is the Valiant green an on card auto?
Indeed, it's on card.
DeleteI totally understand someone adjusting their signature. When I taught fifth and sixth grade, I'd have to sign report cards and diplomas. I totally shortened my signature. Still use the shortened version of my signature on a lot of school related stuff.
ReplyDelete