The Bombers Vs The Blue: World Series sparks move on rivals' memorabilia

In the coming days, Scott Stimell, the owner of a Commack sports memorabilia store, expects a customer of his to plunk down some serious cash for a framed and autographed embodiment of baseball allegiance ahead of Friday's Game 1 of the World Series — a pinstriped home jersey of Yankee slugger Aaron Judge.

Stimell said Wednesday that as the Yankees get set for a decades-later rematch with their storied and historic National League rivals, the Dodgers — first as the lovable "bums" from Brooklyn, and since 1958, in Los Angeles — has quickly sparked an increase in demand for trading cards and memorabilia of stars on both teams. And with Judge, fellow Yankees power hitters Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto, as well as current Dodger greats Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, it's something akin to a moonshot for the memorabilia market.

"The rivalry has brought an uptick in the business, of course," Stimell said. "People get excited when they watch their favorite players do well."

Demand for memorabilia of the Mets, who poached scores of brokenhearted Brooklyn Dodger fans after the club moved west, has also spiked since their unexpected run deep into the 2024 postseason.

"A  nice woman a week ago bought a $400 autographed Pete Alonso rookie card, and it had 100% to do with the Mets succeeding in the playoffs," said Jonathan Chasin, who opened Long Island Sports Cards Inc. in Albertson about two years ago.

For some younger fans wanting to a piece of history, it might mean cobbling together some chore money.

"As the local sports teams succeed, as the individual players succeed, it brings in new blood into the hobby," Chasin said. "The bedrock of the hobby and our business is the $5 pack and the $2 card. That is making this hobby accessible to kids."

Higher-priced memorabilia like autographed balls and framed jerseys are moving fast, Chasin said. He recently sold autographed Soto and Judge jerseys for about $1,200 and $1,500, respectively.

Any items related to Dodgers designated hitter and worldwide phenom Ohtani are the hottest of sellers, according to Stimell.

In his shop hangs an Ohtani jersey for sale from his rookie season with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018. Long Island sports memorabilia merchants agree, no Dodger past or present is a hotter commodity right now than the 30-year-old righthanded pitcher and lefty batter from Japan. 

There are even rare Ohtani cards that "can touch $1 million." Chasin said he recently sold an autographed rookie card of the superstar for a more relatively reasonable sum of $9,000.

"Ohtani, his demand has been there all year based on his incredible stat lines and having an MVP-type of season," Chasin said. "Sometime around August ... we had dozens and dozens of his rookie cards, autographed cards. We’re probably down to one or two cards. His cards have been flying off the shelves."

PJ McGirr, manager of Grand Slam Collectibles in Bellport, has also noticed the run on baseball collectibles. Like his peers in the memorabilia business, McGirr said the hottest items right now are "signed jerseys, signed baseballs and of course rookie cards."

In recent weeks, he said, the shop sold a jersey of Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe from his 2023 rookie season. Volpe won the Gold Glove last year as the slickest fielding shortstop in the American League. He was the first Yankee rookie to ever be awarded a Gold Glove.

And, of course, he added: "Ohtani’s been red-hot."

On Friday, Stimell said, he'll watch Game 1 of the first Yankees-Dodgers World Series since he opened his Commack sports shop more than 32 years ago. The teams last faced off with the Commissioner's Trophy at stake in 1981 when the Dodgers beat the Yankees in six games.

Among his most treasured items are a chair from the Dodgers’ original Brooklyn home, Ebbets Field, and a lithograph depicting the two teams during a game in the 1950s, framed by a pair of vertically-sawed-in-half bats signed by the likes of Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle and even storied Yankees broadcaster Mel Allen.

Baseball fans have not seen a Yankees-Dodgers World Series matchup "for so long, but the history is still tremendous," Stimell said. "I think everybody wants to see these two juggernauts go head to head, with some of the greatest players that have played the game in a long time."