LaRoche proves profitable for dealers

Adam LaRoche at Piratefest

By Rob Biertempfel
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, January 29, 2007


Jim Tripodi got ready for PirateFest by doing the same thing the Pirates did.
He brought in a heavy hitter from Atlanta.

Tripodi, owner of Diamond Jim's Sports Cards and Memorabilia in Beaver, has sold his wares at 16 of the 17 PirateFests. This year, his biggest seller was anything connected with first baseman Adam LaRoche, whom the Pirates recently got in a trade with the Atlanta Braves.

"We've sold probably ... well, let's call it LaRocheFest," Tripodi said Sunday. "He's injected so much enthusiasm into the crowd."

Tripodi expected the heavy demand, so he asked a fellow collector -- Scott Hales, of Duluth, Ga. -- to fly to Pittsburgh and help. Hales brought along hundreds of LaRoche baseball cards to boost the inventory.

Hales, a Braves season-ticket holder, also brought a batting glove LaRoche tossed into the crowd at Turner Field last season. Hales stood in line for an hour to get it autographed.

"That was the highlight of the weekend for me," Hales said.

The "collector's corridor" -- a lineup of a half-dozen local memorabilia dealers -- is one of the more popular facets of PirateFest. Fans could buy a Willie Stargell baseball card, an autographed photo of Jason Bay or a game-worn jersey from the 1970s.

Tim Templin, 7, of Allison Park, convinced his parents to shell out $5 for a packet of 100 Pirates baseball cards.

"And he got a couple of bobblehead (dolls) and a mini-bat," said his mother, Susan Templin. "He's got lots of baseball cards at home -- too many, as far as I'm concerned."

The dealers didn't mind if not every fan made a purchase.

"We get the word out about the store and make a little money," dealer Ed Nuttall said. "It gives me an idea of what people are looking for on the Pirates end."

Nuttall, who runs Pittsburgh Sports Store at the Mall at Robinson and Pittsburgh Mills, had slashed prices on all his leftovers from last summer's All-Star Game at PNC Park.

"I'm trying to get rid of it," Nuttall said with a laugh.

A pile of socks bearing the All-Star logo wasn't drawing much interest. However, Nuttall was sold out of 8-by-10 photos of LaRoche.

During a question-and-answer session with fans, LaRoche said he'd like to pick up a piece of memorabilia while he's in Pittsburgh: a T-shirt from LaRoche College in the North Hills.

"It was awful nice for you all to name a school after me," LaRoche joked.

The Pirates also capitalized on LaRoche's presence. Jerseys and T-shirts bearing his name and uniform number were selling briskly.

The team also scored big with its "Pirates Lost Treasures" booth, which offered game-used jerseys, autographed balls and a few other items. The booth drew a stampede of credit card-bearing buyers when FanFest opened Friday night.

Within minutes, jerseys of the most popular current Pirates were sold out. By yesterday afternoon, most of what remained bore the names of minor-leaguers.

"Fans want a piece of the star (players)," said Tim Schuldt, the Pirates' senior vice president for marketing, sales and broadcasting. "For average fans, access to stars in every sport has gotten harder as it's become big business. If they can't meet the guy personally, maybe the next best thing is having his jersey or something."

Schuldt said the Pirates soon will expand the "Lost Treasures" concept on their Internet site, Pirates.com, with a weekly sale and charity auction of game-used gear.

Notes: This year's PirateFest attracted a record total of 15,980 fans at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, which surpassed last year's record of 15,361 fans.



Rob Biertempfel can be reached at rbiertempfel@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7811.