They should do a report on MLB autographs

I agree with Arnold. Though it doesn't matter on a baseball card, 8x10, or something with the player's name already there, it really does matter with baseballs, especially team balls, along with 3x5 index cards.

As a decidedly unscientific experiment, I took a random card album (my most recently-acquired cards), and determined the top five signers in terms of legibility and also the bottom five.

Top Five (Signature is very stylish, but also easily readable):
-David Eckstein
-Armando Benitez
-Dennis Ribant
-Hansel Izquierdo
-Sandy Consuegra

Honorable Mentions (More bland, but readable):
-Bert Campaneris
-Grant Roberts
-Camilo Pascual
-Enrique "Hank" Izquierdo
-Milton Bradley

Bottom Five (Absolutely Illegible...I can only make out one letter or less):
-Elvis Andrus (Thus far the only auto I can't even make out ONE LETTER on)
-B.J. Ryan (I think I can make out one letter...)
-Rob Bell (Almost impossible to read. Can only make out the final two letters.)
-Darwin Barney (The "D" is pretty clear. Forget anything else.)
-Tie: Paul Wilson and Clint Barmes (Both clearly sign their first letter, then scribble away...straight across in Wilson's case and up and to the right in Barmes'.)

Honorable Mention: Juan Rincon. You can read "Juan" okay, but "Rincon" is totally illegible. You definitely have to know in advance that he signed it to tell who it is.

One thing I find interesting is how many retired players sign clear and legible signatures (not making the "honorable mentions" cut were Tony Perez, Dick Radatz, and Rusty Staub, though you can read all three). The more modern players' autos tend to look more squiggly. That said, with the exception of B.J. Ryan, I wouldn't call any of the signatures I have "sloppy." Instead, I'd use the word "weird" (especially with Andrus and Barney).

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They should do a report on MLB autographs

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