It's a bit ludicrous to talk about the memorabilia of a player that has been in the major leagues for less than a fortnight. Memorabilia, defined as things that stir recollection, isn't even the right word. We don't have another word for things signed by Ike Davis, however, so we'll just have to use that one as we discuss some information passed along by Darren Rovell of CNBC.
Pre-orders of baseballs and photos signed by Davis are already available for between $49.99 and $59.99 and, according to Steiner Sports, sales are brisk. Not bad for a guy who didn't even have a big league at-bat at this time a week ago. It seems that political campaigns aren't the only place "I Like Ike" works as a slogan.
It's also not bad for a fanbase that didn't have much to feel good about last Monday. Davis's arrival coincided with six wins in seven games and he certainly had some highlights during those victories, but this spending spree has to do with more than Davis. It has to do with the way he represented turning the page from the last three years and, especially, this last offseason.
The Mets were long on reasons to dislike and doubt them and awfully short on reasons to feel good about their existence. Davis was a reminder that the fortunes of baseball teams aren't set in stone and, stretching that point, a reminder of the way the arrival of players like Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden changed the franchise in the early 80's.
One week is a blip in time, obviously, and not even the most optimistic Mets fan would deny the likelihood that it won't all be 450-foot home runs and diving catches of foul balls for the rest of Davis's career. He'll struggle at times and we can't be sure that he won't wind up being more Gregg Jeffries than either of the esteemed gentlemen listed above. We can hope that his arrival augurs better days ahead, however, and it's pretty clear that Mets fans are voting that way with their wallets.
If all goes well, it will pay off for them physically and fiscally. Brandon Steiner told Rovell that Mariano Rivera merchandise used to sell for $25. It now goes for ten times that amount which is a nice bonus for all the priceless good times he's provided over the course of his career.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.
