Sale! Everything Must Go!

One of the best things about the new year is “After the Holidays Sales.” This is when stores finally admit that they can’t convince anyone to buy their garbage as gifts, so they have to get rid of it. This can provide a boon for Red Sox fans, and collectors, as stores move items less desirable to the common fan.
I went to my local sporting goods store last weekend, and noticed that they were getting rid of some Red Sox t-shirts. I think these are what stores call “Player T’s” where they have the Red Sox on the front, and the name/number on the back. The store had decided to clear out the stock of some players who weren’t on the team anymore, as well as some of the less popular shirts. In some cases, it was humorous to think that they ever ordered the shirts to begin with, as they still had whole racks devoted to some of the players. In order to get the shirts out of the store, they were on clearance, with an additional 40% taken off. I love additional percentages taken off clearance prices. (I know it shouldn’t matter if it’s 90% off, or a percentage off another sale. But, it makes me feel good.) At those prices, I couldn’t help but stock up. After all, who cares if they’re no longer on the team? I still wear my Mo Vaughn “Player T” for goodness sake.
So, who was there for the taking? I jumped at the chance to add John Smoltz to my wardrobe. After all, he’s a future Hall-of-Famer, and a pretty cool story of destruction and resurrection. I also grabbed Justin Masterson, red version. He’s a great kid, who could become quite a player in Cleveland. I couldn’t turn down Hideki Okajima. I admit I was a little confused by that one. I thought he was still on the team. Is he? Finally, even though it wasn’t really my size, I scoffed up Brad Penny. How could I not have a t-shirt with a “36” on the back? How much did I have to shell out for this collection? All four shirts were mine for a grand total of $12. How could I go wrong at $3 per? I would spend more than that to buy dust rags at Home Depot. I’ll gladly add those shirts at that price.
This weekend, I went back to see if the store finally realized that Jacoby changed his number, or that Bay signed with the Mets. They did, and had them both added to the rack. But, they were still not quite the bargains the others were. Bay’s shirt would have cost a whopping $7.50, and Jacoby’s #46 an incredible $10. While I’d love to have them both, I decided to wait a week and see if they went lower. I couldn’t bring myself to spend as much on one shirt as I had spent on three the week before. Hopefully I can wait them out. If not, I’m pleased with the four I was able to snag. So, if you see someone walking around in a brand spanking new John Smoltz t-shirt, say hello. It might just be me.
I might be the only one.