Yankee fan or not, I think we'd all like to pitch the first ball of the World Series, or get the double play at second base, or even be the bat boy for the big game. Part of the American consciousness centers around baseball and every fan, from the little league team players to the old timers who remember when the Dodgers played in Brooklyn, was tuned into the great spectacle that was the World Series.

The closest most of us will ever get to being a part of history is watching from the stands munching on our peanuts or Cracker Jack popcorn. There is hope, while we may never take the field, we can own a piece of history. A lucky few will catch a foul ball at a World Series game but the rest of us will have to purchase one from Steiner Sports.

Steiner Sports has a Derek Jeter Autographed 2009 World Series Baseball for sale. In September of 2009 Jeter collected his 2,722 breaking the long standing record held by Lou Gehrig for 70 years. This accomplishment just added one more accolade to the resume of this former Rookie of the Year and current captain of the team. The baseball is hand signed and comes with a certificate of authenticity for $500.

If A-Rod is more your style you can pick up an autographed 2009 World Series Ball that is the first of its kind. While A-Rod has already hit more than 550 home runs and played in more than 10 All-Star games it is Alex Rodriguez's first trip to the World Series. Therefore creating a unique opportunity for the serious collector, available for $400 with a Steiner Sports Certificate of Authenticity.

A signed ball is a very cool piece of history to own, just don't let the dog get hold of it!

For those of you who wish the old stadium was still around and think there has never been and will never be players like the greats of times past you can indulge in collectors items as well. There is a hand signed Mitchell and Ness 1956 Mickey Mantle Yankees home Jersey signed by the great himself offered for $7,500.

The ultimate combination of old and new can also be had, one can sit in front of the flat screen in the living room in a pair of seats from the original Yankee Stadium signed but current Yankees stars. Derek Jeter/Mariano Rivera/Jorge Posada/Andy Pettite have jointly signed a pair of seats form the old stadium. This limited edition series of 96 is being offered for $1,900 a pair. Just think next year you could have the best Yankees seats in the house, your house!

While the New York Yankees might be thought of as favored to win the 2009 World Series, we can all use a healthy reminder that the Philadelphia Phillies mean business. After all they are the 2008 defending champs, talented and hungry for the title too. The Game 1 win might be a sign of things to come.

Already the Phillies are ahead of the game compared to the prior match up between these two teams. The last time these two teams met in the World Series, in fact the only other time, was in 1950 when the Yankees swept the Phillies 4-0. That was when the Yankee dynasty was in full throttle and their triumph over the Phillies was just the second win in what would be a streak of 5 consecutive World Series titles.

If you need a physical reminder of the success experienced by last year's Phillies team just check out the collectors' items and memorabilia offered for sale by Steiner Sports. A signed photograph of the team celebrating their 2008 victory is a great image of the joy the whole city experienced. This was the first major championship win for any Philadelphia team in any sport for over 30 years. The 16" x 20" 2008 team signed photograph has 20 signatures from the 2008 championship team. A limited edition of 100 retails for $2,500 each.

Ryan Howard, the National League MVP, hit two doubles an drove in the final run of the first game of the series. I bet some little league player would love a chance to swing an autographed bat in the privacy of their own backyard. Howard has signed a black game model bat that can be picked up from Steiner Sports for $700.

Given the bat is black, some lucky fan might even be able to win the argument that it qualifies as home decor and hang it in the living room as an elegant piece of art.

After last night's game the New York Yankees are hopeful that their World Series dreams are about to come true. And their fans are hopeful too, jumping on the first round of World Series tickets which went on sale this morning. Prices range from $51 to $1,706. Tickets in the Legends area run from $731 to $1706 and offer a close-up view of the action. In order to accommodate more fans the Yankees will make 59 Café seats per game on the Field Level concourse available for $156 per ticket and approximately 220 standing room tickets per game for dedicated standing locations on the Field and Main Levels available for $104 and $93, respectively, per ticket.

As long as I have baseball on the brain tonight with the playoffs going on I figured I'd show you the home of former major league pitcher Bret Saberhagen. Saberhagen, who played for the Kansas City Royals, the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox, owns a home in Calabasas, California which he recently put on the market. The rebuilt, renovated and remodeled gated compound is on 1.2 acres that includes two guesthouses, a putting green, horse show and bocce ball arena and a 5,600-square-foot main home. Details in the main house include a home theater with eight recliners and a 90-inch screen, a wine cellar that can seat 12 and a family room with a wet bar and multiple flat screen system for watching multiple sporting events. Outside in the cabana there is another flat-screen television so you are never too far away from the latest scores. The decor is a bit heavy on the sports bar look but you have to like a player who displays not just his own but lots of other jerseys on his walls. The LA Times Hot Property column reports that Saberhagen is looking to move a little closer to the ocean but plans to stay in California. This home is listed at $3.25 million.

The historic photo shown above could soon be displayed at Yankee Stadium. The near-mint condition photograph is signed by 30 members of the legendary "Murderer's Row" 1927 New York Yankees team and was recently purchased for a record $350,000 which is the most ever paid for a vintage sports photograph. Joe Orlando, President of PSA/DNA Authentication Services in Newport Beach, California which certified the authenticity of the autographs says that the price is nearly 70 percent higher than the last time this autographed picture was sold in an auction less than three years ago. The purchase by an anonymous buyer was brokered by Memory Lane, Inc. of Tustin, California which also sold the autographed photo for $206,000 in a December 2006 auction.

The 1927 Yankees have been described as the greatest baseball team of all time, winning 110 games and losing only 44. The signatures include names which still resonate today including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Orlando says that several other team-signed copies of this photograph exist but some of the autographs on those pictures are so-called 'clubhouse' signatures, signed by other players or other ball club personnel. The autographs on this photo were personally obtained by Yankees pitcher George Pipgras who passed down the photo down to his daughter, LeMorn Pipgras Simpson who later sold it for $80,000.

Their die-hard devotion to their team, that is. Eternal Image offers Major League Baseball-licensed urns ($799), caskets ($4,499, coming soon), and headstone markers ($199).

Each MLB Urn is made of die-cast aluminum with a clear coat finish and sits atop a "home plate" base. The urn has a baseball display dome at the top for a favorite collectible baseball. Thirteen teams currently are available: Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, and St. Louis Cardinals.

The MLB Caskets (see gallery photos) will feature the same teams as the urns. The first eight to be ready will be Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals. The caskets are crafted from a proprietary composite and decorated with wood and metals. The interior fabric features the team logo and colors for the pillow and fabric trim.

The MLB Medallion Headstone Markers, available in all 30 teams, are a half-pound of solid bronze and can be fixed to headstones and monuments of all types. The markers are painted in team colors with long-lasting, all-weather paint.

What they won't think of.

Joe DiMaggio's very own watch is up for auction this holiday season; not just the same kind of watch he used to wear, but the very watch.

It is a Wittnauer (Longines) Electro-Chron, which was the first watch in the world to require a battery, and the last to come before quartz technology. It comes with a tuning fork.

The watch is engraved on the back with:

Old Timers' Day
7-28-62
Joe DiMaggio

The Electro-Chron also happens to be a deal; It recently sold at Christie's for $13,750 and is now available here at Antiquorum for an estimated $10,000 - $12,000.

[via Hodinkee]

Former New York Mets baseball player Edgardo Alfonzo would really like to sell his home. Alfonzo has reduced the price on his home in Little Neck, New York multiple times. It went on the market in late 2006 for $8 million and has now been lowered at least four times since then and as Newsday's Real LI column reports, is now listed at $5.1 million. Alfonzo paid $900,000 for the property in 1999 and has spent nearly as much in remodeling. The five-bedroom home includes a theater room and the lower level includes a batting/golf cage. The small backyard includes a pool. Can he sell at $5.1 million or is he going to have to lower the price again?

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Baseball player Steve Finley and his wife, interior designer Amy Finley are looking for a big profit from their house in Del Mar, California. The Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column reports that the Finlays played a mere $1.54 million back in 1995. The 2.500 square-foot home is located on a small lot directly on the beach and has some very stunning views.

The couple have a development firm and already have made a good real estate profit earlier this year selling a home they bought around seven years ago for $1.7 million for a neat $12.5 million. Will lightning strike twice for these savvy investors? Tempting details in this home include limestone floors, bright white spaces and lots of glass to showcase those amazing views. The home has six bedrooms total including a private upper master site. A separate lot across the street offers a two car garage. This home is listed at $21.5 million and is listed through Barry Estates. Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

The Tampa Bay Rays may have gotten kicked out of their Philadelphia hotel after the World Series was extended due to rain delay but they ended up in luxurious digs in Wilmington, Delaware. The team stayed at the Hotel du Pont, a historic hotel that has seen presidents, celebrities and its fair share of famous athletes before. How do they like their Wilmington stay? Tampa Bay Rays reliever J.P. Howell told the AP "this place in awesome." It turns out that traveling secretary Jeff Ziegler had to call 21 hotels before finding a hotel with enough rooms for the team and staff. The team found iit a nice place to cozy up and wait out the cold rain that has dogged this Series. Before the Rays moved in the hotel was offering a World Series package touting the fact that the hotel is a half hour drive from the Philadelphia Phillies Home Field, Citizens Bank Park and offering a special package that included valet parking, a la carte breakfast and a Phillies or Rays-themed Chocolate Mousse Baseball Bombe welcome amenity from $149 and up per room. Alas, the change of venue didn't bring the Rays any luck in the Series.

Baseball player Alexander "A-Rod" Rodriguez has been in the news a lot lately and it hasn't been for his skills on the baseball diamond. A-Rod is currently going through a divorce and is rumored to be Madonna's new man. He's also dropped a bit of real estate on the market. The Real Estalker recently had a piece on the New York and Florida properties he has up for sale.

Rodriguez and his ex-wife Cynthia have put their four-bedroom unit at the Trump Park Avenue on the market for $14 million. The apartment has been renovated for today's casual buyer with a large family room and open kitchen space. The listing for the apartment is here.

He has also put his home in Coral Gables, Florida on the market. The Mediterranean home built in 1952 was purchased by the Rodriguez family for $12 million in 2005. The home sits on the water with more than an acre of land and has six bedrooms, a pool and a three-car garage. The grand home does have some rather dramatic choices in wallpaper but the pool area and outdoor space is lovely. It is listed at $14.876 million.

UPDATE: As of January 2009, Rodriguez has done some major price chopping. The NYC apartment is down to $10 million and the Coral Gables home is listed at $12.3 million, not much more than he paid for it.

SECOND UPDATE: The NYC home has sold and the Coral Gables home is now listed at $9,999,999 million.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Wall Street may be in turmoil but that hasn't affected the need for luxury baseball suites yet it seems. Bloomberg reports that the New York Mets have already sold out the luxury suites in their new stadium, Citi Field. These 49 suites start at $250,000 a year and go up to $500,000. Mets season-ticket holders are also renewing even though the prices for the team's first season at the new $800 million ballpark are higher (the top ticket price is $495). All this at a time when the financial services sector, traditionally a big spender on luxury suites for sporting events, is rapidly bleeding jobs. Dave Howard, the team's executive vice president for business operations, has said that troubled companies Lehman, AIG and Bear Stearns were not purchasers but Citigroup did pay $20 million a year for naming rights.

Not to be outdone, the New York Yankees are also moving into a new ballpark next season that has 56 luxury suites in four different categories and a top ticket price of $2,500 a game. The NY Times reports that those suites are also nearly sold out too.

UPDATE: Bloomberg reports that the Yankees have seven luxury suites unsold at $600,000 a pop and that they expect to sell out.

If you've ever thought you might want to do the stereotypical baseball stadium proposal, here's your chance to do it without having to spring for the rock, provided that you are a Yankees fan. Jewelry retailer Michael C. Fina, Hearts On Fire diamonds and N.Y. Yankees All-Star pitcher Mariano Rivera are offering a contest called The Final Engagement. Fans who write a short essay (250 words or less) describing why they should be chosen will be entered into the contest to win a 1.5-carat Hearts On Fire diamond engagement ring valued up to $40,000, plus four tickets to the Sept. 18 game and to propose live via the Diamond Vision screen. Winners will be chosen based on love of the Yankees as well as a creative and persuasive essay. For each entry, Michael C. Fina and Hearts On Fire will donate $1 to the Mariano Rivera Foundation, a nonprofit that benefits underprivileged children. The contest ends August 31.

[via National Jeweler]

With more and more famous ballparks either disappearing or getting redone each year, these Ballpark pens might be your last chance to get your hands on a bit of history. The pens are andcrafted from salvaged wooden stadium seats. THe barrels and disc at top are made from wooden seats from historic stadiums. The pens ship with capless rollerball refill but can also use Parker style ballpoints and each is laser engraved with the name of the ballpark and years in existence. The prices vary depending on the stadium. Fenway Park sells for $250 and Yankee Stadium is $190.