Expert: Steve L - 10/7/2004

Question
I found a baseball in a bunch of boxes.  It is signed by what looks to be the whole team, about 24 signatures.  I am baseball stupid and was wondering if I were to write down some of the names if you could tell me what team it was and approximately what year/season in which they played.  Then possibly you could tell me if this baseball is worth holding on to or pitching. (no pun intended)
Here are some names: Dave Rucker, John Smiley, Mike Daiz and Larry Jones.  Those are the only names I feel safe in telling you, some only part of the name is obvious like:  Brian __, RS Reynolds, Andy Van__, Doug__, Bob__, Sid__ and Jeff__.  I feel your the most qualified of all the experts, What is this team?

Answer
The ball is from the 1988 PITTSBURGH PIRATES -- the only year when ALL of the players were on the team at the same time.  

The names you listed are correct.  The others are:
Brian FISHER, RJ Reynolds, Andy Van SLYKE, Doug DRABEK, Bob Walk, Sid BREAM and Jeff ROBINSON.

The '88 Pirates didn't accomplish anything historic, so I don't believe the ball has any significant collectible value in general.  However, it might be of value to a Pirates fan who collects team memorabilia.

You might check on EBay to see whether someone has a comparable item so you can get an idea of what it might be worth.