ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - When Matthew Liberatore was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in January of this year, he really wanted to make a good first impression on fans, his new teammates and Cards alumni. But it started a bit rough because of his autograph.
He was a part of a Cardinals Caravan trip in January, an annual event where past and present Cardinals players travel to cities across the midwest to meet thousands of fans who wait in line for hours just to meet and get autographs from them. He was on a caravan just weeks after becoming a member of the Cardinals in a trade that sent outfielders Randy Arozarena and Josè Martínez to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Former Cardinals starter and St. Louis native Kyle McClellan noticed his signature, which was basically just his initials and a scribble behind the "L."
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Liberatore says McClellan ragged on him pretty good about it and then sent a photo of it to Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright, who replied something to the effect of, "that's horrible, sends a bad message."
And it clearly didn't sit well with the 20-year-old.
"When the seasoned vet's first impression of you is that your autograph is terrible and you're sending a bad message to the fans, that bothered me quite a bit," Liberatore explained. "It was pretty moving to hear Adam Wainwright say something like that and obviously Kyle McClellan too."
Liberatore says he came up with a new signature that night in his hotel room, with the help of Cardinals utility man Tommy Edman and fellow Cards prospect and childhood friend Nolan Gorman.
Watch the video at the top of this page to see how the new and old autograph compare.
Liberatore explained that the reason he got a little lazy with it was because he previously had to sign thousands of baseball in only a few days, so to save time he shortened his autograph.