In more ways than one, idolatry is considered cheap and frivolous.  People have been tagged as fanatics because of their zealous love for a certain sport and the consequential things they do in order to profess their love for the game.
There are also a lot of idiosyncrasies attributed to people who are fond of collecting sports memorabilia and other commemorative items of their favourite ball clubs as well as the famous players.

There is simply an unexplained innocence in the world of avid collection.  There is an even more unexplained fascination to those memorabilia that bears the autograph of a world famous player.

A Mickey Mantle Autographed baseball is not something you can find in many local sports stores or in just any auction website on the internet.  It is something that has to be pursued, actively, sometimes forever.
To those who were not lucky enough to have the chance of hanging out at Yankee games in the 50s, it seems inconceivable to get a Mickey Mantle autographed baseball.  It is rather difficult to locate this one and it is even difficult to be able to afford it.

A Mickey Mantle autographed baseball sells for thousands of dollars so it is definitely not included on the list of the possible cheap buys you can occasionally score on the internet.

Those who are trying to sell their Mickey Mantle autographed baseball are definitely aware of the going price of this item.  It is definitely a good investment to have any autographed sports memorabilia in your possession.
The rarity of a Mickey Mantle autographed baseball cards is one of the reasons why it is very expensive and very hard to find.  It takes a lot of time and certainly a lot of money to own this little piece of great sports history.