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View Full Version : Interesting Situation- Carew Glove Vintage Authentics



Eric
02-16-2006, 12:04 AM
There is an interesting situation taking place over at the Vintage Authentics auction with a Rod Carew glove listed as
Lot 339: Rod Carew 1985 Autographed & Last Game Used First Basemans Glove
It comes with a MEARS worksheet and a letter from Rod Carew.
Only problem is, glove expert Denny Esken states that the glove was not produced until a decade after Carew retired.
Read the updated description from Vintage

Description:
This is a Wilson A2800 First Baseman's glove with provenance from Rod Carew stating that it was used by the Hall of Famer during his last season of 1985. The 1985 season was the year Rod picked up hit number 3,000. The glove shows impressive heavy game use and has been autographed by Carew "Last M.L. First Base Glove 1985" along with his signature. Carew's famous #29 is also markered on the outside of the glove in black for easy recognition. Carew appeared at first base in 116 games during the '85 season. Noted glove expert Denny Eskine has brought to our attention that the A2800 model glove with yellow stitching wasn’t introduced until the 1995 season. This information hasn’t been confirmed by Wilson, the glove manufacturer. The MEARS LOA will state that the glove is an A2800 attributed to Rod Carew and that it has Rod Carew provenance. The glove was originally obtained by Jay Ellingson, a friend of Rod Carew’s and well known for his dealings in Rod Carew memorabilia.

It's worth keeping an eye on this one. This might be the case where a player's paperwork doesn't match with the production records.
(For the record, on gloves MEARS does not grade, they simply call it authentic.)
Eric

ChrisCavalier
02-17-2006, 11:21 PM
There is an interesting situation taking place over at the Vintage Authentics auction with a Rod Carew glove listed as
Lot 339: Rod Carew 1985 Autographed & Last Game Used First Basemans Glove
It comes with a MEARS worksheet and a letter from Rod Carew.
Only problem is, glove expert Denny Esken states that the glove was not produced until a decade after Carew retired.
Hello Everyone-

Given the potential issues that have been noted regarding the Rod Carew glove, I have taken the liberty of asking Mr. Esken to further elaborate on this item. As such, Mr. Esken was gracious enough to provide the following information in an effort to help collectors better understand this item:

According to Mr. Esken, Wilson did not embroider the 2800 in yellow on the back of their gloves in 1985. Nor did they use the MLB stripe tag in 1985. He also stated that there is most likely a date code on the glove somewhere that should be identifiable.

Hopefully the aforementioned information can help collectors make an informed decision as to the likelihood of this item being game used.

Sincerely,
Christopher Cavalier

martindl
02-18-2006, 09:22 PM
(For the record, on gloves MEARS does not grade, they simply call it authentic.)
Eric

When MEARS giives a glove a designation of 'authenic', what does the word 'authenic' mean - authentic as to what? pro-model? game-used? game-used by that player? date of glove? matches timeframe of playing career?

In the case of this glove add the questions - matches timeframe of last game? was used in last game?

Carew's certificate answers nothing. It merely says 'Carew 1st basemans glove'.

I couldn't find info on what MEARS uses as criteria to give an 'authenic' rating. I did look at the MEARS worksheet but theres no information whatsoever about any of the above. Given that the worksheet is for assessing game-used jersey's thats probably not too surprising.

CollectGU
02-19-2006, 08:49 AM
Correction, they call it "game used authentic", no matter how Dave Bushing tries to spin it on the MEARS webite, the bottom line is they got it wrong and should just say that and be done instead of trying to spin it ....



Rod Carew glove in Vintage Authentics Auction

February 15 2006 at 12:23 PM David Bushingt (dbushing1@aol.com) David Bushingt (Login DaveBushing1 (http://www.network54.com/Profile/DaveBushing1))A point has been raised on this glove by glove expert Denny Eskin who has worked with Wilson and is probably the most knowdelgeable person with regards to modern Wilson gloves. Mears has no relationship with Wilson nor any shipping records for pro models. Denny states that the yellow stitching is post 1995 and the glove has been signed and authenticated by Carew as being a 1985 glove. We have not been able to verify Denny's statement either way but as I stated, he does/did work for Wilson. Mears worksheet simply states that the glove is a model A2800 and a correct hand model. We did not date the glove as we have no proof either way and simply refer to the statement by Carew. We offer no opinion on when Carew may have worn this glove as we deal in facts and sans any definite information, we simply give a physical description and list the provanance as is the case in this glove. In this case, either Denny is right or Rod Carew is right and we have yet to be offered postive proof in either direction by either party. This information has been posted on the Vintage Authentics web site for all potential bidders so they can bid accordingly. If we recieve any updated information, we will certainly keep you up to date, if this verified information is provided by either Denny or Carew. Either party is also welcomed to this bulletin board to list the facts as they can verify them. Our evalutation as to this being a Wilson A2800 with a letter from Carew stands as this is a physical fact.
Obviously, if this glove is a post 1995 glove, it would be impossible, sans a time machine, for Carew to have worn this ten years before it was made. How Carew comes to these conclusions is a matter best addressed to Carew himself but it is quite common for ball players to have a glove that does not date to their playing career yet they get them confused. This happens with other items such as hats, shoes, wristbands, etc. Mears is not in the speculation business and we will only make statements based on the facts at hand and will always pass along updates as new information is forwarded. If Mr. Eskin can provide documents to support his theory, we will gladly pass them along to the readers and Mr. Jensen. Regardless,this is a good example of provance by a player that may not match the actual item , we will keep you posted. dave bushing

Eric
02-21-2006, 07:02 PM
An update on the Carew situation

This is the new description for lot 339 in the current vintage authentics auction

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After consulting with the manufacturer of this glove, Wilson, we have decided to remove this lot from the auction. Wilson has told us that the A2800/1613 Model was produced in 1998. Even though the glove has player provenance from Rod Carew, it is impossible to date this glove to 1985. Sorry for any inconvenience.

CollectGU
02-21-2006, 07:22 PM
I think that MEARS should just stop authenticating gloves. This demonstrates that they don't have the expertise...A 98 model glove authenticated as an 85'? I guess their authentication was "let's take the player's word for it"