ESM: Rodriguez shin guards

[kingjammy24]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120240624726

i'd like to solicit the opinions of fellow forum members on these shin guards. specifically these 2 photos:

http://www.elite-sports-marketing.com/ebay/Blackthorne/pudge-guards-sig2-0326.jpg

shin guards have undergone major league use yet the little "made in china" sticker located on the upper left shin remains perfectly intact.

http://www.elite-sports-marketing.com/ebay/Blackthorne/pudge-guards-sig1-0326.jpg

signature has abrasions over it. that is, it appears the abrasions occurred after the item was signed as the abrasions cut into the signature.

i'd like to know what others think of these two photos. am i out to lunch or not?

rudy.

[whatupyos]

Rudy...
You bring up some excellent points. The made in china sticker looks relatively unharmed. Its hard to tell on the signature, I totally see what you're talking about though. I can't tell if it just got smudged when he signed them, or not. The odd thing to me is the smudging looks to be a different color...like a darker shade of silver. I have a signed, game used batting helmet from an A's player that has a smudge from when he signed it and its not discolored, just smeared a little. So I don't know what to say but thats a good find because its certainly interesting. I'm dying to know what others think.

Aaron

[WadeInBmore]

I have a pair of Pudge shin guards from his days with Texas and here are the differences that concerned me:

Pudge typically tapes his straps, I guess to keep them taught, and secondly he normally puts his number 7 on the shin guards some place.

As far as the made in china sticker is concerned...In my opinion yes it does look relatively unscathed however the interior pads do show bending from use and dirt/sweat stains. My feeling is that these where a back up pair of shin guards that never got much use. Perhaps these guards got repaired, I know that with all-star shin guards you can replace any part of the hard plastic that gets cracked. I feel like they got repaired at the end of a season and Pudge tossed them in a closet at his house and that is where they have lived ever since.

As for the autograph, I simply think that that the pen didn't pick up where there were deep grooves in the plastic.

They also have a game used hockey style catchers mask that interested me, but I became hesitant when I saw how clean the chin padding is/was. After a seasons worth of use that leather padded piece is usually nasty and gross with sweat stains. Perhaps the player replaced it for appearance purposes or maybe the player made it a habit to replace it frequently through out the season so that it didn't become gross and stiff. I only bring this up to possibly support the repair theory on the Pudge shin guards.

I have bought several items from elite and have had nothing but good experiences with them, unlike others on this forum. You might want to send them an email with your inquiries. I have to come to realize that part of the fun of this hobby is proving use and proving authenticity...and that questioning items is actually part of the fun and OCD part of this hobby.

Good Luck

wade

[kingjammy24]

"The odd thing to me is the smudging looks to be a different color...like a darker shade of silver."

i don't think it's a darker color per se. to me it looks as if it was signed and the "darker color" is where the abrasion scratched away and revealed the red underneath. it's red with a very thin layer of silver, thus the silver looks darker because it's showing more red through it.

we've all seen autograph smudges. smears tend to displace the ink. there's no displaced ink here. the outside lines of the autograph are intact and sharp. if the "inside" of it got smudged, then where did the displaced ink go?

"As for the autograph, I simply think that that the pen didn't pick up where there were deep grooves in the plastic."

i thought about this. my feeling is that these particular grooves are tiny and shallow enough that a thick paint pen/sharpie ought to have flooded into them. look how thick that autograph is. the pen was so thick, you can barely make out any letters. as an example, ESM has another pair of signed, used shin guards up for auction:

http://www.elite-sports-marketing.com/ebay/Blackthorne/bour-gear-sig6-0328.jpg

those show considerably greater abrasion yet the autograph is perfectly intact and has flooded all of the grooves perfectly.

rudy.

[ndevlin]

Ahh, ESM auctions. A repeating topic in this forum. Hmm?

[kingjammy24]

AMI currently has some Irod shin guards up for auction. http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auction_Item.asp?Auction_ID=42806

the inscription on them has smudged. it's what i expect a smudge to look like. unlike the ESM smudge, the displaced ink has gone everywhere and the lines of the autograph are a mess.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9343/sillyqt3.jpg

rudy.