MLB authenticed article

[mdube16]

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/20091011_Memorabilia_cop_calls__em_as_he_sees__em_ .html

[coxfan]

This type of info is always very valuable. Thanks!

[grenda12]

Where can I sign up to get a job like this.

[frikativ54]

The article was an interesting read. However, the one thing that gets me is the obsession with game used items being "pieces of history". In my mind, there is little about baseball that's historical. Rather, a group of grown men are hitting a ball with a stick, having a league, and America is calling it entertainment.

Let's be honest with ourselves; the actions of MLB players are very insignificant, compared to many other occupations that impact history. For example, laboratory research has the potential to change lives. The impact of world politics can be felt across the globe, as can the results of various social movements.

Baseball is a hobby, and I love collecting just as much as you do. It's great that the MLB wants to make sure that items we value are authentic. However, methinks that the commoditization of every at-bat and every move of human beings playing a game is about MLB's profits, and little else.

Would that a pharmacist would take as much care dispensing prescriptions as MLB does with its authentication program.

[suicide_squeeze]

The article was an interesting read. However, the one thing that gets me is the obsession with game used items being "pieces of history". In my mind, there is little about baseball that's historical. Rather, a group of grown men are hitting a ball with a stick, having a league, and America is calling it entertainment.

Let's be honest with ourselves; the actions of MLB players are very insignificant, compared to many other occupations that impact history. For example, laboratory research has the potential to change lives. The impact of world politics can be felt across the globe, as can the results of various social movements.

Baseball is a hobby, and I love collecting just as much as you do. It's great that the MLB wants to make sure that items we value are authentic. However, methinks that the commoditization of every at-bat and every move of human beings playing a game is about MLB's profits, and little else.

Would that a pharmacist would take as much care dispensing prescriptions as MLB does with its authentication program.

Frik,

It's ok to have a few jobs that specialize in something other than making the world a better place to live.

But guess what? Baseball is important to a lot of people in the world. It actually creates young healthy children who play it. It also is very mentally stimulating for others, and creates happy healthy minds as a result. So, it does make the world a better place to live.

Not to mention the positive domino effect it has on our economy.

No, it's very much a large part of history, and it's a wonderful thing that someone is watching the ship as they keep tract of every little piece of history they can pluck from the event as it unfolds.

So as someone who likes to collect, I would think you could appreciate the end result, and not confuse what's being done by the authenticators with other issues that mean a lot to you and the rest of the world. It's ok to have a bit of recreation now and then. It's a healthy thing.

[kingjammy24]

..In my mind, there is little about baseball that's historical. Rather, a group of grown men are hitting a ball with a stick, having a league, and America is calling it entertainment.

Let's be honest with ourselves; the actions of MLB players are very insignificant, compared to many other occupations that impact history...

you believe that in order for something to qualify as historical it need be significant. this is one of the most bizarre non-sequiturs i've seen in a long time. history is the study of past events. there is nothing about any of it that requires it to be significant in order for it to qualify as history.

secondly, the hobbies and pastimes of people often mirror the greater beliefs and values of a society as they change over time. baseball has a 150+ year history in america and many of those years serve to illustrate the history of this country and its people. the creation of baseball in this country and its adoption as the national pastime, (as opposed to adopting a european sport), highlighted the real birth of america after it won its independence. the defining racial struggles of our society manifested themselves on the baseball field with the negro leagues and the eventual integration of black players. WW2 caused the depletion of many major leaguers at the time. in order to keep the game in the public eye, an all-women's baseball league was formed which mirrored the effect that WW2 had on the rapidly changing role of women in american society. by the late 40s and early 50s latin american players began entering the game in larger numbers, highlighting the changing face of immigration in america and the nature of assimilation. by the early 50s, the players union was born and coincided with the creation of the AFL-CIO. during this time, unionism, as eisenhower said, lead to the "american philosophy of labor" which affected how americans perceived work in our society for decades. for the sake of cutting this post short, i'll refrain from discussing the way baseball helped form the character of immigrant-heavy cities by uniting people of all ethnicities and religions or the way baseball highlighted the unique role of advertising in american popular culture or how disproportionately rising baseball salaries began to highlight the growing socio-economic rifts in american class structure or how the fundamental rules of the game have long reflected what many felt to be quintessential american ideals.

indeed, there is little historical about baseball. it's just "a group of grown men .. hitting a ball with a stick".

rudy.

[coxfan]

As a psychologist for 33 years, I often pointed out to clients the importance of healthy and constructive use of leisure time. I believe Jim Leyland said years ago that the real value of baseball is that it brings fans from all walks of life together to enjoy a common experience. Baseball is arguably more positive intellectually and socially than a lot of hobbies and it stimulates more brain cells than a lot of modern TV shows. The competition on the field also allows a constructive outlet for humanities' natural dominance tendencies, which is much better than than the aggressive behavior in daily society brought on by those same tendencies.

And as an amateur historian who reads history daily, I fully agree that baseball reflects and influences the greater changes in our society. Studying the history of any phase or our culture teaches us about the whole culture.