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I was wondering if anybody could help me out by telling me if there is any way to prove that a baseball someone is selling as an actual HR ball a player hit, is real. Also, it wasn't a milestone ball so it wouldn't have anything special markings. They say they will provide the tickets to the game but that doesn't seem like it proves anything to me. If anybody can give me some tips I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
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Re: HR Balls
Some HR balls are marked when the event happens. I was offered this Davey Lopes ball and as you can see it is written in pen and dated with the homerun numbered. The price was $275 which after asking forum members found out was way too steep. If the ball is unmarked and the only provenence is the sellers word and game tickets you would have to really trust the seller.
What do you do:- You could have the seller write a LOA about the ball and then have him sign it and have it notarized.
- You or the seller could write on the ball the signifigant date, teams, and event on the ball and then go through step number 1.
- Send the ball to Lou Lampson and have him write a LOA for a nominal charge but tell him the ball is Barry Bonds HR #756 as this will raise the value of the ball.
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Re: HR Balls
I have the longest HR ball ever hit in Fenway Park.
Bo Jackson's monumental estimated 515 foot blast off "Oil Can" Boyd which was still rising as it towered over a scoreboard in left/center which is no longer there (keep in mind this trajectory was over 72 feet off the ground well past the fence)! This was on July 16, 1988. The Red Sox never mention this HR, and say that Ted Williams shot (where the red seat is) was the longest homerun hit INSIDE the ballpark (505 feet). I'm sure they aren't so happy about a KC Royal holding the honor, but we all know better!
The ball has remarkable provenance from a 25 year American League umpire and personal friend of Bo's. And that makes at least three stadiums in which Bo holds the HR distance record (in KC--hit to the base of the scoreboard amongst the fountains, Texas--off legendary power pitcher Nolan Ryan, and Boston). There may be more I'm not aware of
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More info./research about the ball:
EBAY listing:
ebay item #: 300110442461
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Longest I ever saw in Fenway was hit by Bo Jackson...well up the wall behind the CF bleachers. It happened on July 16, 1988 and was launched off of Oil Can Boyd. Roger Angell describes it in his essay "Homeric Tales" thusly:
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"The ball left the yard just to the right of the center-field flagpole and struck close to the top of the wall there that runs well above the upper bleachers…"
It was one of those classic Bo shots that was clearly gone as he was swinging...the question being only how far would it go? Had that wall not been there, it would have cleared 500' easily (IMO).
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Yahoo Answers:
Q. Where and when did KC Royals star Bo Jackson hit his 12th HR of the 1988 season? Who was the pitcher?
A. July 16th, Fenway Park, Boston, MA. "Oil Can" Boyd was the picther. He was the first batter in the top of the 2nd inning. It was a HR to left center field.
Bo batting game log: http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi...&t=b&year=1988
Box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...98807160.shtml
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"In July 1988, he hit a blast off Boston's Oil Can Boyd that many said was the longest home run ever hit in Fenway Park. Last year Jackson hit a middling .272 and, despite missing 51 games, still led the Royals with 28 homers and 78 runs batted in."
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I am The Can, and I am going to come right at you with my best shit, and if you can hit it, I want to see how far Bo Jackson can hit The Oil Can. Boyd, to Jackson, before he hit Boyd's first pitch over the 71-foot high score board in straight away center field at Fenway Park (the ball landed 515 feet from home plate). Resource: 10K Truth - Baseball Quotes [3].Comment
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Re: HR Balls
Get the game film from that particular game and see the section # and row # the HR ball ended up in and compare that to the ticket stub which should be your first step if possible.
Look for markings on the ball that would be consistent to that particular HR such as discoloration from using a black bat for instance.
Look for a contact mark on the ball.
Another good idea:Lastly, make sure the seller has a stellar reputation as unmarked HR balls are really a product of trust so caveat emptor.- You could have the seller write a LOA about the ball and then have him sign it and have it notarized.
We are fortunate in Washington DC that most of the HR balls (few are hit) end up in the bullpen area and not in the seats and the MLB rep retrieves them and holograms them. I got an amazing Soriano HR ball that is MLB hologram'd and came from his 3 HR game last year.
Good luck.
AndrewComment
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Re: HR Balls
I agree with the person who said check out the game film. Especially in todays day in age where there are so many camera angles. You can subscribe for a month package of mlbtv.com for like $20 and view footage from ANY game last year or this year. Ask the person if they will send you a photo of themselves and compare it with the people you see where the ball landed. Also check the ticket stub local and make sure that it matches up.
As far as what the ball itself looks like that is a real crap shoot. I have caught BP balls that look BRAND NEW and the only home run ball I have is a recent one of Griffey's that I caught and it looks like it had been used for about 5 years (really dirty) so that kind of stuff can really have no rhyme or reason.Comment
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Re: HR Balls
Apparently all/most MLB game used balls are "mudded" with a certain type of mud/clay that comes from one source prior to the game by the umpires. It cuts the shine down on the ball, so look for a ball that isn't crystal white, but as mentioned, the use characteristics vary greatly.Comment
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Re: HR Balls
The balls seem to be built pretty sturdy too. That Bo home run ball was hit about as hard as an MLB ball has ever been hit by any player, and it wasn't disfigured or anything abnormal.Comment
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Re: HR Balls
Maybe a little off topic - but thought this was pretty neat today....the same fan at Yankee Stadium this afternoon caught Matsui's #100 HR ball, as well as a HR ball from Cabrera.........what are the odds of that!! JimComment
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Re: HR Balls
If people believed that ball was really a Bo HR ball it would have sold for much more money.Wanted: Minnesota Twins throwback or special event jerseys.Comment
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Re: HR Balls
The price was exceptionally low. The auction ended late at night on a Sunday. I feel that the provenance is exceptional and the ball is legit. Durwood Merrill (an American League Ump for 23 years, umped World Series and All Star games wrote the LOA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durwood_Merrill). He was a personal friend of Bo's and when he wrote his hardback book autobiography he shared some Bo Jackson stories.
I was trilled when I won this ball for many multiples less than my high bid! I'm a huge Bo fan and this is the only Bo HR ball I've ever seen available for sale.Comment
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Re: HR Balls
I just wanted to say thanks a lot to everybody who posted a reply, you all helped me a lot! Thanks again!Comment
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Re: HR Balls
The other thing about the Bo ball is the seller didnt' research it prior to listing, so he didn't share that it was the longest HR ball ever hit in Fenway park, just that it was Bo's 12th of the 1988 season. This was one of my all-time biggest steals on ebay!Comment
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Re: HR Balls
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. That's the great thing about this country.Comment
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Re: HR Balls
Byergo - The ball certainly could be legit. My only thought is how in the world did the umpire retrieve this HR ball. Did the ball actually end up on the street outside of Fenway?
Umpire LOAs have been suspect in the past. Who remembers the Al Clark certified Ripken 2131 game used balls?
Al Clark was arrested and charged with mail fraud in connection with these fakes.
Here is a summary from the Dept. of Justice:
06-08-04 -- Graessle, Jr., Richard -- Sentencing -- News Release
Sports Memorabilia Dealer Sentenced to Prison for Sale of Bogus "Game Balls"NEWARK - A sports memorabilia dealer was sentenced today to four months in prison for tax fraud in connection with a former Major League Baseball umpire's authentication of hundreds of baseballs that the umpire falsely represented had been used in notable games, such as Cal Ripken Jr.'s tying and breaking of Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.
Richard Graessle Jr., 43, of Millburn, must also serve four months of house arrest upon completion of his prison sentence and was fined $500 by Chief U.S. District Judge John W. Bissell. As part of his plea agreement with the government, Graessle must pay $101,377 in federal taxes, plus penalties and interest, on income derived fromGraessle's sale of the baseballs to memorabilia dealers.
Last Thursday, Judge Bissell sentenced ex-MLB umpire Alan M. Clark to the same period of incarceration and house-arrest. Clark pleaded guilty on Feb. 23 to a one-count Information charging conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Graessle pleaded guilty on the same day to one count of tax evasion.
In support of the prison sentence for Clark, Judge Bissell said that Clark held a special position of trust as an umpire and used it to commit the fraud.
"This could not have happened without Mr.Clark," Judge Bissell said. "He was the source of authenticity that allowed this to happen."
Today, Judge Bissell said he found Graessle equally culpable in the fraud scheme.
In addition to the Ripken and Gehrig-record baseballs, Clark also falsely represented that other balls he authenticated were used in the New York Yankee's 1978 pennant clincher over the Boston Red Sox; Nolan Ryan's 300th career pitching win with the Texas Rangers, and Dwight Gooden's 1996 no-hitter at Yankee Stadium, among numerous other notable games.
Clark officiated in all of the games in question, and signed most of the baseballs and all certificates of authenticity that went with them. In fact, most of the balls were never used in any of the games and were merely "rubbed up" to look like they'd been in play. Some of the baseballs, which were advertised for sale in sports memorabilia publications, sold for thousands of dollars, even though they were never used in the games.
Graessle, Clark's longtime friend, a freelance sports photographer and sports memorabilia dealer, admitted that he sold the baseballs to other sports memorabilia dealers, who in turn sold them to the public.
Advertisements in sports magazines and sports trading publications put the pricetag on some of the Al Clark baseballs at more than $2,000 at the height of their marketability.
In one of the examples described in the Informations to which Clark and Graessle pleaded guilty, Graessle obtained commemorative Ripken baseballs, thousands of which were manufactured specifically to mark the games in which Ripken tied and broke Gehrig's record. They were imprinted with Ripken's team number, had orange stitching (Baltimore Oriole colors), and the number 2,130 and 2,311 embossed on them, representing Gehrig's and Ripken's consecutive-games-played record.
Graessle either mailed the baseballs to Clark or delivered them personally to Clark, who would sign them. They also rubbed the balls with the mud from a particular creek in Burlington County, N.J. - to conform to Major League Baseball's custom of burnishing all balls used in MLB games with that mud - and to bolster their claim that the balls had actually been used in the historic games.
According to the Information to which he pleaded guilty, Clark signed certificates of authenticity that Graessle prepared, certifying that Clark was a member of the umpire crew in that particular game and that the baseballs were indeed used in the game. Graessle admitted that he then sold the balls to dealers who, in turn, sold them to the public - at prices greatly increased by the fraudulent certificates of authenticity. Clark himself prepared some certificates of authenticity in the case of the Ripken baseballs, according to his Information.
Having met with success in the falsification of the Ripken baseballs, Clark and Graessle continued the fraud by falsely certifying the authenticity of baseballs used in other notable games in which Clark had served as an umpire. Those details are further set forth in the Informations to which the defendants pleaded guilty.
They are available at the Public Affairs Office website: www.njusao.org
Graessle admitted failing to declare several hundred thousand dollars in income from the sale of these baseballs and other sports memorabilia on his federal income tax returns.
Christie credited the Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation section, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patricia J. Haynes; and Special Agents of the FBI Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Joseph Billy Jr.
The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Vazquez, of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark.
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Clark: David Fassett, Esq. Chatham
Graessle: Frank J. Crupi, Esq. LivingstonComment
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