Edgardo Alfonzo 2001 game used jersey???

[dcrules01]

Is this a minor league jersey.Seller claims it is a 2001 game worn jersey with flag patch but a few things are missing.I emailed the seller and he stated the 9-11 patch is missing.It was not a patch but embroidered..Also he clims it was wrn by Alfonzo but where is his name???
http://i6.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/ae/4c/2dbd_1.JPGhttp://i8.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/ae/4c/2e52_1.JPGhttp://i21.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/ae/4c/2eaa_1.JPG

[TNTtoys]

You are correct. This is a minor league Mets jersey. I have one just like it in my collection. An Edgardo Alfonzo jersey it is not.

[TNTtoys]

Scott,

Here are the big reasons why this is not a NY Mets major league baseball jersey, here are the big ones:
1. The Mets have not worn "METS" across the chest of gray road jerseys since 1986. The gray road jerseys should have fancy "NEW YORK" across the front.
2. There is a name on back for every MLB Mets road jersey.
3. FLAG patch, when worn briefly on MLB Mets jerseys replaced the MLB patch, and didn't sit underneath it.

Nick

[MikeSimon]

Minor leagues!

[metsbats]

I emailed seller with these questions:

Do you know why ALFONZO's name is missing from the jersey and the American flag is in the wrong place? (it should be where the MLB emblem is) Also there is not 9-11-01 embroidery on the sleeve.

This was the reponse i received:

"THE JERSEY WAS PRE 911...ALSO ITS COMMON PRACTICE FOR BIG LEAGUE CLUBS TO SEND THEIR OLD JERSEYS DOWN TO THEIR MINOR LEAGUE TEAMS TO BE USED BY THE MINOR LEAGUERS."

As Nick pointed out the "METS" across this road jersey is a dead giveaway that it was a minor league.

David

[dcrules01]

TNT I emailed telling him all that and his response was it is missing a patch for the 9-11..I knew it wasn't an mlb gamer but totally flaked on the Mets across the front :D.It sickens me that he still has it listed like an MLB gamer..

[hblakewolf]

Hartel Sports purchased over 600 jerseys indirectly from the Mets. Almost all have the year tags cut out (I was told this was done by the
Mets before sending them down, in order to discourage collectors at a later date).

Many of the road grey minor league jerseys Hartel has have METS, as this particular jersey has. The problem is that Hartel incorrectly identified these mior league jerseys as Major League; likewise, once they enter the hobby and excahnge hands, they often transform into Major League jerseys.

The other red flag with many of the Mets jerseys Hartel purchased is the sizing. Although Hartel may have a #31 home white from the late 90's, there is no way it's a Piazza-it's a size 42! Many of the jerseys he's offering are way off in terms of what the listed player should have worn, based on known Mets jerseys from the specific player that have been sold previously by Steiner, B & E, etc.

FYI

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[metsbats]

I emailed the seller to ask if there was evidence of letters particularily "ALFONZO" on the back or "NEW YORK" on the front of the jersey. If these letters were removed for use in the minors there may be some old stitch marks indicating it was an Alfonzo jersey at one point.

Good point Howard regarding the sizing. Piazza wears size 50 and it doubt full the Met minor league club would assign a player no. 31 only if he wore a size 50. Not only are NOB removed to accomodate minor leaguers but numbers are swapped to correct jersey sizes too.

In the case of the jersey in auction, it's interesting to see the tagging which is the correct tagging for a 2001 Mets jersey and the correct size for Alfonzo is still attached.

-David

[TNTtoys]

David,

At best this scenario is far fetched. I have personally stripped a Mets logo off of the front of a jersey. Not only is there glue underneath, but the intricate stitching (mind you, Mets logos have 3 layers of stitch over stitch) requires about 3+ hours manual effort to remove. A "NEW YORK" logo would probably require equal if not more time to remove.
The amount of labor involved to remove a team logo, sew on a brand new one, remove a name on back, and let's not forget the embroidery stitching on the sleeve that was "removed" too (the stitching that the seller referred to as a patch)... The whole purpose behind recycling is to save costs. It would be far cheaper to order a new jersey if this was the intention.
My guess is that the seller is not going to respond to us any longer. He probably figures that there is nothing we can do as a community to stop him from selling this item to the highest bidder. I have since sent two emails to him indicating glaring reasons why the jersey is not what he sais it is, and he ignored both of them. When he has replied to other forum members, the replies were ambiguous. Bottom line is that if ebay does not pull this auction, someone will be severely overpaying for an item that that has been misrepresented.

Nick

[metsbats]

http://www.jimyackel.com/54MetsGB11-06.JPG

This is all the proof i think we'll ever need.

I agree w/ you Nick it would be too much trouble recycling the jerseys by taking the letters off and someone's going to by a minor leagure jersey thinking it was Alfonzo's.

David