MLB provenance/database issues

[kingjammy24]

the blue jays sell jerseys directly to the public. MLB also sells blue jays jerseys directly to the public. it seems like most of these jerseys since 2005 have MLB holograms.

i received the most recent blue jays list of jerseys for sale and noticed some problems. beside many of the jerseys the blue jays have added their own comments. here's a sample:

*GR = game ready (ie: game issued) GW = game worn

player | jersey | comment | hologram #
------------------------------------------------------------------
Adams, R. - Black Alt-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233740
Alfonzo, E. - Black Alt-GR - MLB says Game Worn - BB163073
Arnsberg, B. - Cool Black-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233644
Burnett, AJ - Black Alt-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233721
Burnett, AJ - White-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233687
Butterfield, B. - Grey-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233605
Chulk, V. - Grey-GR - MLB says Game Used - BB163085
Clark, H. - Grey-GR - MLB says White Jersey - BB233176
Figueroa, J. - Grey-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233601
Gibbons, J. - Grey-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233629
Glaus, T. - Cool Black-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233656
Glaus, T. - Cool Black-GR - MLB says White Jersey - BB233783
Halladay, R. - Black Alt-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233722
Hillenbrand, Shea - White-GR - MLB says Game Worn - BB163080
Janssen, C. - White-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233683
Janssen, C. - Grey-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233610
Johnson, R. - BP-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB163359
Lilly, T. - Grey-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233619
Molina, B. - White-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233707
Molina, B. - BP-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB163360
Mottola - Black-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233659
Mottola - Grey-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233623
Mottola - White-GW - MLB says Game Ready - BB233695

that's just a small sample. there are other gamers that are listed as "official MLB merchandise" and a slew of jerseys where the set numbers listed in the MLB database don't match the set number sewn on the actual jersey.

the blue jays say a jersey is game-ready, MLB says it's game worn. the jays say a jersey is game-worn, MLB says it's game-ready.

rudy.

[markize]

rudy,

Do you think it's just an error of misunderstanding? Maybe the lines got crossed, as it seems like MLB has them all backwards (for the most part) according to the list. I'm guessing it's up to the Jays to determine appropriate GW/GR label. I have had issues in the past with the way MLB recorded info in their database regarding an alfonso soriano GR all-star BP/HR derby jersey that is autographed. It doesn't even have his name recorded in the database. I know the jersey is legit, and so is the auto. I might have the email address of someone you can direct concerns to if needed.

mark

[WadeInBmore]

Rudy,

just throwing my .02 out there. Most of the Jays jerseys are going to be listed as issued/ready because not all of their games had an mlb representative to do the certification in attendance. That being said, it seems that at the end of the season they do a massive authentication with MLB and all the remaining gear that hasn't been authenticated prior gets the issued/ready description.

I actually find their system of authenticating to be humorous especially when they authenticated the April 4th baby blue uniform game. Those jerseys would've then been taken out of the uniform cycle and the Set 2's would've been used from there on out...LOL...one or two games worth of use on the Set 1's and thats it.

I purchased two Thomas jerseys from the 08 season, one stated as worn, the other as issued. Both show good signs of use and the salesman with the Jays was happy to tell me the condition of any jersey that I had purchased/inquired about. One of the jerseys was a Thomas Baby Blue (in fact the only Baby Blue available for him) labeled "issued" and was a S2, however it shows use and being that the S1's where done being used in the first couple of days of April due to the fact that they were MLB authenticated...he must've used this jersey like a week later.

I would go by what the Jays tell you...and if the MLB sticker really bothers you, understand that it appears to be a huge batch authentication they did. I wanted the baby blue jersey and it was the only one available...and I feel good about my decision that it was a used jersey, not only issued.

Be forewarned however that if you do purchase a game jersey or two from them that it could possibly be held up in customs and you will have to fill out some paperwork to get the package released as the value of the package may exceed the allowed limit for a private citizen.

Hope that helps.

wade

[allstarsplus]

Rudy,

just throwing my .02 out there. Most of the Jays jerseys are going to be listed as issued/ready because not all of their games had an mlb representative to do the certification in attendance.
wade

My understanding is that if the authenticator didn't witness the jersey coming off of the players back then they may not authenticate it as game used instead using the "game issued".

The Nationals did something smart this past year for Opening Day. They put an invisible dye on the jerseys that were going to be used so the authenticator could authenticate after the game without witnessing the jerseys coming off the players backs.

[kingjammy24]

mark, wade, and andrew,

i understand everything that you guys have said. unfortunately, this isn't simply a case of the MLB rep not being there in person so the MLB just marks it as "game issued".

here are a few that the jays say were game-ready but the MLB somehow decided they were game-worn:

Alfonzo, E. - Black Alt-GR - MLB says Game Worn - BB163073
Chulk, V. - Grey-GR - MLB says Game Used - BB163085
Hillenbrand, Shea - White-GR - MLB says Game Worn - BB163080

how did that work? maybe the jays rep wasn't there in person but the MLB rep was?

i didn't include a lot of other different types of errors which include set 1 jerseys being shown as set 2 in the database, black cool base jerseys being shown as white, white jerseys being shown as grey, etc. errors for which there are no logical or understandable explanation.

when the jays have a black troy glaus jersey and the MLB database shows it as white, how is that getting their lines crossed or a matter of the MLB rep simply not being there in person?

a database is only as good as the data put into it and i think the MLB database has serious issues. the examples i gave are only a portion from one team from a couple of seasons. if that's how many errors they make with the jays, can you imagine how exist with other teams?

rudy.

[markize]

rudy,

With the new problems you described, I agree it seems to be more than just crossed lines. That was my initial idea as it seemed as though they had all of them reversed - GR as GW and vise versa. It's hard to figure how they colud confuse a black vs. white jersey. I know from my personal experience that after contacting them, they are less than helpful.

mark

[geoff]

Anyone know the Contact info so I can Start getting emails from the Jays.

Thanks in advance.


Geoff


geof631@yahoo.com