Albert Pujols Game Worn Glove with MLB hologram

[allstarsplus]

If its there, its true. The standards that MLB uses are incredibly high; a jersey may have been covertly marked in such a fashion that allowed it to be tracked by authenticators (uniquely among other jerseys) to the former use, .

That is what the Nationals did with opening day of the new stadium in 2008. All the jerseys had an invisible dye added.

[Trublubrucru]

But one thing is clear, MLB does not authenticate to a particular use without 100% certainty. 99.9% confidence in certain use would not lead to an MLB authentication in the game used database.

I would have to disagree. In the past month or so, I have found at least three errors on MLB authenticated bats. These could be considered minor( wrong inning, wrong date) and explained as bookkeeping errors, which will probably happen from time to time with the large amount of items being authenticated.

Then there are outright msitakes or omissions that can be misleading.

Case in point. MLB auth # FJ 599348 LAD at MIL August 18, 2011

SAM Bat Model RW23 with cracked handle issued to Rickie Weeks

There is no mention that Weeks was on the DL at the time, or that Felipe Lopez was playing for him in that game, and the bat had a big # 7(lopez) on the knob. It was a Weeks bat sure, but he didnt use or crack it.

I handled the bat. Without seeing it in person, and buying it by the description, someone would be getting a questionable bat.

MLB Authentic is not 100% all the time. You still have to do your homework

[2x_beckett_super_collector]

These are my thoughts on authentication. I'm bored, so I'm that thinking out loud lol! Someone on here once said that you can only guarantee authenticity if you see a player using or wearing something and they personally hand it to you. To a certain degree, that is true. The very first "game used" item I ever purchased was a David Murphy bat. I purchased it at the Rangers Majestic shop and the store sticker said "game used" and while in the store, I looked up the MLB holo and it also stated that it was game used and gave the date ( can't recall at the moment) it was "game used". After getting home, I actually found an image of Murphy that day while at batting practice. There were two perfect pics of David standing with the bat on his shoulder which showed the two most identifiable marks on the bat. Its was a %100 match. A couple of months later, I actually met Murphy before a game to have him sign the bat. Out of curiosity, I showed him pics of him using it (and had him sign one of them) at practice and asked if he believed he actually used it in that or any game. He said he didn't remember that bat in particular, but that he could say he never uses the same bats he practices with as game bats!! I was so upset. I wrote the Rangers and the MLB and every email I could find about the false MLB authentication. I got one reply and that was from the rangers who basically said "sorry"!! Yes he used it but it was not game used as "authenticated" by the MLB. Everyone makes mistakes...intentionally or not. As far as MLB holos on baseballs and jerseys, I had a cheap GU ball ( $30 or so) I tried seeing how hard it is to remove the "tamper proof" stickers and apply to another ball and well, it's not that hard at all, especially on the ones that were not put completely flat on the ball. *Jerseys, easy as pie to remove! Again, I own a Murphy jersey that I'll never ever sell so I gave the holo removal another shot and yep, easy as pie! If an employee of a team with access to all the GU items wanted to pull a fast one, chances are, no one would know. I dont know how other teams operate but, another thing that gets me is that the Rangers have several team shops. The one at the stadium has a shop with tons of GU items that anyone can pick through and touch. Holos could get swapped in a heart beat! I'm not a thief, but I know if the possibility of doing such a thing crossed my mind, some thief out there has probably already done it! Yeah I'd rather have a MLB holo, but they can't always be trusted! Sometimes provenance is stronger than a simple sticker that can easily give any of us a false sense of authentication. *Anyone seen the Hamilton GU jersey on eBay with the MLB holo? I'm not at all saying this guy did this, but it is extremely plausible that the holo could have been taken from a legit jersey and applied to the one he has listed. Again, I am in no way Accusing that guy of doing such a thing

[d2ray13]

So where's the glove? And where's the black and white Marucci from his out of body game?

[dplettn]

I would have to disagree. In the past month or so, I have found at least three errors on MLB authenticated bats. These could be considered minor( wrong inning, wrong date) and explained as bookkeeping errors, which will probably happen from time to time with the large amount of items being authenticated.

Then there are outright msitakes or omissions that can be misleading.

Case in point. MLB auth # FJ 599348 LAD at MIL August 18, 2011

SAM Bat Model RW23 with cracked handle issued to Rickie Weeks

There is no mention that Weeks was on the DL at the time, or that Felipe Lopez was playing for him in that game, and the bat had a big # 7(lopez) on the knob. It was a Weeks bat sure, but he didnt use or crack it.

I handled the bat. Without seeing it in person, and buying it by the description, someone would be getting a questionable bat.

MLB Authentic is not 100% all the time. You still have to do your homework

Your observation is relevant, but I think there are some things you aren't referencing as fully as necessary to demonstrate that relevance.

FJ 599348 is in the MLB database for "Team Issued Broken Bat". The game you are referencing is when the authenticator authenticated it -- there is no statement suggesting even that Rickie Weeks used it, only that he's the player it was issued to and that the bats condition at the time it was authenticated was with a broken handle.

I would argue that assessing this entry for its relevance to the hobby primarily demonstrates how MLB's system helps to minimize misrepresentations.

Sure, somebody could remove the hologram. But so long as the hologram is affixed it provides a tremendous insight toward the fact that the bat can not be perceived as equal to other like-condition Rickie Weeks bats (in database as "Game Used Broken Bat"). As I understand it, the bat would have either been broken in practice by any player (including Weeks), or if it was broken by Weeks in a game, it wasn't authenticated on a timely basis (before the DL), and thus the authenticator couldn't authenticate it as game used at all because he didn't see it.

So, IMHO, this observation provides a useful glimpse at the high authentication standards used by MLB.