Couple of AMI auction items to ask info on (ARod/Pujols)

[nickacs]

Hello all!
I'm not really a baseball jersey collector, but a couple of these interested me esp since they come with (I think) pretty good letters:

- ARod 2004 game-used Yankee's All-Star jersey - With ARod letter

http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auction_Item.asp?Auction_ID=51989

- Pujols 2007 game-used jersey - With Tony LaRussa 'ARF' Benefit letter

http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auction_Item.asp?Auction_ID=54866&auccat=Baseball%20Game-Used

Sorry for such late notice as the auction closes tomorrow (2/11), but I wanted to know any thoughts on these, good or bad?

Thanks for your time!
Nick

[nickacs]

Re: Couple of AMI auction items to ask info on (ARod/Pujols)

Wow, just searched their Closed auction lots and found the same ARod 2004 All-Star jersey sold for around $13k back in 2008! Hmmm... Wondering why it's going so cheap now????

Hmm, also what's interesting is the 2007 Pujols also sold previously at AMI, but it didn't mention/have the LaRussa benefit letter nor autographed at that time?? Double

Any thoughts?

[legaleagle92481]

Re: Couple of AMI auction items to ask info on (ARod/Pujols)

Wow, just searched their Closed auction lots and found the same ARod 2004 All-Star jersey sold for around $13k back in 2008! Hmmm... Wondering why it's going so cheap now????

Hmm, also what's interesting is the 2007 Pujols also sold previously at AMI, but it didn't mention/have the LaRussa benefit letter nor autographed at that time?? Double

Any thoughts?

1. Alot of times when someone buys something from an auction house when it comes time to sell they consign that item to that same auction house so that in itself is not unusual a couple of years later.

2. The auction is not over yet so you could see a last minute spike in bidding. Stuff blows up at the last minute sometimes. Also keep in mind the economy was much better for most of 2008 then it is now so alot of people have less money to spend. Also last time could have been a bidding war between two deep pocketed collectors who "had to have" the item. You see it all the time two guys get the fever and bid an item up to heights it will never reach again. Just the other night an Olin Kreutz (for nonfootball fans he is the Bears center) jersey on NFL Auctions was the subject of a bidding war between two people and closed for three grand, does anyone think if it was resold tommorrow it would bring back more than a 1/3rd of that price?

3. The Pujols jersey may not be the same jersey as the one sold in the past, he wore more than one jersey in 2007 so how can you be sure it is the same one? Of course another exlanation is it is the same jersey and someone switched a certificate of authenticity and forged an autograph or gotten him to sign it.

[bigtruck260]

Re: Couple of AMI auction items to ask info on (ARod/Pujols)

RE: Pujols =

It looks like a straight hem - and the autograph is 100% legit. The ARF letter looks good too...the only thing I would wonder about is actual use. Kind of hard to really tell from the photos.

[rj_lucas]

Re: Couple of AMI auction items to ask info on (ARod/Pujols)

I'm with Dave. The Pujols appears to be the real deal. I would guess it'll come in somewhere around $6K - $7K.

Rick
rickjlucas@gmail.com

[joelsabi]

Re: Couple of AMI auction items to ask info on (ARod/Pujols)

On the ARod jersey is the amount of use on the label consistent with use shown on the jersey? Would the amount of puckering on the label be like this from the amount of laundering?

[rj_lucas]

Re: Couple of AMI auction items to ask info on (ARod/Pujols)

Pujols closed at $5187. Nice pickup IMO, considering the documentation.

Rick
rickjlucas@gmail.com

[Birdbats]

Re: Couple of AMI auction items to ask info on (ARod/Pujols)

The Pujols jersey just doesn't smell right to me. Think about it... Hancock was killed about four weeks into the season. The team played 12 home games without the Hancock patch. And patches were sewn to existing uniforms. That means Tony would have collected this jersey in April 2007 for an auction held in January 2008. Also, it doesn't have a year flag. That's common for spring training jerseys and coaches' jerseys, but not for Pujols.

This isn't be the first Pujols jersey with ARF paperwork I've seen that was questionable. There was one at the Winter Warmup a couple years ago that had tails and showed no use... but the LOA said it was game used. It makes me wonder if Tony's staff really knows what they're looking at when they write LOAs, or if they're just assuming facts that can't be supported.

I know I tend to be a naysayer when it comes to Pujols items, and I'm going out on a limb questioning something with ARF paperwork. But, if I'm paying $5K for a Pujols jersey, it better be perfect. A 2007 with no Hancock patch and no year flag doesn't warrant that kind of price to me.

[rj_lucas]

Re: Couple of AMI auction items to ask info on (ARod/Pujols)

All good points Jeff. I've asked Barry Clark about this in the past, and while much of ARFs material comes from late in the season, Tony does collect items throughout the year. Since it's an item from Albert i.e. highly desirable, it's not implausable to think the jersey could have come out of his locker on day one, or week one.

The paperwork plus the signature certainly suggest that the jersey was, at the very least, game issued and prepped. Whether it was actually worn on the field is an entirely different question, as you've noted.

The lack of a year flag is harder to explain away. I ran across an interesting photo the other day of Albert's locker, I think from 2006 or 2007. I kid you not, there were no fewer than 20 jerseys on the rack. Obviously, some of those jerseys were ordered to be given away, not worn.

I tend to agree with your maxim that unless a player hands me an item in the stands, there's nearly always room for doubt. The difficulty is only compounded by the strategic indifference that teams, charities, and even MLB exhibit in regards to game issued v. game used.

I hope you don't mind if I solicit your opinion before dropping a bundle on a Pujols jersey, should the opportunity present itself

Rick
rickjlucas@gmail.com

[nickacs]

Re: Couple of AMI auction items to ask info on (ARod/Pujols)

Thanks everyone for all your opions/insight yesterday and then seeing more info today from you guys! Thanks so much..

Yea, I passed on both the ARod and Pujols jerseys. I've never had a Pujols, but like Jeff said if I'm going to drop $5k on a single jersey, it better be a 100% photomatch, use and proper documentation.
I was trying to find more photomatches on the ARod AS jersey since it has some scuffs and major stain on the front, but all the pics I could find where early in the game or action shots that were too small/couldn't see the front stain. Not questioning it's authenticity, esp with an ARod letter, but I just like to personally know 100% if it's real.

Thanks again and someday I'll own one of each of these players!