Acquiring and Verifying Milestone Balls

[skier14]

How would somebody both acquire, and verify a ball being the ball used for a specific hit or home run.

Thank You
Dustin

[mfsquirrelmaster]

Hey, You can find them sometimes on ebay, other auction houses, or collectors. My collection of home run balls is currently up to five. One has a loa from the player that hit the ball, a couple came from a very well respected collector who wrote a loa, and a couple have mlb authentication.

[skier14]

Thanks for the information. HR Balls have never really been something that I have collected so I really dont know much about it, however I will start looking and keeping an eye out.

[David]

Teams often sold home run balls through gift shops, so you will see hr balls with team gift shop COAs. I've seen gift shop COAs from many teams. You can also find hr/hit balls with Steiner COAs, and those are reliable. Steiner handles/handled game used material for the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox. And, of course, these days MLB authenticates game balls, with the serial numbered hologram on the ball.

[David]

Also, dealing with reputable/knowledgeable sellers is always wise. If/when you turn to resell the ball, being able to say you obtained it from a respected and honest dealer is good for your cause.

[skier14]

Thank you for your help, i would only deal with someone that I trust, especially with a topic like a ball because that cant really be verify it for myself is what I was thinking.

Thanks

[eGameUsed]

I have been told that an MLB Authenticator can only authenticate something to a specific hit or homereun if he never looses sight of it. The only deviation is if the ball is specifically marked (Number and Letter code) to a specific pitch).

Here is the authentication detail for the ball Hunter Pence hit for his 5th Home Run of 2009 at Minute Maid Park. Notice the detail on who handled the ball.

Hologram number LH412126 was located in the MLB Authentication Database under GAME-USED BASEBALL.
Session Product Description:


Session Name: MIL AT HOU
Session Date: May 21, 2009
Autographer:
Authenticator: AUTHENTICATORS, INC.
Additional Information: HOME RUN BY HUNTER PENCE IN 2ND INNING OFF JEFF SUPPAN, HR HIT OFF L C WALL, CAMERON CF TO BRAUN LF TO LF BALLBOY TO AUTHENTICATOR

[skier14]

That is interesting, and I could see how that could cause problems if it wasnt specific as there is (in my mind) no way to know that it is the exact ball. I would like to get my hands on one at some time in the future.

[legaleagle92481]

catch them yourself or buy mlb authenticated ones. i dont care how long a dealer has been in business or how great his reputation. noone can authenticate a baseball to a specific milestone case in point is the shot heard around the world bobby thompson home run ball but since noone can defintely prove it is the ball they are all virtually worthless. you can photomatch a jersey or a bat and research whether a player ordered x bat but you cannot do that stuff with a baseball. as far as team coas they are just as worthless as no coa if there is no hologram on the ball as someone could just get a 15 dollar baseball at sports authority put some dirt on it and sell it is the ball that came with the coa and noone would know the difference.