1999 All Star GU baseball... or not?

[emann]

http://cgi.ebay.com/BOSTON-REDSOX-FENWAY-PARK-1999-ALL-STAR-GAME-USED-BALL-/190495029091?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5a637763#ht_500wt_922

It looks like a souvenir ball to me... I have a GU ball (bought from the Red Sox) and it is the more traditional red w/ multi-colored stitching.

Thoughts?

[sox83cubs84]

Can't say for sure, but, without the colored stitching, it could be a game ball from a regular Red Sox game, and not the All-Star Game.

Dave Miedema

[lakeerie92]

You are right. The All Star Game baseballs have multi-colored stitching and a different logo. This ball is the one used by the Red Sox throughout the regular season. There were about 3-4 years that the team hosting the All Star game used a commemorative ball like this during the year they hosted. The last team to use a ball like that was the Braves in 2000.

[chuck70]

http://www.allprorehl.com/ra19fepaalls.html
RAWLINGS OFFICIAL 1999 FENWAY PARK EDITION ALL STAR BASEBALL. This ball was used for Boston Red Sox home games leading up to Hosting the 1999 All Star Game

http://www.shopusasports.com/Rawlings_1999_All_Star_Game_Baseball_p/bb1999.htmRawlings 1999 All-Star Game Baseball


Chuck
chuck112770@yahoo.com

Always looking for Mike Cameron and Casey McGehee Items

[obpercent1]

http://cgi.ebay.com/BOSTON-REDSOX-FENWAY-PARK-1999-ALL-STAR-GAME-USED-BALL-/190495029091?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5a637763#ht_500wt_922

It looks like a souvenir ball to me... I have a GU ball (bought from the Red Sox) and it is the more traditional red w/ multi-colored stitching.

Thoughts?

This was the game ball used during all regular season games at Fenway in 99 I was able to get a few that year from BP. I actually saw one like this at a show in Wilminton Mass and a dealer had it for sale and was claiming it was used in the game and called him out on it, but he still tried to sell it througout the weekend. It still is a real difficult ball to get

[SteelCity]

I've actually seen fewer unused and unsigned versions of this ball than used. And they're really hard to find mint. They were sold in limited quantities with box but I haven't seen any new ones listed in a few years, aside one I've got listed.

I really wish the had continued this program. Apparently most commemoratives (outside of AS & WS) didn't begin selling well until mid-2000s, plus a few in the 90s.

The "pre-all-star" balls were used from 1997-2000. This is by far the rarest of the four. 1999 has a lot of extremely rare gamers. Here are all the pre-all-stars below. (This 1998 below was caught in BP in Seattle after the Rockies were in town).

http://www.photos.bigleaguebaseballs.com/Official%20Special%20Event%20Game%20Balls/official-special-event-game-balls-1997-1998/BLB1997ClevelandAll-StarSeason.JPG.php

http://www.photos.bigleaguebaseballs.com/Official%20Special%20Event%20Game%20Balls/official-special-event-game-balls-1997-1998/BLB1998ColoradoAll-StarSeason.JPG.php

http://www.photos.bigleaguebaseballs.com/Official%20Special%20Event%20Game%20Balls/special-event-game-balls-1999/BLB-1999-Boston-All-Star-Season-wm.jpg.php

http://www.photos.bigleaguebaseballs.com/Official%20Special%20Event%20Game%20Balls/special-event-game-balls-2000/BLB2001SpecEvent003.JPG.php