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rj_lucas
02-24-2011, 12:38 PM
The Albert Pujols 2000 Arizona Fall League home jersey currently for sale by eBay seller mchell616 is a fake:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270710607558&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I own Albert's AFL road jersey, photomatched to his Topps rookie card. I've posted photos on GUU in the past, do a search if interested.

As confirmed by the AFL, one home and one road was issued to each player for the 27-game schedule in 2000. The same owner purchased both the home and road shirts from the Cardinals at the 2001 Winter Warm-Up. The original owner sold the home to a friend, and I purchased the road. My jersey has been examined by Jeff Scott and the Cardinals Hall of Fame.

Jeff Scott has also seen the authentic home jersey, and I have several photographs of it. The gentleman who purchased the home jersey from the original owner still owns it. Aside from the fact that the provenance makes the eBay example a non-starter, there are several issues with the forged jersey. Jeff Scott has documented a discrepancy with the rear numeral spacing in his 2/23/11 blog post:

www.birdbats.com (http://www.birdbats.com)

In addition, I see three other discrepancies, related to the nameplate, tagging and the front indicia. I will not give the details of those discrepancies here, out of concern that the forger would attempt to 'correct' them in the bogus shirt.

Bottom line, stay away. A quick look at the other jerseys sold by this seller tells you everything you need to know e.g. a Joe Mauer 2010 All-Star 'game issued' jersey for $240, 2009 Derek Jeter World Series 'game issued' jersey for $450, etc.

Rick
rickjlucas@gmail.com