A group of law enforcement officers are working as MLB authenticators to preserve the authenticity of baseball collectibles and memorabilia.
Major League Baseball has an authentication program which covers all the teams in the league. This was put in place back in the late 1990s when Padres icon Tony Gwynn noticed his signature was being forged. This program addresses anything from fake autographs to misrepresented game items, making sure that fan memorabilia and collectibles are legit.
This is where trained law enforcement officers come into play. Their skills are transferable, allowing them to carry out ‘evidence control’ on various items. For instance, if a ball comes off the field, it will be passed to one of the authenticators and they can add a sticker which identifies the legitimacy of the item and how and when it was used in the game.
JC Smith, one of MLB’s authenticators says: “We watch Baseball differently than the average fan because we are following the ball, we keep track of everyone touching the ball, where the ball goes and how it comes out of play.”
This leading program by MLB is advanced and robust. All authenticated items have a unique serial number that can’t be tampered with. Since 2001, MLB states that over six million items have been authenticated, giving fans peace of mind that anything they buy on the is the real deal.
Majority of the authenticated items land on MLB Auction Marketplace, our partner’s platform, enabling them to provide buyers with memorabilia and collectibles of unquestionable legitimacy. This partnership not only elevates the value of these items, but also reinforces the integrity of the sports memorabilia and collectibles market.
Two of our Senior Partners, Mike and Kevin, attended a recent National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago where much of the talk was around authentication and how that is managed. This shows not only the importance for fans, but also sports leagues in presenting their own evidence of how this is policed so counterfeit items are not circulated.
Vllalobos, another MLB authenticator adds: “Cool stuff happens at the ballpark…you’re actually part of history when you authenticate items that were used in a special game.”
As a fan, you can also be part of history by purchasing these collectibles from an official Marketplace knowing that they have gone through MLB’s authentication program.
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