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Mysterious Ken Griffey Jr Ball

Picked up this ball a few weeks ago...I have a bunch of Jr autograph, he's one of my favorite sigs...this is no doubt, 100% authentic. It came with both MLB & UDA holograms, and both check out. There are two strange things.

1. Date on MLB & UDA databases don't match. They are only within a few days of each other, so that's probably just a clerical issue....

2. Here's the weird one. The signature on the UDA hologram database website looks identical to the one on the ball (just darker, the ball has faded)...However, the 500 HR stamping on the baseball in the UDA picture is not there!!

So, i'm not sure why it is like this.....

My scientific rationale is that the answer is one of the following:

1. 500 HR Stamping on ball was added after ball was signed (unlikely as I'm pretty sure that would be part of the initial manufacturing process, but still possible)

2. UDA photoshopped out the 500 HR stamp on the ball for their hologram database (possible, but why would they do that?)

3. A very skilled forger, made an identical signature on a different baseball, and peeled off both MLB & UDA holograms from original ball and put on new ball (extremely unlikely)

4. Error in UDA database, and ball pictured is not my ball. (possible, but would be highly unlikely that the signature is identical, including where his signature ran into the stitching).

5. ?

Thoughts anyone?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dom Vito Castiglione on January 25, 2015 at 2:08pm

I believe it could just be an error in the database

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Permalink Reply by David S on January 25, 2015 at 2:13pm

That was my initial thought too...but i have about 10 Griffey signed balls, and no 2 signatures look identical (meaning where he starts, where the tip of the K intersects the G, etc. I mean they are similar, but these look IDENTICAL to me).

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Permalink Reply by Dom Vito Castiglione on January 25, 2015 at 2:24pm

Is there anyway to zoom in and get a side by side?

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Permalink Reply by David S on January 25, 2015 at 3:28pm

This is best I can do---UDA photo is pretty low resolution. I pointed out a few places in the autograph where the pen hits the exact same spot on the ball stitching. Also, it's not too clear, but the hologram # in the UDA photo does seem to match.

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Permalink Reply by Dom Vito Castiglione on January 25, 2015 at 6:44pm

David, it looks like 2 different colored inks are on those balls

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Permalink Reply by David S on January 25, 2015 at 7:54pm

I think the photo on the right shows what happens to the one on left when exposed to a lot of light for the last 11 years, but that's just my opinion

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Permalink Reply by Dom Vito Castiglione on January 25, 2015 at 8:30pm

I think you just solved it, but what about the 500 logo?

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Permalink Reply by wascher on January 26, 2015 at 3:12am

I would email and find out if they used to photoshop out things that could be "distracting" to the viewer in their database like stamps on balls. I looked real close too and it looks like the exact identical ball down to the hole placements on the stitching, just minus the stamp. Very interesting :)

-w