Graded autographs/baseballs – to grade or not to grade?

What are your thoughts on grading autographs/baseballs?

I am torn on the subject. I see the major auction houses put their perceived grade when describing the autographed baseballs, such as “...pairing a 10/10 blue ballpoint signature and a pearly white OAL (Brown) ball..." I know that's their opinion and more likely than not, a bit of an oversell to make the ball a bit more desirable.

I understand the grading process for sports cards, but baseballs? The cards are encapsulated in a tamper-proof slab, the seals on the ball cubes are routinely broken to get better photos for use in catalogs, etc. So does/should this practice disqualify the grade? It would on the card.

A graded 10 auto/10 ball today could tone over time, even in a sealed cube. (For instance, 1984-1990 Bobby Brown balls produced in Haiti)

So, when does an autographed baseball be deemed worthy of getting a grade affixed to it? When the owner is ready to sell? Do graded balls carry a premium over non-graded balls? I think they do.

You also have the option of just having the autograph graded. That I understand, especially if the ball is game-used or vintage. So why would I choose to have them both graded?

A game-used ball can have a solid 10 auto grade, but the ball, by being game-used, cannot possibly grade higher than 6, which will bring the overall grade down to 8. Same with a vintage ball. How can a ball from 1928 be anything higher than a 7 or 8 without being altered? So, that being said, would any game-used/vintage ball with auto grade only be considered less value than one with both?

I could have a pretty clean Mantle ball with a great signature grade out at 10, and conceivably have the same, or closely similar Mantle ball grade out at 10 auto/10 ball. Which one has the greater value, or should they both have the same based on the strength of the signature?

This is one of the reasons I don’t like grading balls. As with grading cards, it’s the opinion of the evaluators. Can you really tell the difference between autographs graded 9 vs 10? I have plenty of baseball cards that I swear are 10s only to come back as 9s. And if you collect graded sports cards, the difference in value is tremendous. I can’t say the same for baseballs as I have yet to find a good price guide for non-graded autos/balls. I base on past sales of auctions, which is very time consuming, and still doesn’t give an accurate value. Any particular auction could have two people get into a bidding war and driving up the final sale price. So should that be the driving force in establishing current values? I don’t think so.

Ok, rant over. Thanks for reading and/or leaving comments.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on January 17, 2018 at 2:43pm

Re-posted for spelling.

Well, I was gonna write something about this because it is something I think about (sig and item signed are ultimately inextricable - an extreme example would be Sharpie on Velvet) but I will take a shorter route as I am pressed for time. When I read the terms at many auction houses it often states "...what we didn't mention is pictured, what we didn't picture is mentioned"..."the pictures are juiced for sales, the description is not to taken as factual, nothing is serious, its all opinions and we are responsible for nothing in any event." So - who cares what they really call it then?

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on January 17, 2018 at 1:38pm

Grading has been discussed here many times. Generally, it is not seen favorably and more of a marketing gimmick for "registry type" collectors.

Two points:

The grading standards seem inconsistent to nonsensical. We've seen signatures with almost no contrast in dark areas with high grades. Terribly sloppy sub-prime signatures with high grades and signatures that were partially cut away with high grades. What is the grade for? Simply if the ink adhered to the surface and is not faded? It does not seem to be tied to the aesthetic quality of the signature.
Even if the grade was consistent and made sense, it is just a grade at a moment in time. As we all know, baseballs can self-destruct with staining. Is a baseball that develops ugly splotches years after it was graded still a 10? Even if it gets a little toning, is it still a 10?

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on January 17, 2018 at 4:16pm

I agree with Steve, I see no value in grading a signed baseball. None.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on January 17, 2018 at 4:30pm

Perhaps if "I" were making/selling them...;)

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on January 17, 2018 at 4:36pm

agree!

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Permalink Reply by MJ Emigh on January 17, 2018 at 8:02pm

"If you want something done right, do it yourself." At least if you make and sign them yourself, you'll know they're authentic.

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Permalink Reply by John DeAngelis on January 18, 2018 at 8:02am

I agree that grading is very inconsistent — on everything from signature, balls and cards. It artificially drives up the costs and is self serving to the grading companies.

I have 77 autographed balls in my collection and only 2 have been graded. One has an overall grade of 9.5 (Duke Snyder) and the other is a 9 (Nolan Ryan). In both cases, the balls and signatures pass the "eye test" as perfect snow white balls and dark blue signatures.

P.S. I didn't buy the grades, I bought the signatures.

Hey Eric, did you used to work in Florida in the early 90s? : )