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Griffey GU Batting Gloves-- Run or buy?

I would like and value opinions from this website.

As a huge Griffey collector I found a pair of game used batting gloves I would like to purchase.

The LOA is signed by Junior and is seems genuine. The COA is from Unique Sports who I know received a lot of Griffey's GU items in the 90's, as well as Coast to Coast Sports.

The LOA is dated 02/1998.. Which brings me to my first red flag... The gloves are from the 1998 season, I was able to verify these exact gloves with Junior wearing them before a game. So the LOA precedes the gloves.. An error by Unique Sports?

Also, the lack of evident game use.. Pine tar, dirt on the gloves, any markings from his signature tape job.

My concern is were non authentic gloves paired with an authentic LOA bearing Jr's signature?

I emailed Dave Miedema who said I am likely safe because the company they came from, he said they are very solid..

What is everyone here thoughts? Buy or run for the hills.

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Permalink Reply by BC on October 21, 2019 at 7:53pm

The lack of evidence of game use on the gloves is the concern. I don't think he used pine tar, but there should be some use shown. These look like unused, issued gloves.

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Permalink Reply by ITguy1984 on October 21, 2019 at 8:03pm

I actually found one photo of him wearing these for what looks like BP in the 1998 all star game. That’s the only photo I can find with him wearing these with the detail in the swoosh. Might explain it if they were BP gloves

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Permalink Reply by TradeGeek on October 22, 2019 at 4:16pm

I agree the date is concerning. I did a real quick search on Getty Images and he did not use that style in 1997. And the date on the COA is before springs training. So they very may be his gloves, but it seems unlikely they were used in a game. Which would also explain why they are so clean. BC is correct, he didn't use pine-tar. But he did tape his bats in a unique way. Which, from my own experience decades ago, tends to shred up batting gloves.

They may be have been his from a new shipment/style he received from Nike. But I think it will always be difficult to demonstrate they are "game" used verses just having once belonged to him (as you said, BP gloves). I've ran into this many times with player named bats and jerseys. Just because they are game issued does't mean they are game used. Which has a huge effect on the value.

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Permalink Reply by ITguy1984 on October 22, 2019 at 5:06pm

I found a game used Jersey I might buy instead.

its an A5. But from what I understand is that most jerseys are. And Mears noted in their report it shows minimal use, as did Dave Miedema in his LOA said it shows light use.

might be a better investment

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Permalink Reply by Daniel S. on October 22, 2019 at 5:33pm

Batting gloves are tough without mlb certification. I like the mlb authentication process but obviously these items preceded this. The big issue with mlb cert is that it is specific to the time the item was surrendered to the mlb rep.

I have also used Resolution Photomatching to associate the bat/jersey with a key event (home run, walk off etc) and have been very pleased with their work. I know that John Taube places confidence in Resolution Photomatching when grading bats. I agree that the jersey is more likely to increase in value. A Junior game used jersey is pretty sweet!

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on October 22, 2019 at 6:00pm

In my opinion, the COA has zero value because it has no photo or hologram to tie the cert to the gloves. It may have very well been a legit cert for a pair of Griffey gloves at one time, just not these.

The actual game used gloves may have picked up a MEARs or other reputable COA along the way and then this COA was no longer necessary and paired up with fake gloves.

There is no way to know for sure, so I would avoid. Too many question marks.

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Permalink Reply by TradeGeek on October 23, 2019 at 2:04pm

I agree with Steve. Even if, hypothetically, you were 100% sure they are legit (and in this case it's highly questionable), you would never be able to prove it to a buyer in the future. I wouldn't touch them.

And keep in mind; there are NO "deals" on authentic Griffey game used items. The real deal will cost a real amount of money.