Chicago Cubs: Big money in broken bats, programs and memorabilia

Chicago Cubs: Proving memorabilia is real

Collectors like Mike are slowly being phased out by MLB authenticators. No one wants to buy an autographed bat unless they know it’s real and will hold the value of its purchase price. This is where the league has really been wise, they finally have understood that they have the power to not only sell the merchandise but authenticate it.

The hologram sticker and the logging of the item in the authenticator database means that it is now and forever part of MLB history and as Springer says, that’s where the money is.

"Game-used memorabilia is sold at every Major League ballpark. At the Red Sox souvenir shop you can buy an autographed, authenticated, game-used Mookie Betts jersey for $3,000, a game-used base for $300, a bottle of field dirt for $20 and countless other collectibles big and small."

Just this week, a baseball program from the first World Series in 1903 was in the news. The program is from Game 7 between the Boston Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates. The program is expected to sell for between $150,000 to $250,000.

Earlier this year, a jersey from Joe DiMaggio netted almost $400,000 in an auction while an anonymous donation to Goodwill of a signed baseball with autographs from New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra and former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is expected to fetch $700.

It’s good to know when you have the dollars to spend, MLB is doing its best to make sure you are getting quality, authenticated items. Just look for the hologram/barcode when you are thinking about purchasing your next piece of Cubs history. Which reminds me, I have a great Ted Williams original baseball card for sale to anyone interested – non-authenticated, of course.