I caught a home run ball from JD Martinez! Now what??
 

At the Red Sox / Rangers game at Fenway last night, I caught (OK, picked up after it smashed off the hand of the guy next to me) a home run ball from JD Martinez.

Nothing extraordinary about the homer - didn't win the game, not a milestone number or anything, just #13 of the season and #208 of his career. Exciting as it was, the ball went into my pocket and now is sitting on my bureau.

Cool as it was to get it, I wasn't sure what exactly to do with it now. It's my first home run ball (I've got a foul ball and ground rule double before), so I want to keep it. But I also don't know much about this area of memorabilia, so I wasn't sure if there was something else I should do or should've done.

Could I have had it somehow authenticated at the game by the Red Sox? Do I write an inscription on it describing what it is? If I ever tried to sell it (not even knowing what demand there is for something like this), is it just based on my word?

Not exactly my area of expertise, so figured I would throw it out to anyone here who might know more. And since every thread is better with a picture, here's a pic of the ball...

You're unfortunately too late now, but I believe most parks have an on-site authentication service where, when you provide them with where you were sitting, and the ball, they'll put one of those hologram sticker thingies on it that's somehow databased to what it is.

Don't quote me on that, not exactly sure how it works or if it's at all parks/at all times.

If you can find a replay of the home run and find yourself on video retrieving the ball, that would be pretty iron clad. I assume they filmed the home run.

Good thought - I did just Google and they do have on-site authenticators at every MLB game, but it's only for on-field items. If a ball leaves the field such as a homer, they do not authenticate, unless it is a milestone item (big HR, etc). In those cases, they will come find you, not you finding them. So I guess that's out.

It was shown briefly on TV before the shot cut back to Martinez circling the bases - I did a screen grab which is attached here. I quickly had done this for my friends who were with me, and they are the three in the red boxes to the left. I'm the one on the right with a dark red jacket - can't really see my face in this shot, though I'm holding the ball up. I'll see if I can find an HD version and freeze frame it a bit better.

If you plan to keep it, then you know its legit. Put it in a nice display with the stub and a label explaining what it is.

If you plan to sell it, its next to impossible to prove it is what you say it is.Even with pics, someone still has to take your word thats the exact ball and not pulling a switch.

Congrats on the catch.

Personally, I'd give it to the kid nearest to me at the game.

Rob M

Thanks all - I do plan to keep it and have no intention of selling, and probably will jot a note on the ball (or on a sticky note) explaining what it is. But just wanted to make sure since this isn't my specialty, that there isn't something else I should do since it just happened.

And my 7 year old is pretty excited about it as well, so that's the kid I'm sharing the ball with!

Perfect!

Rob M

My understanding is that if you catch a home run ball at a major league park in a real city like NY you ask the usher / security guard for help getting it authenticated. Then someone comes and takes you to authenticate the ball. Then you have ironclad proof even if you keep it. If JD goes on to have a HOF career then your kids or grandkids have the sticker and not just the story.
I understand that Boston is a third rate city but even so they have a customer service desk where they give buttons and stuff to kids who come for their first visit etc. Ask them for next time. Congrats on the pick up.. always cool to bring home a ball used in a game.
J

Thanks for the advice! I have been so busy attending championship parades the past 20 years I never had the chance to learn this. :)

My season ticket package is in a prime spot for HR balls so it may come in handy to know for another time - such as late October....

Lol ... At this point what I would do is get the ball signed by JD. He is a Steiner guy and has done a couple public signings in the past year. Maybe if you bring the picture and pay the "Inscription" fee he will sign it as a HR ball. HR # 207 with date. That would kick it up a notch as a collectable. Just a thought
Enjoy the ball because I think I will be the one enjoying baseball in late Oct. This year

NO STADIUMS will put a MLB hologram on a baseball once in it goes into the crowed UNLESS its a milestone and the game was either marked prior to the game or they witnessed you catching it(like a players 1st or whatever).

I have heard some stadiums will give out a paper LOA saying you caught X ball or whatever but thats about it. When catching a homer its best to just take a bunch of photos with the ball while at the game right away. But in the end, its still just your word.

I sit in outfield at Yankee stadium and more than once in past two years I saw usher go up to person who cought a HR ball and ask first if they were ok and next if they wanted to authenticate it. I guess the key phrase is that stadium personnel witnessed the catch. I think both were Aaron Judge HR's.

The MLB Authentication website supports Brock’s description, so Yankee Stadium either has its own additional authentication process, or Judge’s homers were all deemed special enough to authenticate.

I probabiy will get JD to sign this one at some point - I have a connection with the Sox who should be able to get this one signed for me at some point. I probably used up my favors for a while for this year already, but will get it to happen at some point!

Thanks again guys - appreciate the input...

It's your ball, so take this with however many grains of salt as you like, but I wouldn't get it signed.

I've gotten one home run ball: a 2007 Damion Easley pinch-hit homer that was commemorated with a Topps card...

https://live.staticflickr.com/7070/1...05223bcfdf.jpg

...and, on the secondary market, I got one of the three balls that was used in the at-bat where Todd Frazier hit the home run I famously objected to (see Net 54 thread here).

I would not get either ball signed by any of the participants.

To me, getting the ball signed would destroy its "integrity" as a game-used item. The ball wasn't signed when it was put into play, so it shouldn't be signed now.

I think they make special cases that display two baseballs, so in lieu of getting the actual home run baseball signed, you might want to consider getting a JD Martinez signed ball and displaying it next to the home run ball you caught.

That is like saying not to get a game used bat or game used Jersey signed because that is not how it appeared in game. I understand your preference. But the secondary market Clearly puts greater value on game used items with Signatures.
I have a Miguel Cabrera ball game used for a hit that he signed and inscribed the hit#. It displays great and tells it's own story.
JD Martinez is not Damien Easley ( but even that ball I would get signed) he is one of less than a handful of hitters that is capable of winning battings triple crown. And for now looks to have a bright future so the ball might have some significance down the road. I give a hearty thumbs up for getting it signed. And I would go to signing with the 7 year old who would remember it for the rest of his life. Just my preference..

He's keeping the ball so getting it signed is ok.

A lot of collectors prefer unsigned game used (myself included) so if someone plans to sell, its best to keep it unsigned, why eliminate a bunch of potential buyers?

totally agree. spot on!

you're very nice. I would kick the ball away from the kid, spill drinks and do whatever was fair to get the ball. In fact I did just that in 1980. Sitting behind home plate a foul ball off Lenny Dykstra's bat, thrown By Fernando Valenzuela went high in the air. It hit my had and scooted below me a few seats over where 2 kids were sitting. I got down on the ground and did a swipe kick using my foot as a scoop. Spilled two drinks and got the ball. Poor kids. They have to learn as I did many many games as a young kid never getting a ball.

I bought everyone drinks of course and sitting behind me was Don Newcombe. I had him sign the ball. All is fair in love and baseballs in the stands.

Nice job getting the HR Ball!!!!! I would get JD to sign it at some point and keep it with the rest of your stuff.

Keep as much PROOF as you can because you may want to sell it someday. Several years back I bought a HR ball from a guy because he had kept a lot of the proof. It was a HR hit by Aaron Hill and he had completed his second CYCLE in two weeks! The seller managed to catch it in a section that there were not too many people in and provided a ticket for that section, a photo of him wearing the exact clothing he caught the ball in. I was able to match it against the video of the game. Plus I had him write a notarized letter that listed the events of the game.

Just wow....

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Thanks to all for your thoughts and advice - I'll make sure to save copies of the screen grabs I was able to get from the TV footage, along with the pictures I took while at the game that night.

I certainly won't be selling it, as my 7 year old has been pretty happy the past few days about having a HR ball from one of his favorite players. (In case you hadn't seen it, I posted this thread last month about his chance to meet a bunch of Sox players.) I will shoot to have JD sign it next chance we get, so that will leave us with a nice souvenir.

Maybe we can hope it's just a joke, since Dykstra didn't start playing until 1985? Just hoping...

I dont think a joke. Ever been to a Mets game? Notice both of the responses saying dont get item signed are again Mets fans.They are as a group very different from other baseball fans.
Two balls below the first the Miguel Cabrera game used for a single that has MLB sticker. As I said earlier I like that the ball tells it's own story.
Second ball was tossed up to me in the left field stands by Martin Prado when he was with the Yanks. The next spring when he was with the Marlins they played an exhibition game vs the Jax Suns before heading north to start the season. I was in Jax helping out some family and had my son mail me the ball to have Prado sign it. Waiting outside I see Prado emerge take ball out of my pocket and Giancarlo Stanton takes ball from my hand and signs it. (Iwas not gonna be that guy who told the highest paid ballplayer at that time he could not sign the ball) then Mr. Prado walks up I tell him story he laughs and signs it as well. And I really enjoy getting in person signatures. So any unsigned game used items I have I always look to get them signed just my preferance. And the secondary market dose value signed game used items higher than unsigned ones. So a win win.
Hope you get to share the moment JD signs the ball with your son. Both of you will remember it.
J.

Sox and Yankees fans finding common ground and trading pleasant stories - what's going on here!?

I will update this thread at a later date (who knows - might take until next year) when I'm able to get JD to sign the ball - and I hope to do it when my little guy is there to have him sign it!

What does my being a Mets fan have to do with it? I explained why I felt scooter729 shouldn't get the ball signed. It's a perfectly legitimate reason.

I'm also into original comic book art and when I've bought pieces directly from the artist, I do not ask them to sign it. I remember one convention where I bought a page from the artist who drew it, and as I was getting my credit card to pay for the piece he signed it without asking first. I cringed but there was nothing I could do at that point. Just as the game-used ball wasn't signed when it was used in a game, the page was not signed when it was used to produce the comic book, so I don't want it signed after the fact.

How does being a Mets fan play a part in forming that opinion?

Gary just an observation of a fact. Admittedly a very small sample size but clearly a correlation . Perhaps it would be clearer if you read the paragraph as I wrote it and not the incomplete quote you parsed. I do not know why Mets fans opinions on many things differ from my own. But I am not unhappy about it.

Only a Mets fan would further punish themselves by not getting an autograph.

Here's my signed Trout. If he hadn't signed this baseball it would be valued at only a fraction of what it is now (and will be later):

https://live.staticflickr.com/4640/2...cc83f41b_z.jpg

Wow. I've got no words for this.

Rob M

Why not just write on the ball the date and who hit it and leave it at that....a cool family artifact. Why does everything need to be authenticated and hologrammed and turn into a commodity?

You'd have to start society over again for the answer to that question to be any different.

Dammit, now due to your ambiguous typo I can't decided if it hit you in the head or the hand...

EDIT: Crap I just realized maybe it hit your DAD

I have many items that I am glad no Mets player signed...
Very nice Trout ball. Like I said earlier when signed like that the ball tells it's own story, and makes a great display. Same could be said for Bats, Caps, batting Gloves. Just an opinion. That as you mentioned is backed up by much higher prices in the secondary market.

I can definitely understand why some people wouldn't want a signed game used item. Photo guys don't like photos with signatures on them either. For me the ball would have felt incomplete without the Trout auto.

So a couple of typos...Yes hit MY HAND and rolled below me and over a couple seats. And I didn't take pics or write the date down, but it was the "1980's". May have been a 15 run deficit the dodger came back from, but we left in the 4th inning, like usual. Get hammered and leave early just like Dennis Martinez No Hitter. Left in the 6th.

AND YES, I would do the same thing today to get the ball. Another time, a Mark McGwire homer hit me in the hand, missed it again, and I dove after it. Hit the ball and it flew away.

I tore my shoulder and left bleeding. LOL. Was not the same for 10 years Does that help? :D:D:D

If you caught the ball (or retrieved it) and don’t ever plan to sell it then why be concerned with “proof”. Print out a pic of the screenshot you showed in the thread. Keep the ticket stub if you have it and print out the box score or cut it out of a Boston newspaper. That’s what I’d do

If you do decide to get it signed, please don't use a Sharpie. Ballpoint all the way. My vote would be to get it signed, although it drives me nuts when players sign jerseys or bats. Balls simply look good when they are signed, and jerseys and bats don't. At least that's my opinion — I'm sure others would disagree.

Hey Rob.... Fudd did the right thing!!! These kids had to learn same lessons in life we all had to. Too many expect everything to be handed to them. If you want a ball handed to you sit by the ball boys. If not be prepared for survival of the fittest!!!!:D:D:D:D

^^^^^ this is why the rest of us have Boston Fatigue. ;)

:D

For the record, I'm not THAT arrogant - it was only said that way in response to my Yankee-loving friend who had made snide comments my way just before that!

For the record I did throw a couple rivalry comments in my reply and have no problem at all with the reply. Red Sox fans waited 80 years for the sun to turn around and shine. And Fans need to enjoy it while it lasts.
Yankees vs Red Sox is the best rivalry in sports. I for one enjoy it, I enjoyed it more when it was one sided our way but it's still fun.

Well said - nothing beats it when both teams are playing well and the games take on added importance! Looking forward to the London games next week....

jD Martinez
 

Our minor league team is having a JD Martinez bobblehead night later this year.

I'll be getting in line. Enjoy the ball. It's a cool moment.

LOL, Thanks Michael. I was at 50 games in the 4th row before the age of 13. Went early, took SX-70 Polaroids of everybody and they all wanted to see the picture develop in front of their eyes Garvey, Cey, Messersmith, Russel et all. Do you think they ever tossed me a ball? Hell no. Do you think I didn't get run over every time a ball came by me? Sitting next to Casey Stengel for an entire game in the 105 degree heat, do you think he handed me a ball. hell no.

These kids need to build some moxie.

You get them as they come to you. If kids are in the way so be it. I did't even notice the kids or the spilled drinks until I had the ball. I thought I was nice refilling their drinks.:D

I got a foul ball at chicago cubs day game 5 years ago after putting my hands up to avoid a line drive to the face. got lucky as it dropped directly in front of me. Before I could even think another fan dove for it head butting me but i STILL GOT THE BALL!!!. It is safe and sound in a cube with the tickets...I also had smoltz toss me a ball after throwing practice...was pretty cool...still have that one too!!! Keep up the good work..if them kids want a ball they need to sharpen thier reflexes :D:D:D

Very True. I used to be big in the game used hockey world, both jerseys and sticks. The second you got them signed, the value dropped, and you lost a lot of potential buyers. The only place you would get a game used jersey signed was on the inside of the crest so it couldnt be seen.

Am I missing stuff or are the grown men in here actually serious in saying that kids should have to fight them for a ball?

Yup. Apparently so. As I mentioned earlier, I have no words.

Ok, maybe I can muster a few words - I’ve seen a few dandies being shamed on the internet or espn when they are captured on video chasing a ball while out of their minds but I never imagined they were right here amidst us.

Rob M

If you really believe we're really being serious than I am the one who has no words. Lighten up a bit.:p:p