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game-used batting helmets

Collecting Game-used: When 'team-issued' actually means 'game-used' all season long ... in ironclad undisputed fashion

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Game-used collectors have been seriously spoiled since the arrival of the MLB Authentication program back in 2001 (I'm one of them), but there are still items that are fully authenticated that require more research for their full story to be known.
This is one of those pieces.
Sometimes, items can't be photo-matched to photos or videos because there are no obvious features or personalized touches that can make them stand out from others. However, for my final item of the year in this Collecting Game-used series, I present to you an item that I recently found that needed a little more research despite it having the coveted MLBA sticker -- but it has those obvious features. In fact, it's a piece that has so many unique features that I was able to track those touches and decipher its lifetime of use. (Well, at least as much as one can without official word from a player to know their uniform habits or info from an equipment manager, who would have been responsible for inventory and replacement of pieces when requested.)
In the case of this Cleveland Indians batting helmet, it was authenticated merely as a "team-issued" piece by MLBA in April 2014. However, the obvious use it shows is from continued play and a distinct lack of maintenance and cleaning (as likely requested by the player). It turns out to be from the entire previous season -- and that was a successful one for the team as it made it to the postseason for just the third time during the 2000s at that point. This helmet's grass, chips, impressive layers of pine tar and other marks can be documented in photos before it was taken out of storage and into collector hands.
Keep reading to see the details ... and the item in action.
Continue reading →

This entry was posted in Baseball, Collecting Game-used and tagged Cleveland Indians, game-used memorabilia, MLB, Nick Swisher, 2013 Panini America's Pastime, MLB Authentication, team-issued memorabilia, 2014 Bowman, game-used batting helmets on December 16, 2019 by BlowoutBuzz.

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