816-868-2310
5 Things That Affect an Autographed Baseball's Value
Almost every day I get asked, "What's my baseball worth?" That comes down to many factors including who signed it.
For the purpose of this article, I am going to just talk about how the actual baseball itself affects the value.
Here are 5 things to look for.
#1 TYPE OF BALL
Every autographed baseball of any current player should be on an official Major League Baseball. With the exception of All Star and World Series logo baseballs, the official MLB baseball is what everyone wants.
Getting an autograph on an Official League ball or a plastic China baseball is practically worthless.
When possible, always go with the official MLB ball.
#2 COLOR OF PEN
Always get a baseball autographed in a blue ball point pen. Blue lasts longer and is much bolder of a color.
Black tends to fade very quickly.
Same thing with a sharpie. Never get a baseball autographed with a sharpie.
#3 SMUDGES OR FADING OF SIGNATURE
No one wants to see a smudge or a faded signature. Everyone wants a clean and bold signature. The better the signature, the more desirable. Authentication companies have even started grading the signature itself along with the autograph.
#4 CONDITION OF BASEBALL
With the exception of older autographed baseballs such as Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Mickey Mantle, every current players autograph should be on a clean, white baseball. Or a pearl it is called.
Staining or spotting on the ball tends to bring down its value.
In regards to a Babe Ruth signature, yes, those baseballs will all have spotting and staining due to the age of the ball.
#5 AUTHENITCATION
Having your autographed baseball authenticated by JSA, PSA DNA, or Beckett Authentication always adds to the value of your baseball.
If you were to sell it, a buyer would want to see this authentication with your item.
A Babe Ruth autographed baseball for example sells for WAY more authenticated by one of those companies.
BONUS TIP!
One more thing that can add value to your autographed baseball are inscriptions such as when a player adds his MVP year or when he won the World Series MVP.
Personalizations like TO JOHN, always devalue the autographed baseball.
Reason being is a ball with TO JOHN on it is hard to sell to someone named Matt!
21 Responses
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Stephen Thornburg
July 23, 2023
I have the 2nd grandslam ball that Fernando tatis hit 4/23/1999. It was supposed to go to the hall of fame but went to a personal collection. I ended up with it a few years ago and now I’m interested in the value of the ball. Wondering what it would go for? Any ideas?