Quote:
Originally Posted by thecatspajamas
Keep in mind that any information about whether the ball itself is accurate to the correct season can only disprove whether the ball is what it's said to be. Even if you know with 100% certainty that the ball is correct to the time period of the event, you would still be taking Clark at his word that that particular ball was indeed his 300th and not just another ball he grabbed out of the same case. It's just a question of where you take your leap of faith, and how wide the gap is that you have to cross in that leap. Knowing the ball came directly from Clark with a letter stating what it is narrows the gap much more than buying it from some random individual on Craig's List who related the story over the phone, but even so, there is still the question of Clark's reason for selling it and whether his memory and/or integrity are 100% accurate. (I'm not questioning Clark's integrity myself, but others in this thread have, showing that questions will and do arise with this type of item).
At some point, the gap either narrows enough that you feel comfortable moving forward, or it remains wide enough that you bail on the deal for fear of falling in. Different folks have differing levels of comfortability, with some willing to make super-human leaps across wide gaps of information, and others being unwilling to step across the slightest hint of a crack. It's all relative to your own comfort level with the information available.
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I totally agree with everything you said here. What's funny is if the ball had been a William D. White signature ball I never would have questioned its authenticity beyond that point. I did not buy the ball to resell it, Jack was my childhood hero and I thought it was a really cool piece of baseball history. With what he wrote on the ball and his letter stating this was indeed his 300th that would have been enough for me to take that leap of faith. Of course it just had to be a Giamatti ball which has led me down this path. I am a detective by nature so I feel like I have to do as much research as possible even though I know ultimately there will never be a definitive answer. I really enjoy hearing everyone's insight and appreciate the overall discussion in this thread.