Let me echo David's sentiment and say that I think it is in very poor taste to jump into a congratulatory thread on Brandon's job well done (very well done, for those of you who have not seen the guides) with this other crap that has nothing to do with the guides.
The more I think about the grief that a handful of overzealous posters here have caused for Brandon over the last couple of months, the madder I get. And for what? Because you don't like "replica" baseballs? Or because you are afraid he or his friend might be able to produce a "replica" that you can't tell from the real thing? Have any of you even seen one of the balls up close? Accidentally bought one thinking that it was real? Know anyone else who has? Have you ever seen one of these balls offered for sale as real? Have you ever seen a single instance where Brandon has fooled or taken advantage of anyone? If you have, then THAT is what you should be shouting about on the boards.
And now that you've gotten the big "reveal" you were yearning for, now what? What has changed? Is the ball dating information Brandon has freely handed out to countless collectors now invalidated? Should his posts on Net54 be expunged? Should the ball guides he produced be thrown out? The short answer is: no, nothing has changed. The accuracy of the information hasn't changed. It's all there in print. You can do your own research, spend hours and hours looking for some fault, some bit of misinformation, something wrong with them, but outside of a handful of typos, you'll be wasting your time. Just like you've wasted your time trying with all your might to dig up dirt on one of the few guys I've seen posting here on Net54 who has consistently gone out of his way to HELP other collectors rather than just tearing them down.
Is it any wonder there are so many knowledgable dealers and collectors who never post on Net54, or who have stopped posting due to "all the drama." This business of besmirching someone's reputation because you have a differing opinion is petty and juvenile, and something that I used to think the Net54 community was capable of rising above. (And "I don't like replicas" IS an opinion, no matter how deep-seated it may be for you, or how much I may agree with that opinion). Net54, like any forum, can be a great place to learn, share information, relate ideas and experiences, and generally enhance our knowledge and enjoyment of this hobby/industry. The depth of the pool of knowledge here is a result of the cumulative contributions of its many learned members, and every time one is driven off, that pool becomes a little shallower. How long will it be before the only ones remaining are children splashing each other in the kiddie pool?
Brandon, I hope that this is not your last post here on Net54, and that the overly-vocal minority don't deprive the rest of us of your expertise and insight into the ball around which this game we love is based. With the exception of the past couple of months, I have always gotten a sense that you enjoyed sharing your knowledge here, and in turn learning about other areas/aspects of this hobby/industry we get so wrapped up in. Please know that the vocal minority who have hounded you for the last couple of months do not speak for all of us. I hope that you will be around the hobby/industry for many years to come, and that you will continue to contribute your knowledge and findings from your coninued research here, to the benefit of the many Net54 members who appreciate such things.
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