Quote:
Originally Posted by packs
I don't think so. It's natural toning. I don't know what causes it, but it's something that naturally happens. Probably influenced by sunlight, but I don't think it's only sunlight.
Eddie Mathews
Lee Smith
Yaz |
The first and third one look like game use or batting practice use.
No excuse for the Lee Smith ball - looks like it must be some sort of impurity in the leather or the yellowing you describe, from just sitting around exposed.
But I really don't know - I actually had a third ball that I got signed in 1973, and it also looks pristine, although I gave it to my brother last year. So perhaps I've been lucky, but my experience is that as long as you aren't handling them a lot (when I was a kid, I even handled these quite a bit, with no ill effects over time), and they were fresh out of a box to begin with, you don't get the yellowing/browning you are describing.
Does anyone have a ball that was never rubbed up or otherwise handled other than for signing and occasional viewing, that turned yellow or brown in areas?