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Old 07-22-2019, 06:06 PM
Al C.risafulli's Avatar
Al C.risafulli Al C.risafulli is offline
Al
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Kingston, NY
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Todd:

I am not dismissing the possibility that the three scorecards were printed before the series, but I personally find it unlikely, given that would require two opposing managers to present someone with three different projected lineups for games several days into the future. I think it's more likely that each was printed on a single day.

That being said, when I research this type of thing, I think there is a subtle but really important difference between A) researching something to discover what it is, and B) researching something to prove it is what I think it is. I think the latter often causes one to ignore clear evidence that doesn't fit the narrative. I try to always do the former. Not saying I always succeed, but I try.

Going into this exercise I was looking for evidence of what game the program was printed for. The presence of Markland in the printed roster and the fact that it was for a Yankee/Red Sox game means it can only have been printed for one of three games (whether it was printed on the same day or on three different days). The mystery here is that three different scorecards have all been uncovered, and all three have been purported to come from the same game.

I think it's more likely that the one with the closest lineup to the actual game lineup is the "right" one, and that the penciled-in scoring could've happened at any time from the day of the game right up until yesterday. Sure, there are things that cause a lineup to change - the manager says "Hank Bauer is starting tomorrow," then Bauer comes into the clubhouse with a sore knee, a hangover, a crick in his neck, and the manager says "Nah, you're sitting the bench, I'm putting Jackie Jensen in." But if you've got the right lineup printed in the scorecard, that's fairly compelling evidence that the scorecard was produced for that day's game.

That being said, I can't see any way that we can unequivocally dismiss any of your scenarios 1, 2, or 3. I think it is most likely that the "true lineup" scorecard was printed for Opening Day, but can't dismiss the possibility that either of the other two - or all three - were printed at some point before the game. I can't even dismiss the possibility that all three were distributed on Opening Day, or even on all three days! People make mistakes. All the scorecards look the same! Could someone sitting in the right field bleachers and someone sitting behind home plate have purchased two different scorecards, even though they were there on the same day? Sure. Is it likely? I don't know. You like to think everybody knows how to do their job when they do it every day, and then you go stand on line at the DMV and see how poorly that theory plays out when it's put into practice.

I think if nothing else, it's an interesting discussion, and the way to handle it is to present the scorecard in the auction and present all the different pieces and then let the bidders decide what they think.

It's funny - the first time I sold this scorecard I was made aware of the second one (with all the cross-outs). I only became aware of the third one when I started researching this a second time. Maybe there's a fourth one out there somewhere!

-Al

Last edited by Al C.risafulli; 07-22-2019 at 06:09 PM.
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