How MLB Authenticates Balls Like Aaron Judge’s 60th Homer

The system relies on roughly 230 former law enforcement officers, hologram stickers and a chain of custody that might stand up to the most skeptical criminal court judge. Typically, two authenticators take up positions, one next to each dugout at every ballpark for every game. When a ball is taken out of play, it goes to an authenticator, like Billy Vanson, another retired New York City police officer, who worked Saturday’s Mets-Pirates game at Citi Field. Vanson spent most of his 25-year career at the 108th Precinct in Long Island City, Queens.

Now his precinct is a camera well next to the Mets’ dugout. The ball that comes out of play is tossed to Vanson, who applies a hologram sticker and records exactly when it was used before putting it in a bag.

“You watch the game in a completely different way as an authenticator,” Vanson said Saturday. “You have to pay very careful attention.”

When the stakes are lower than Judge’s home run binge, a ball taken out of play and authenticated in the third inning of a normal game can often be purchased at the team store by the seventh. Using information encoded on the hologram, a fan can identify the pitcher, the batter, the kind of pitches thrown and the velocity of each one.

During Saturday’s game, a fan paid $250 for second base. After the third inning, when the bases are routinely changed, an authenticator met the grounds crew by the tunnel and applied the sticker to the back of the used base. It was handed to a team official, who presented it to the fan in the stands. Before the game, Vanson authenticated Pete Alonso’s shin guard, at the Mets player’s request.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/21/sports/baseball/aaron-judge-ball-authentication.html