Big Mistake: Fan who left game with the Albert Pujols No. 703 home run ball completely tanked the value

The 2022 MLB season has been filled with a ton of mishaps regarding fans and home run baseballs.
It all started with the 20-year old Yankee fan that decided to give Aaron Judge’s 60th home run ball back to Judge and the organization in exchange for a few signed baseballs and bats.
We then witnessed the Judge No. 61 ball which was dropped by the Toronto Blue Jays fan into the dugout, with little-to-no effort to jump over the wall and secure an easy pay day.
Luckily, the guy who caught Judge’s No. 62 home run gave an all-time effort and jumped into the dugout to secure the baseball. We were finally given a bit a redemption for baseball fans.
The guy who caught the Pujols home run No. 700 did it right. He left Los Angeles Dodgers stadium with the baseball and kept his face out of the public eye. I’m not sure if that story has developed since then, but it was the smart move and he should be applauded for thinking on his feet.
Just when we thought we made a turn for the better, Albert Pujols hit No. 703, which was likely his last regular season home run of his career.
Albert Pujols No. 703
Side Note: Hopefully it was THE LAST of his career because the Philadelphia Phillies are going to DESTROY the Cardinals in the Wild Card Round.
The fan who caught the ball decided to keep the baseball. Which obviously, is the smart move.
The problem, is that he left the stadium without getting the ball authenticated by Major League Baseball.
That of course, absolutely TANKS the value of the baseball.
Major League Baseball has authenticators at every game to ensure that all balls, bats, helmets, uniforms, and really, anything that touches the baseball field is tracked.
They use a barcode system and log it all into whatever system they are using and it’s extremely helpful when keeping track of inventory and information on equipment.
Basically, once you leave the ballpark without getting the baseball authenticated you’re screwed and what do you know, that’s exactly what this guy did.
The poor guy even wanted to return the next day to get the ball authenticated but sorry pal, that’s simply not how it works!
You’re cooked.
Once you leave the ballpark it’s game over. Good luck on getting any type of value on that baseball now. You’re about to get lowballed just like The Liberty Line does on a weekly basis when people try to buy this godforsaken website.
The valuation is north of $2.5 million so please, don’t come knocking without a fat wallet.
Anyways, congrats to this fan on his new paper weight. At the very least, you have a good story to share at Thanksgiving or Christmas.