Many people, Pemper said, do not necessarily care what they are buying. The majority of people who buy an autograph cheap, for example, they don't care if it's fake. They feel they paid a good price for it. Pemper said Major League Baseball would probably be able to authenticate game-worn jerseys and other equipment. No way, he said.
Players sign stuff all the time outside of shows and the clubhouse.
It is also hard to authenticate. Some athletes do not sign something the same way time after time, Jaspersen said. Others merely scribble, making it hard even to determine who signed. According to Hagen, Major League Baseball and Arthur Andersen have only begun authenticating merchandise. Bases, for example, not only sport the familiar silhouette batter logo, but also the logo of the home team.