Signed Ball of the Day : Joe Mauer ( ROMLB Sweet Spot PSA Graded 9.5 Gem Mint )

In honor of the USA baseball team winning last night in the WBC to move closer to the next round which they have never done I wanted to touch base on two player's autogaphs that I acquired that are on the team. First up is Joe Mauer and one of the better experiences I have had with submitting a ball for grading.

A couple of years ago I had some extra eBay bucks in my account and I wasn't finding much to my liking on eBay but I had til the end of the month to use it and wasn't about to lose credit. There is a seller out in Arizona that I trust and they always sell PSA authenticated baseballs so I looked into his inventory. I found this Joe Mauer ball and out of pocket after the eBay credit was around $25 so I thought it was a great buy. Joe has excelled the minute he hit the big leagues and will go down as one of the best all around catchers. Decent power but he hits for average and is great with the pitchers. Another thing I like about him was that he signed with the Twins long term and probably and hopefully will retire as a Twin. I love one team players ala Kemp, Mauer, Chipper, etc. At his current pace he will stack up pretty well with other catchers that are inducted in the Hall of Fame and he would rightfully belong there as well.

Received the ball and thought it looked better in person than the pics that I received from the seller and I thought why not see what kind of grade I would get at PSA. Dropped it off and about 3 weeks later I checked online and saw that the ball received a 9.5 aka Gem Mint. Woo Hoo. My first 9.5. Though not a Dodger and will probably never dawn the blue jersey you can't but respect Joe on and off the field. I have Hall of Famers and for sure future Hall of Famers in my collection but none have a grade of 9.5 so this is a gem by itself.