Inside MLB's process of authenticating game-used items

MLB authenticators collect, authenticate and catalog the items that come off the field and become memorabilia.

MLB has authenticated more than 10.5 million items thanks to a team of roughly 250 authenticators, all current or former law enforcement.

"We're protecting that history," head of MLB 's authentication team says.

MLB 's use of the pitch clock starting in 2023 meant authenticators had less time between each pitch to log information.

MLB authenticates World Series baseballs, bases and jerseys used in Game 4 of the World Series .

MLB authenticators in cities throughout the season build rapport with players.

MLB looks for candidates whose duties include games and autograph events requiring witnesses.

Authenticators will place hologram stickers on bottles of dirt, a lucrative enterprise for MLB .

The Topps Now set featuring World Series bases went up for 24 hours this past Halloween , for $ 375 a pop, with a print run of 885 .

The Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch 's staff tends to 40,000 three -dimensional artifacts, 3 million archived physical documents and 14,000 hours of video and audio archives.