You probably know that baseball is as American as mom and apple pie, and judging by the ongoing love affair with the game and the crowds of fans who hang around before and after a game to get baseballs signed that it is no doubt very true. There is also no doubt that these many fans love baseball sports collectibles, including signed memorabilia from their favorite players.

Perhaps the most popular items are autographed baseball memorabilia; especially from the revered players who have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Quite often the value of a certain signed piece of memorabilia will increase in value over the years, much like the collections of baseball cards.

Fans collected all kinds of baseball memorabilia, including autographed jerseys, baseball gloves and the baseball cards, with baseballs still being the most popular. You can have almost anything signed that is related to the sport, even a game program, and then add it to your collection, sell it to a fan or collector or give it to a friend or fan as a gift.

If you are unable to attend a baseball game to get your own signed sports memorabilia or you are looking for some rare or valuable items, then there are several ways to go about finding and getting what you want. You can look in your local phone book under sports memorabilia dealers or you can go online and do a search for the same thing. Another alternative is to check out Ebay, as they always have many different items relating to a wide range of sports; not just baseball related items but also autographed footballs as well. However, there are some things that you should keep in mind if you are purchasing items such as these online, or anywhere else for that matter.

One of the first things that the experts say to look for when trying to determine if signed memorabilia is indeed authentic is to look at the ink. If the ink seems to be too consistent, then it may be a stamped signature. Normally, when someone signs their name there will be different pressure points and angles making some of the areas darker than others. This holds true whether it is signed baseball sports collectibles or any other type of memorabilia. The top two sources for checking the authenticity of a signature are JSA (James Spence Authentic) and PSA/DNA. Many dealers will pay higher than top dollar for signed sports items that have been certified by either of those two services. That is not to say that there are not other reliable sources out there; these two are just well known and have earned the complete trust of many memorabilia dealers.