Felipe Lopez Signed Game-Worn Jersey

In my previous post about a few private signings that I got baseballs from, I made reference to one more item that I got from Felipe Lopez. Well, here it is.

This jersey is game-worn and is from his time with the Milwaukee Brewers. He had two short stints with the team, playing 66 games for them in 2006, and finished his career with them in 2011 with 16 games. His partial season in '06 was actually pretty good, as he batted .320 with 20 doubles and 32 RBIs before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals in the off-season.

There were actually a few Lopez jerseys up for sale. In addition to this one, there was also Cardinals away, Puerto Rico WBC away, and Boston Red Sox home & red, plus a Puerto Rico WBC game-used batting helmet. I'm not a huge fan of any of the teams in particular, so I simply made my decision on what I thought would look cooler. Milwaukee home it is!

Being an owner of a couple replica MLB jerseys and a couple gamers from our local independent league team, these MLB gamers are (no pun intended) in a league of their own. Right away, from the first time I picked the jersey up, I could tell a difference. It's a thicker, stronger fabric, that feels soft, but is built for durability. There is also a separate, more ventilated fabric beneath the armpits for added comfort.

Of course, the most noticeable part of an authentic jersey is the intricate patches that are the name and numbers. The Brewers have their lettering using an off-set design of blue, on top of a white border, on top of a gold backing. The letters look great, but you can really see the colors with the larger type of the jersey number. The font they use also work out perfectly in this case. The solid block in the middle of the "3" is perfect for Lopez, whose signature is as tall as it is long.

The other patches look great, too. There is a lot of intricacy in the "Brewers" script on the front of the jersey and the number on the bottom right is a nice touch. One of the other pieces that drew me to this particular jersey was the sleeve patch of their secondary logo on the left arm. Not all teams have them, so it's definitely nice to get that little extra, especially when it looks as nice as this one does.

Lastly, are the few extra element the certify this as a top-of-the-line collectible. The first is the patch on all authentic jerseys, usually toward the bottom of the front, that certifies it as authentic. That is on the gamers, as well, as store-bought jerseys. What makes this one stand out as a game-used item, is the patch on the collar reading "09 LOPEZ 48 2022." From what I can tell the "09" is from the year he wore this and the "48" is the size, but I'm not sure what the "2022" is for.

I was very happy to have this item added to my collection, as the Brewers make some great looking jerseys. Not sure if I'll be adding any more any time soon, but I will say, my curiosity has definitely been peaked.