MLB auctions

One night I was shopping around for Mientkiewicz stuff and I came across the MLB Auctions. There was a pennant from Kaufman Stadium, a nice big one, with D. Mientkiewicz. Pretty cool, right? I mean, how would you even get your hands on something like that?

I looked a little closer at the auction site and I noticed that the seller was MLB (and its partners). I also noticed that MLB Auctions is not like eBay... you can register but you can only buy, not sell.

So, really? MLB is auctioning off stuff they probably just have lying around (like stadium pennents) and making a killing? At the time, I remember reading that a portion of the profit went to charity. Or maybe all of it, but probably not. And now I cannot find that information anywhere. Smells like jackassery to me.

Oh, Pee Ess, when you register for the privilege of bidding on their pitching rubbers and whatnot, MLB needs your credit card information. They then put a temporary charge of $3.50 on your card for about 30 days. Awesome. They can cram it with walnuts as fas as I'm concerned.