NW Valley Times

GCU student Ben Kleiman has been appointed as the Authentics gameday supervisor for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2025 season. Kleiman, a senior studying sports and entertainment management at Grand Canyon University, previously interned with the Arizona Diamondbacks Charity Auctions and Authentics team. His role involves securely retrieving game-used merchandise for auction, such as the base used by Shohei Ohtani when he stole his 44th base at Chase Field, which sold for $38,210.

Ben Laffoon, a GCU alumnus and senior coordinator for Authentics and youth sports programs for the Diamondbacks, praised Kleiman's work ethic: “Ben is hard-working and wants to do what’s best for the store,” he said. Laffoon also noted that Kleiman's prior knowledge of the Authentics program gave him additional responsibilities and helped generate new revenue streams.

Kleiman's duties include communicating with clubhouse staff and alerting authenticators to look for milestone mementos. The net proceeds from auctions go to charity, with items related to players like Ohtani fetching significant sums. For instance, Ohtani’s 50th home run ball was sold via private auction for $4.392 million.

Each Major League Baseball team has its own Authentics department under MLB’s Authentication Program. Kleiman's experience includes working with the Colorado Rockies' Authentics program, where his father is employed.

Reflecting on his journey into this field, Kleiman shared: “I knew to become an authenticator, you had to be a retired (or off-duty) cop.” He viewed it as an entry point into business after applying for numerous positions last year.

Laffoon expressed hope that more GCU students will utilize resources offered by the Colangelo College of Business: “We have a lot of volunteers come out... It’s all hands on deck.”

In addition to his role with the Diamondbacks, Kleiman serves as assistant director of analytics for GCU’s baseball team. Despite his varied experiences in baseball-related roles, he prefers office work within stadiums over other opportunities like those in remote locations.