May pickups

[Scott Garner]

Great stuff, Keith!

[vintagesportflips]

Thanks Scott and J.

[ksfarmboy]

Looks great Keith. Where's the white and green Eagles helmet?

[bigfanNY]

After winning an item in REA it was definitely NOT Foxx season but I was down to 3 for my 500 Home run Display and now am down to 2.

[Scott Garner]

One sub theme in my advanced Nolan Ryan collection is to find the game used bat of every catcher that was involved in a significant career pitching milestone(s).
Once I find the bat I have had the catcher sign and inscribe their game used bat- ex. Jeff Torborg 1000th strikeout and 1st no-hitter catcher, etc.
Since most of his catchers are fairly obscure, finding a game used bat for these guys has proven to be very challenging...

Some of you that know me may have noticed that I have occasionally posted on the BST looking for a Mark Bailey bat.

This is a collecting theme that I have chased since I first got the idea in the early 1990's. I have been successful at finding a game used bat for each of these milestone catchers. The last game used bat that I needed to get signed was catcher Mark Bailey of the Houston Astros. Bailey is not a common signer, so I sent him a letter letting him know what I was working on and asked if he would sign & inscribe his game used bat. He immediately responded and said he would be glad to do it for me.

This is where things got interesting...
In 2006 I sent Bailey a really nice example of his H & B game used bat along with return postage and a very nice thank you letter.
The interesting thing is that the bat was cleverly corked (ala Slammin' Sammy Sosa).
I noted that the end had been drilled out, substance inserted (cork or ?) and the end was patched up, repainted (in black) and his uni # 6 was written over the end. Of course I made no mention of this when I sent him the bat.
Long story short, he never returned the bat even after I sent him two additional letters, one containing $$. No bat.

It's taken me 9 years to find another one, but mission accomplished.
Needless to say, I will not be sending him this one. It's a nice bat with excellent use. No cork this time though.

[vintagesportscollector]

That's a fascinating story Scott. I wonder if Bailey still has the bat or if he burned the incriminating evidence. I bet those who corked their bats use to keep close tabs on them, so he had properly been wondering what happened to that bat for years.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

One sub theme in my advanced Nolan Ryan collection is to find the game used bat of every catcher that was involved in a significant career pitching milestone(s).
Once I find the bat I have had the catcher sign and inscribe their game used bat- ex. Jeff Torborg 1000th strikeout and 1st no-hitter catcher, etc.
Since most of his catchers are fairly obscure, finding a game used bat for these guys has proven to be very challenging...

Some of you that know me may have noticed that I have occasionally posted on the BST looking for a Mark Bailey bat.

This is a collecting theme that I have chased since I first got the idea in the early 1990's. I have been successful at finding a game used bat for each of these milestone catchers. The last game used bat that I needed to get signed was catcher Mark Bailey of the Houston Astros. Bailey is not a common signer, so I sent him a letter letting him know what I was working on and asked if he would sign & inscribe his game used bat. He immediately responded and said he would be glad to do it for me.

This is where things got interesting...
In 2006 I sent Bailey a really nice example of his H & B game used bat along with return postage and a very nice thank you letter.
The interesting thing is that the bat was cleverly corked (ala Slammin' Sammy Sosa).
I noted that the end had been drilled out, substance inserted (cork or ?) and the end was patched up, repainted (in black) and his uni # 6 was written over the end. Of course I made no mention of this when I sent him the bat.
Long story short, he never returned the bat even after I sent him two additional letters, one containing $$. No bat.

It's taken me 9 years to find another one, but mission accomplished.
Needless to say, I will not be sending him this one. It's a nice bat with excellent use. No cork this time though.

That's really cool. I remember seeing Bailey hit his first home run - a low liner over the left field fence. He did it early in the 1984 season and he had been hitting well for the first week or two. As an Astros fan we were crossing our fingers that we finally had a catcher who could hit but it all went to hell soon after, as usual.

Sorry to hear that in addition to sucking as a hitter and catcher, he also appears to be a jerk.

[eastonfalcon19]

Flea market finds from this morning. 1928 Philadelphia A's team supplement and a Vic Wertz professional model bat.

[vintagesportflips]

Originally Posted by ksfarmboy

Looks great Keith. Where's the white and green Eagles helmet?

Thanks Clint. The white - green wing helmet is on one of my mannequins. That mannequin is wearing a 1969 Gary Ballman game used jersey, and a pair of 1969 to 1971 Eagles game worn pants.

[vintagesportflips]

Wow Scott - that's a cool offshoot to your collection. Congrats on finding another gamer, and sorry to hear you never got back the first one. That's a frustrating story.

[vintagesportscollector]

Excited to cross this one off my list...(thanks to a nice trade with Keith J.)

CornellMugR11.jpg

[JoeDfan]

I got home today just in time to see the mailman coming down the street.
He delivered something I have been wanting for a long time - a Joe Torre game issued bat (I say issued because the seller pointed out that it didn't show much signs of use). So I am guessing it was one in the rack, or maybe he took a few swings with it at the most.
But it looks awesome in my Torre collection.

[mjkm90]

Originally Posted by vintagesportscollector

Excited to cross this one off my list...(thanks to a nice trade with Keith J.)

Attachment 189221

That is a GREAT piece Joe and a perfect addition to your amazing collection. Congrats

[RollieFingers]

Originally Posted by kjjavic

Thanks Clint. The white - green wing helmet is on one of my mannequins. That mannequin is wearing a 1969 Gary Ballman game used jersey, and a pair of 1969 to 1971 Eagles game worn pants.

show the whole thing! and closer on helmet!

...and send me the helmet !!