Awesome Estate Sale Pickup -- Charlie Sheen's Bat from "Eight Men Out"

[VintageGamerN00b]

Super stoked about this pickup and felt the need to share it with you guys. Today I was at a moving sale of actor D.B. Sweeney (Shoeless Joe in Eight Men Out) and while I was too late to get the screen-worn Shoeless Joe replica road jersey (which went for $900), I think I got something just as cool for a fraction of the price.

It's the bat that Charlie Sheen used as Hap Felsch in the movie! It's definitely a replica--they took a Louisville Slugger H119 and stained it to a Black Betsy-like color--and they stamped the Hillerich & Son logo and Hap Felsch name on the barrel. (I doubt there was attention to detail like this in "42".)

I got Mr. Sweeney to sign a letter of authenticity, plus he signed an Eight Men Out poster to me. I also got a picture of me, him and the bat.

There have been two Eight Men Out jerseys sold--one at Robert Edward Auctions for $5k, and Sweeney's home Jackson jersey went for $1200 at Legendary some years ago. There has never been an Eight Men Out bat at auction. The only three I know of are in a display at Cooperstown. And none of them belonged to someone this certifiable!

Not for sale as of now since I'm going to get it framed with the poster and give it a prime spot in the man cave for a couple years.

I haven't taken photos yet but it's definitely the bat from this card:

[Ease]

Nice pickup for sure!

[UnVme7]

If I remember correctly, the movie 42 didn't do a good job with their bats, all of which looked present day. Understandable I guess...

[milkit1]

Holy moly! My favorite baseball movie! Post those pics!

[esquiresports]

That's an awesome pick-up! I am a fan of baseball movie memorabilia. Even made a run at a Bad News Bears jersey not too long ago. Popular items. Please post photos when you can.

[Jay Wolt]

Fantastic pickup
Lets see the shot w/ you & Sweeny (& the bat)

[VintageGamerN00b]

OK guys, sorry for the wait. And yes I know I look like a maniac in the photo with him, but it was a long day and I was super excited. Here we go:

[VintageGamerN00b]

And some screenshots:

[mr2686]

That is super sweet...congrats big time!! I guess after awhile everything becomes "just stuff" but it's sad when people sell off stuff like that...and even worse when I don't hear about it till after the fact

[VintageGamerN00b]

He definitely wasn't selling it off out of need, nor do I think he valued it the same way you or I do. I got the sense that he had so much of that kind of stuff laying around that he didn't even think twice about it. He's really busy--he's still working, the family's moving, he has to take his kids all over the city to do their stuff like any family man--it would be the same as one of us selling an old set of golf clubs because we're tired of not having room in the garage. Plus the profits went to his charity. It was one of those super lucky situations where he got rid of (what he sees as) some clutter and got to collect some $ for his charity, and I got a keepsake that I really value.

[slidekellyslide]

Right place at the right time? Or did you hear about his garage sale? This is one of the coolest pickup stories of all time.

[mr2686]

Any thoughts of trying to get Charlie Sheen to sign it?

[milkit1]

I'm surprised this movie doesn't get more praise. Its far and away my favorite baseball film. Other then the say it ain't so part the movie is pretty realistic and they did a great job on casting. Whenever I look at my bill burns t206 I think of christopher lloyd

[VintageGamerN00b]

Dan--I keep an eye on the garage sale postings and check Craigslist at least twice a day, and I read it at about 1 pm day of. When I saw that there was going to be sports memorabilia there (apparently he's a huge sports guy so he had a ton of signed stuff laying around), I got straight in my car and headed across town. Someone snatched up all the best jerseys, including the Jackson--I wonder if he's a forum member--and I was beyond relieved no one thought to ask about the old-looking bat in the corner.

Mike--I'm certainly considering getting it signed, but I have two hesitations. The first is that I just don't know how I'd feel about it with a sig on it. The number one movie prop I've always wanted is the Noisy Cricket from "Men in Black". If I owned it, I wouldn't have Will Smith sign it because I'd want to hold the exact same thing he held in the film, and the one in the film wasn't signed by Will Smith when it caught my eye. The second hesitation is that I'm almost positive he would sign it with some horrible inscription like "Tiger Blood" or "Winning", the latter of which would be the worst possible inscription on a Black Sox-related item, right? Or maybe he'd come up with something funny and baseball-related, but either way, I'm afraid it would make the bat more about Sheen's latest antics and his less-than-stellar reputation. I'd argue that this is the most collectible bat from the film, since Sheen is by far the most (in)famous actor from the film and his 'graphs sell all the time on eBay, but I'd have to see how good of a replica job they did on Black Betsy before making that argument. But the way it is now, it's a relic of the old Charlie Sheen who was part of some of the best baseball movies ever, and I wouldn't want to risk it losing that appeal with a modern sig.

What do you guys think about getting it signed? I'm sure if I hang around the Cedars-Sinai psych department I could catch him by June 1.

[milkit1]

Get it signed! 100% get it signed! It will not dimish the screen grabs at all

[slidekellyslide]

I would not get it signed....get a signed card from the 8 Men Out set and display it with the bat. I just don't like signed bats, but I'm probably in the minority.

[Runscott]

I'm with Dan - leave it as is.

Great find!

[brob28]

I'm with Dan & Scott, leave it as is. Congrats on an awesome purchase!

[MVSNYC]

Very cool pick-up! congrats!

Just have to mention- your bat is clearly the one pictured with Sheen on the baseball card (and same photo above), but looks like he is using a different (brown without tape versus your black with tape) in the bottom 2 photos, but i assume you're aware of that.

i would NOT get it signed. leave it pure and untouched, just like it was used in the movie, and as Sweeney handed it over to you.

Also, i am NOT a huge fan of creating montage displays with cards, sigs, programs, tickets, etc. i personally like to have items displays singularly, and almost like a piece of art or sculpture in a museum. makes it even more special.

maybe get one of these from John Taube to put it in...(the top case with just the bat)

https://www.digitalfm.com/gameusedba...il.cfm?c=Racks

[yanks12025]

I say get it signed.

[Luke]

It's more about your favorite movie, than it is about Sheen. I know I wouldn't get it signed if I owned it. And I wish I did. Nice pickup!

[Fredskinz]

It was an amazing estate sale... Picked up the Shoeless joe "Eight Men Out" jersey and pants, his USA jersey and "toe pick" skates from "The Cutting Edge", a game used Ed belfour jersey signed to DB and also a game used Colt McCoy jersey from Texas.

If anyone is interested in the "Eight Men Out" jersey", let me know.

[VintageGamerN00b]

Ha glad to see you on here Fred. Congrats!!

[Mark]

Cool bat. Here's mine:

[VintageGamerN00b]

I'm going to med school next year and have posted this to B/S/T to gauge interest. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'll have to sell most of my collection, since interest rates on my loans will be something like 40% by the time I graduate.

Just perusing this thread again and wanted to let you know, Mark, that that was a heck of a thread-ender. I had a great time sharing this one with you guys.

[UnVme7]

Originally Posted by VintageGamerN00b

I'm going to med school next year and have posted this to B/S/T to gauge interest. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'll have to sell most of my collection, since interest rates on my loans will be something like 40% by the time I graduate.

Just perusing this thread again and wanted to let you know, Mark, that that was a heck of a thread-ender. I had a great time sharing this one with you guys.

If you will have any used bats or worn jerseys, let me know

[VintageGamerN00b]

EDIT--not sold. I don't wanna ruin this thread with $ though so I will take this to B/S/T if I get more eager.