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View Full Version : Give me a New Home, where my bats can roam.....



camarokids
11-30-2008, 04:16 PM
I moved from St. Petersburg, FL to Indianapolis on November 1st. We moved into our new house Nov. 10th.

I now have the space to display almost all of my collection. Instead of being stored in a closet, my bats will soon all be on display. I just started this past week putting my collection up.....

I already received two, nine bat, bat racks, but have placed an order for 2o , 10 bat, bat racks, so all my bats will be off the floor. Plus more autographed 8x10's to hang up....

I have one question......

Should I keep the bat racks natural (with clear stain) or paint them white?

dcrules01
11-30-2008, 04:24 PM
I would just stain them but thats me..I think that would look sharp and congrats on the move and all the room you have now..That is one helluva bat collection ..

markize
11-30-2008, 04:57 PM
david, what color are the walls & trim in your room where the bats will be displayed? if the walls are a color, and the trim is white, you may want to consider white for the racks-it may help the racks look like they are a part of the room, and make the bats stand out more. just an idea. mark

camarokids
11-30-2008, 05:29 PM
Thanks DC and Mark,
I saw pics of someones racks that were painted white and it made the racks look like they were part of the wall.

But then I was thinking if I paint over them I am covering up the natural beauty of the maple wood.....

The walls are of off white and the trim is a bright white...

So I am not sure at this moment what to do.....

I cut down a couple of the pics to post on here

16240

16241

markize
11-30-2008, 06:01 PM
david,

you are right about covering up the maple. in addition, if they have any type of finish on them (polyurethane, etc) you will need to sand them a bit to remove the sheen. otherwise, the paint will chip, and flake off over time. good luck, and get some pics up when they are done!!

mark

grenda12
11-30-2008, 08:27 PM
Id definitely would keep the bat racks natural.

skyking26
11-30-2008, 08:42 PM
Definately NO PAINT...

russyurk
12-01-2008, 01:27 PM
Welcome it Indy.....Keep the wood natural.

camarokids
12-01-2008, 06:20 PM
Welcome it Indy.....Keep the wood natural.

Thanks,
Are you a local up here?

Looks like I am going to go natural.....

skyking26
12-01-2008, 07:26 PM
Get those baseballs out of the window before everything fades on them...

AWA85
12-01-2008, 07:44 PM
I was thinking the same thing when I saw that picture, get some blinds up also!

camarokids
12-01-2008, 07:46 PM
Get those baseballs out of the window before everything fades on them...

Thanks,
Are you referring to the four balls up in the window?

If so? Those four balls are not autographed, they are just BP balls....

I am getting blinds for the daylight windows though.

My autographs have always been stored out of light till now.

Should I be concerned? as long as they are not getting direct sunlight, they should be ok?

ndevlin
12-01-2008, 07:52 PM
Yeah, even light from an indoor lamp can damage auto's. I would keep the area fairly dark until you want to look/show off your items. I also buy the UV ball cubes just to make sure.

A friend of mine met Cool Papa Bell a bit before he died and got SEVERAL items signed, including pictures and postcards that he got framed and hung in his office.

Yep, when he moved offices, he took off his Cool Papa items off the wall and they were completely faded. I mean, you really had to look for his auto, it was really that bad.

Ever since then I take extra care of my auto's. Lesson learned through someone else!!!

skyking26
12-01-2008, 08:27 PM
Yeah, even light from an indoor lamp can damage auto's. I would keep the area fairly dark until you want to look/show off your items. I also buy the UV ball cubes just to make sure.

A friend of mine met Cool Papa Bell a bit before he died and got SEVERAL items signed, including pictures and postcards that he got framed and hung in his office.

Yep, when he moved offices, he took off his Cool Papa items off the wall and they were completely faded. I mean, you really had to look for his auto, it was really that bad.

Ever since then I take extra care of my auto's. Lesson learned through someone else!!!
Back in the late 90's, I bought a gorgeous 16x20 of Kingman and Schmidt outside the cage in Philly standing together. I still have it today. The piece was dual signed, but the photographer I bought it from must have had it in direct sunlight, as both sigs were faded almost completely. Anyway, I hauled the piece to Chicago on a week when they were both there, had it resigned and brought it back to my room with the COVERED window. Looks great. It's amazing what natural light will do to sharpie or ink sigs. Destruction.

That was the only time I'd met Schmidt. I won't race to another opportunity. Hell of a player though...

camarokids
12-01-2008, 09:12 PM
Get those baseballs out of the window before everything fades on them...

Problem solved, I put the baseballs back into a storage tote, out of the light....

I will have to invest in a display case with tinted glass or something.....:cool:

AWA85
12-01-2008, 09:26 PM
Really takes the fun out of the autograph hobby, this has really put a hault to my baseball autograph collection.

soxbats
12-02-2008, 12:57 PM
On other idea that worked well for me is applying a 3M product to the windows. My bat room is on my third floor with dormer windows but it got substantial sun. I do not recall what it cost but a professional installer came out and put the film on the windows and it cut down on the harmful sun considerably. It is see through and almost unnoticeable and the only difference is when it is really sunny it looks a bit darker in the room. I still use ball cubes and uv protected glass on autographs where I can, but this was a great solution.

soxbats@aol.com

camarokids
01-15-2009, 07:31 PM
I received my bat racks yesterday and have installed them. My Devil Rays display is near complete.....

I have never been able to view all my bats without having to move a hundred bats or so.....

AWA85
01-15-2009, 09:13 PM
Get some pics up! Love seeing different rooms and displays for new ideas.

camarokids
01-15-2009, 09:26 PM
Here is one pic that I had to slice in three parts to fit under the max pic size.... left (1) center(2) right (3)

17566

17567

17568

camarokids
01-15-2009, 09:31 PM
here is another pic, same thing, one pic broken up into three parts....

left (1) center (2) right (3).....

17569

17570

17571

camarokids
01-15-2009, 09:35 PM
I broke this one up into two pieces.....

This pic is looking the opposite direction than the other pics....

17573

17574

camarokids
01-15-2009, 09:39 PM
here is the hidden part of the last set of pictures.....


17576

thomecollector
01-15-2009, 09:42 PM
David,
Where did you get the racks ??

camarokids
01-19-2009, 09:29 AM
David,
Where did you get the racks ??

A guy named Bill made them for me. His workmanship is much nicer than others I found on ebay. I really like the way he rounds the edges that give the racks a nice finished look.

Making racks is not a full time job for him, but he is still pretty quick. My order of 20 racks was completed and received in less than 3 weeks.

His name & email is Bill Runkle wgr0910@msn.com .

joelsabi
01-20-2009, 05:50 PM
A guy named Bill made them for me. His workmanship is much nicer than others I found on ebay. I really like the way he rounds the edges that give the racks a nice finished look.

Making racks is not a full time job for him, but he is still pretty quick. My order of 20 racks was completed and received in less than 3 weeks.

His name & email is Bill Runkle wgr0910@msn.com .

do you think he would mind if we called him? will he make other cases beside for bats?

camarokids
01-20-2009, 06:13 PM
do you think he would mind if we called him? will he make other cases beside for bats?

Hi Joel,

I do not have his phone number. But your welcome to email him and ask.
I asked for his permission to post his email address after Roger asked.

camarokids
10-09-2009, 04:14 PM
I just bought some more bat racks from Bill and I expanded my display to take over the entire basement. Thank you sweetheart (my wife).....

26210

camarokids
10-09-2009, 04:24 PM
Here are some updated pics of my display....


26213

26214

26215

26216

NYRangers
10-09-2009, 10:29 PM
David,
Nice collection and nice display.
Glad to see that someone else also has a sports "den" that doubles as a play room for the kids!
John

ndevlin
10-09-2009, 10:36 PM
Well done!! That is pretty much the same layout that I am hoping to do.

And if you ever want to sell your McGriffs, you know where to reach me:-) I'd also consider Batman's Cave that I see as well...

camarokids
10-09-2009, 10:38 PM
David,
Nice collection and nice display.
Glad to see that someone else also has a sports "den" that doubles as a play room for the kids!
John

Thanks John!
My son Zachary is really good about leaving my bats alone.....Even when he has friends over, they leave them alone as well.

camarokids
10-09-2009, 10:46 PM
Well done!! That is pretty much the same layout that I am hoping to do.

And if you ever want to sell your McGriffs, you know where to reach me:-) I'd also consider Batman's Cave that I see as well...


Thanks Nate!!
If I ever do sell any McGriff's they are yours.....
I don't think Zach will get rid of his BatCave. He loves it, plus Santa Claus brought him to him that last Christmas.

russyurk
10-10-2009, 04:33 PM
Thanks,
Are you a local up here?

Looks like I am going to go natural.....

David - Sorry I missed this way back when....I'm not originally from Indy but we've been here almost seven years. Hope you're settled in, it's a good area to raise kids.

camarokids
10-10-2009, 07:17 PM
David - Sorry I missed this way back when....I'm not originally from Indy but we've been here almost seven years. Hope you're settled in, it's a good area to raise kids.

Hey Russ,
No problem. I love it up here. Only down fall is there is no MLB team 10 minutes away. Feel free to email if you want.

rays54
10-10-2009, 07:52 PM
Love the layout of bats, jerseys and pictures. Any lineup cards or bases to go up in the future.

camarokids
10-10-2009, 08:59 PM
Love the layout of bats, jerseys and pictures. Any lineup cards or bases to go up in the future.

Thanks rays54,

In case you did not know all the bats are Rays/Devil Rays besides 9 of them. I am up to 269 Devil Rays bats. Nine Fielding Gloves, three g/u hats and one Batting Helmet, all Devil Rays as well.
I have six Devil Rays Line Up cards Framed and Up on the walls, along with a Pirate @ AZ Pink Mothers Day 2005 Line Up card. No bases or cleats yet.

I have thought about the bases. But they are usually expensive and not sure how to display besides on the floor. Also, I would not want a plain one, but maybe one from Opening Day or something like that....

camarokids
06-02-2010, 11:25 AM
Mods, please move to Game Used Memorabilia. I sent a request to "contact forum moderator" and nothing was done.

jaded
06-02-2010, 05:04 PM
awesome collection, sweet basement!

camarokids
06-02-2010, 06:19 PM
awesome collection, sweet basement!

Thanks Jaded!

camarokids
08-05-2011, 09:18 PM
Almost three years after moving to Indy, the basement is getting full.... These were taken tonight, but are scaled down to fit. Still a bat & glove guy, but I have even got in to jerseys more. I have 8 jerseys now.....

Full size pics on my Facebook page here

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.157471897656271.38922.100001803863998&l=e1db69b0a2&type=1

I need a few more bat racks. My Pirates bats are just standing in a corner....

46887

46888

46889

46890

46891

46892

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46894

HawaiiSportsNut
08-05-2011, 10:35 PM
David... I have just one word... AWESOME!!!

I have been planning to remodel my collection room but been procrastinating for quite some time. Seeing your room & collection is giving me some motivation to get going with my project.

Rick

camarokids
08-06-2011, 09:52 AM
David... I have just one word... AWESOME!!!

I have been planning to remodel my collection room but been procrastinating for quite some time. Seeing your room & collection is giving me some motivation to get going with my project.

Rick

Thanks Rick! Do you live in Hawaii like forum member Scott does?

Shipp_96
08-06-2011, 10:15 AM
What an awesome collection...of LEGOs you have there (joking)! I have taken my nephews to their store before, man those things are expensive!

On a serious note, love the setup. Question, since you are a Devil Rays fan, do you like the team's stance of disregarding their (brief) history, and moving from the iconic Florida marine life to "Rays of light" as a logo? I think it honestly is lame and weak.

I guess when they dropped the "Devil" from the name, I should have seen it coming. I also wish the team could stick to any color scheme also. I personally loved the forest green unis, but admit the powder and dark blues are not bad.

Would love to know your thoughts on the subject, as a die hard fan of the team.

jppopma
08-06-2011, 02:23 PM
Nice collection and display David. For the next pics, be sure to stack a few extra weights on the bench... :p

camarokids
08-06-2011, 08:27 PM
Nice collection and display David. For the next pics, be sure to stack a few extra weights on the bench... :p

Thanks Jim. Good idea on the weights ;)..... I have been slacking a bit on working out lately....

camarokids
08-06-2011, 08:44 PM
What an awesome collection...of LEGOs you have there (joking)! I have taken my nephews to their store before, man those things are expensive!

On a serious note, love the setup. Question, since you are a Devil Rays fan, do you like the team's stance of disregarding their (brief) history, and moving from the iconic Florida marine life to "Rays of light" as a logo? I think it honestly is lame and weak.

I guess when they dropped the "Devil" from the name, I should have seen it coming. I also wish the team could stick to any color scheme also. I personally loved the forest green unis, but admit the powder and dark blues are not bad.

Would love to know your thoughts on the subject, as a die hard fan of the team.

Thanks Shipp,

My son loves lego's. He will ask for them for bdays & Christmas. I think I am setting him up to be a collector? I hope so.

I do not like the name change just to be politically correct. A Devil Ray is a giant Mantra Ray. When I was 17 we were sailboating in the Gulf Of Mexico and sailed right over a giant Manta Ray. The Ray went past us and splashed us with one of his fins. He dwarfed the boat. It was a bit scary at first, but we realized they do not hurt humans, thankfully!!!

The team name had nothing to do with the Devil!
The new uni's are nice looking. But, I do not like the spark thing. I think having just the Rays sounds wimpy. Here come's the Rays!! :rolleyes: Does Ray Romano own the team :eek:???

Kinda like the Cardinals, Jays or Cubs. Like a bird or a baby Cub is going to do any damage???

I do also have a side collection of 26 Braves bats &b 15 Pirates bats. I loved the Braves as a kid and up until the Devil Rays came up in 1998. I also like the Cardinals a bit cause I lived so close to their Spring Training camp. The first game used bat I bought was a Al Martin Pirates bat at the Pirates Clubhouse Store in (winter 1996 ?) Johnstown, Pa. We do go to PA for vacation cause my wife has family there. So Andrew Jones in 1996 on his first trip to the Burg. The crowd was crazy after the game.

HawaiiSportsNut
08-06-2011, 09:10 PM
Thanks Rick! Do you live in Hawaii like forum member Scott does?

Yep! Scott & I both live in Hawaii but on different islands.

Shipp_96
08-06-2011, 11:42 PM
Thanks Shipp,

The first game used bat I bought was a Al Martin Pirates bat at the Pirates Clubhouse Store in (winter 1996 ?) Johnstown, Pa. We do go to PA for vacation cause my wife has family there. So Andrew Jones in 1996 on his first trip to the Burg. The crowd was crazy after the game.

WOW, talk about a small world! I was born and raised in Johnstown!! I know alot of people find it to be a depressing western PA rust belt city, but it will always mean something special to me. I lived there when they filmed Slap Shot (Paul Newman drove my Uncle's van), All the Right Moves (the practice field and stadium are where I played) and the replacement scab Steelers practiced there for a month during the strike in the 80s. I also got to play football at the same high school as Jack Ham did, and Carlton Hasselrig was my Uncle's neighbor.

As you may be aware from my posts, I am (sadly) a huge Pirates fan as well. Would love to know which other Bucco bats you own? My first game used item was an Aramis Ramirez game used rookie bat from the Pirates Clubhouse in Monroeville.

I also agree the changing of the entire identity of Tampa from a beautiful creature such as a Devil Ray to a Ray of Light is just foolish. Some PR morons with too much time on their PC hands.

jppopma
08-07-2011, 01:51 PM
Thanks Jim. Good idea on the weights ;)..... I have been slacking a bit on working out lately....

Kids will do that to you for sure. I think alot of us are in the same boat.

camarokids
08-08-2011, 10:31 AM
WOW, talk about a small world! I was born and raised in Johnstown!! I know alot of people find it to be a depressing western PA rust belt city, but it will always mean something special to me. I lived there when they filmed Slap Shot (Paul Newman drove my Uncle's van), All the Right Moves (the practice field and stadium are where I played) and the replacement scab Steelers practiced there for a month during the strike in the 80s. I also got to play football at the same high school as Jack Ham did, and Carlton Hasselrig was my Uncle's neighbor.

As you may be aware from my posts, I am (sadly) a huge Pirates fan as well. Would love to know which other Bucco bats you own? My first game used item was an Aramis Ramirez game used rookie bat from the Pirates Clubhouse in Monroeville.

I also agree the changing of the entire identity of Tampa from a beautiful creature such as a Devil Ray to a Ray of Light is just foolish. Some PR morons with too much time on their PC hands.

There is a ton sports history in Pittsburg area. Johnstown is only 2 hours away.

My wife and both her parents were born and raised in Johnstown.

We last visited in 2010. It is nice there besides the down economic state. Parts seem a bit depressed. I usually pick up a few Pirates souvenirs when we go there. There is a antique mall off of ?, I forget what street, but it used to be a grocery store. I usually find stuff there.

I would love for the Pirates to turn it around and start winning again this season. It sucks to see them losing 10 in a row. It is nice to see that they are not in last place already.

The Pirates bats I have:
Jay Bell - 2 bats - 1991-97
O. Merced 1991-97
Jason Kendall 99 & 2001-2003
Midre Cummimgs 1996-97
Kevin Polcovich 1996-97
Al Martin 1991-97
Rich Loiselle 1991-97
Jose Guillen 1997 Rawlings
Keith Osik 1999-2000
Dale Sveum 1999-2000
Pat Mears 1999-2000
Raul Mondesi 2004
Randall Simon 2004 Rawlings could be Pirates or Devil Rays
Kevin Hart 2009 125th Anniversary
46954

camarokids
08-08-2011, 10:33 AM
Yep! Scott & I both live in Hawaii but on different islands.

I would be happy with just going on vacation there!!! You guys are lucky. Except it takes longer to get your game used acquisitions in the mail ;).

tigerdale
08-08-2011, 11:00 AM
awesome collection Dave!!

Shipp_96
08-08-2011, 12:39 PM
There is a ton sports history in Pittsburg area. Johnstown is only 2 hours away.

My wife and both her parents were born and raised in Johnstown.

We last visited in 2010. It is nice there besides the down economic state. Parts seem a bit depressed. I usually pick up a few Pirates souvenirs when we go there. There is a antique mall off of ?, I forget what street, but it used to be a grocery store. I usually find stuff there.

I would love for the Pirates to turn it around and start winning again this season. It sucks to see them losing 10 in a row. It is nice to see that they are not in last place already.

The Pirates bats I have:
Jay Bell - 2 bats - 1991-97
O. Merced 1991-97
Jason Kendall 99 & 2001-2003
Midre Cummimgs 1996-97
Kevin Polcovich 1996-97
Al Martin 1991-97
Rich Loiselle 1991-97
Jose Guillen 1997 Rawlings
Keith Osik 1999-2000
Dale Sveum 1999-2000
Pat Mears 1999-2000
Raul Mondesi 2004
Randall Simon 2004 Rawlings could be Pirates or Devil Rays
Kevin Hart 2009 125th Anniversary
54407

Wow! Excellent Buccos collection you have there. I am a big Jay Bell and Orlando Merced fan. I used to like Kendall until I met him several times in Oakland, now, not so much. The skid the team is in now is so horrible, I have never seen anything like it!

I could make it to Three Rivers from where we lived in Johnstown in about an hour and a half back in the day. Maybe traffic is worse now to the 'Burg?

The downtown area of Johnstown is decent, as is Richland where all the shopping is. But places like Prospect, Moxham and Conemaugh are really run down. Especially over where the Steel Mills used to be (my Aunt and Uncle lived there until passing away a couple years ago) are just down right depressing now. Only my cousins still live there, and it is always sad for me to visit now that most of my family have left the area or are deceased.

It is beautiful there in the Fall especially, and the winter when it snows. It sucks to be from somewhere and know you can really never live there again, due to the economic conditions. Oh well, such is life.

Thanks for sharing your collection! I have most of my Pirates collection on the Show off your Pittsburgh Pirates stuff! thread.

camarokids
08-08-2011, 02:00 PM
awesome collection Dave!!

Thank you Dale!

DJaeger22
08-08-2011, 02:10 PM
great looking room dave. does that guy still make the bat racks?

camarokids
08-08-2011, 03:40 PM
great looking room dave. does that guy still make the bat racks?

Thanks Dan! His name is Bill and his email is wgr0910@msn.com .

Have you had any luck talking to John about getting some game used equipment from his Devil Rays days?

DJaeger22
08-08-2011, 03:53 PM
thanks for that

I sent him a message a while back and havent heard back yet, ill try him again

HawaiiSportsNut
08-08-2011, 04:10 PM
I would be happy with just going on vacation there!!! You guys are lucky. Except it takes longer to get your game used acquisitions in the mail ;).

Yep... Takes longer to get our game used items & to make it worse some sellers won't ship to Hawaii. lol

camarokids
08-08-2011, 05:00 PM
thanks for that

I sent him a message a while back and havent heard back yet, ill try him again

I sent Bill an email today as well. I need some more racks too.