Would Rickey Henderson Use a Misspelled bat?

[spartakid]

Ok, I saw this bat, and it looks to be fairly consistent with other Henderson bats that I've seen. It has the typical tape job, it's signed, and it comes with Man of Steal Sports authenticity. The only question I have is would Rickey still use a bat, even if his name was misspelled on it? thank you, Ricardo

[sportscentury]

Ok, I saw this bat, and it looks to be fairly consistent with other Henderson bats that I've seen. It has the typical tape job, it's signed, and it comes with Man of Steal Sports authenticity. The only question I have is would Rickey still use a bat, even if his name was misspelled on it? thank you, Ricardo

During the last several years of his career, Rickey almost always used misspelled Rawlings bats. In fact, it's hard to find one with his name properly spelled. His L.S. bats had Rickey Henderson in cursive. His Rawlings bats had Ricky Henderson (wiht no e in Rickey) in block lettering. I've owned 30-40 Henderson bats with his name misspelled Ricky and most of them came from Rickey/MOS.

The thing is, it's not really a misspelling as Rickey very typically signs his own name without the e. There are countless examples... including those found on his Rawlings bats. As a result, his misspelled hand-signature matches the misspelled block lettering. At some point in his career, Rickey changed his signature from Rickey to Ricky. Remember, long before Manny was being Manny, Rickey was being Rickey.

Hope this helps. When posting in the future, it really helps if you provide a link so that GUU readers can look at the item in question.

.

[spartakid]

Ok, thank you, that answers my question. I will put a link next time. thanks, Ricardo

[metsbats]

I think this is the bat in question. Two nice Henderson bats.

This is Reid's auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com/RICKEY-HENDERSON-GAME-USED-WORN-AUTO-NY-METS-BAT-jersey_W0QQitemZ280334489454QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_ DefaultDomain_0?hash=item280334489454&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1546%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A2%7C294%3A50

[sportscentury]

I think this is the bat in question. Two nice Henderson bats.

This is Reid's auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com/RICKEY-HENDERSON-GAME-USED-WORN-AUTO-NY-METS-BAT-jersey_W0QQitemZ280334489454QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_ DefaultDomain_0?hash=item280334489454&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1546%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A2%7C294%3A50

Yes, those are mine. Two of the nicest I have owned. Note the "Ricky" in block letters on the Rawlings and the "Rickey" in script on the Louisville Slugger. In his final years, Rickey played for the Mets, Mariners, Padres, Red Sox, and Dodgers ... and this spelling difference was the same for all of them. On a small handful of his Rawlings bats, "R. Henderson" was listed. These were pretty rare (Rickey preferred Ricky to R.), and I sold my final one to a regular GUU contributor several months back.

[MSpecht]

Remember, long before Manny was being Manny, Rickey was being Rickey.



.

Very True --------- And Mickey was being Mickey (Rivers)

[Danny899]

Ok, I saw this bat, and it looks to be fairly consistent with other Henderson bats that I've seen. It has the typical tape job, it's signed, and it comes with Man of Steal Sports authenticity. The only question I have is would Rickey still use a bat, even if his name was misspelled on it? thank you, Ricardo

Ric, As a long time collector of Henderson gamers, I can tell you that if you do have an interest in purchasing a gamer, especially a bat, Reid is the go to guy. He has a wide knowledge of the type of bats that Rickey has used over his long career and has sported some of the nicest ones out there. He's also a pleasure to converse with should you have any further questions for him. As I primarily only collect his vintage jerseys, spikes and hats, bats are something I don't often pursue. But when one catches my eye, Reid is the one I surely would buy from as there are no authenticity concerns. Hope this helps!

[sox83cubs84]

I don't recall the exact quantities involved (maybe Jim or Mike or BMH can elaboarte on that), but, during his rookie year of 1982, before signing up with LS, Ryne Sandberg had an early shipment of bats with a block lettered SANDBURG on the barrel. If I recall correctly, he kept half and sent half back. I actually had one in '82, gave it to a girl friend of mine who loved Ryno, and, 12 or so years later, she was killed in a car accident. All things considered, I'm not real keen on trying to track down that rarity.

Dave M.
Chicago area

[sportscentury]

Ric, As a long time collector of Henderson gamers, I can tell you that if you do have an interest in purchasing a gamer, especially a bat, Reid is the go to guy. He has a wide knowledge of the type of bats that Rickey has used over his long career and has sported some of the nicest ones out there. He's also a pleasure to converse with should you have any further questions for him. As I primarily only collect his vintage jerseys, spikes and hats, bats are something I don't often pursue. But when one catches my eye, Reid is the one I surely would buy from as there are no authenticity concerns. Hope this helps!

Dan,

Thank you for the very kinds words. Actually, these are now the only two Rickey bats I have left in my collection. I still occasionally pick up a Rickey piece here and there, but have focused my collection on other things. I am down to two bats, two complete uniforms, two pairs of cleats, and two sets of batting gloves, all of which are direct from Rickey/MOS. I happen to have Rickey's main home Red Sox complete uniform from the first half of the 2002 season which shows the heaviest wear of any modern Hall of Fame-caliber player uniform I've ever seen. It's actually the only Rickey Red Sox uniform I've ever seen with heavy wear... which makes sense as he didn't play much during the second half of the season. I hope your collection continues to thrive.

Best,
Reid

[sportscentury]

I don't recall the exact quantities involved (maybe Jim or Mike or BMH can elaboarte on that), but, during his rookie year of 1982, before signing up with LS, Ryne Sandberg had an early shipment of bats with a block lettered SANDBURG on the barrel. If I recall correctly, he kept half and sent half back. I actually had one in '82, gave it to a girl friend of mine who loved Ryno, and, 12 or so years later, she was killed in a car accident. All things considered, I'm not real keen on trying to track down that rarity.

Dave M.
Chicago area

Dave,

It's great to see you posting here. GUU members will be able to benefit significantly from your knowledge. I hope all is good with you.

Reid