Baseball Players and their Game Used Items

[geoff]

I went to the Orioles and Marlins game tonight and got Hanley Ramirezs Autograph and told him i have a few game used items of his.He looked at me and did not say a word and had this look on his face like he was really mad.Then i asked him if i could take a pichure with him and he said no i have too go.He did not have too go and was still signing autographs for people for another minute or two.Anyone on the forum had an expierience like mine or something to that effect that a player got made when you told him you own game used items of his.Would like to hear back on this subject.Thanks Geoff

[kylehess10]

wow, that sounds horrible. I've never had an experience like that before. I have tried talking to players once about their game used. 3 years ago, I went to the Braves Fanfest to get my Glenn Hubbard game used bat signed, I simply told him that it was game used and he actually said "well I didn't get that many hit's back then". Kinda weird how he said that cuz there was ball marks all over the bat. Then 2 years ago I went to the Braves fanfest again to get my Chipper Jones game used bat signed and I told him the same saying that it was game used and he said "oh yea? did you steal this from me?" it was pretty funny. I don't get how Hanley Ramirez could be that mean though. If a player is in a bad mood then they shouldn't even be signing. Here in Atlanta at Turner Field you ask any player to be in a picture and they'll do it. I've actually never once seen a player refuse a picture taken

[suave1477]

Kylehess I think your missing the point the players are not mad bcuz they are having a bad day. I have run across that same problem a couple of times. The reason they are mad is bcuz from my opinion 2 reasons.
1) They feel slighted that you got something of theres and they didnt give it to you. ( "like how did you get that i didnt give it to you" )
2) There a bit annoyed becuz you got something of theres and they didnt see any money out of it.

I bet you if the Athlete himself sold that same item to you for $1000, he woulfd be like "Yeah sure ill take a picture with you, is your wife around tell her to get in the picture too"

Some guys are nice some are not.

Here is my experience - I had one athlete deny about 3 items i had of his were his. I know for a fact they were his, yet he denied it bcuz he was pissed he didnt get anything out of it.

[Kid4hof03]

It's actually pretty common. The truth is, alot of the stuff that many of us own, alot of the stuff in the hobby has been stolen.

I had Graig Nettles get very angry with me when I asked him to sign a game used bicentennial bat that was uncracked. He looked at the bat and said it had to be stolen, that he would have never given away a bat with that kind of use that was not cracked. I've seen Paul O'Neill refuse to sign a bat that was uncracked stating that he never gives away bats unless they were cracked and so any uncracked bat had to be stolen. Now, I'm sure that at some point a few uncracked bats got out that weren't stolen, but that was his stance.

I once had Bernie Williams first Yankees issued road jersery, #63 from his first spring training. When I asked him to sign it he looked it over and asked me how in the world I had this jersey when he doesn't have one for himself. He was very nice and signed it beautifully but I could see he was bothered.

If the stuff comes from the team or from a dealer that the player has an agreement with then they have a part in the sale or at least you can always plead that it's legit. If stuff comes from a clubhouse attendant or such, lets face it, it's stolen to some degree. By and large most players probably don't care, as I've had hundreds of game used items signed over the years and only a handful of interesting experiences. Don't get surprised though if you end up getting some strange looks or even get questioned at some point by a player whose game used items you want to have autographed.

Abe

[Nathan]

Well, Wayne Gretzky came out a few years ago and said that any of his jerseys in the hobby were fake because he had every last one that he'd ever worn...which was a load of crap.

[worldchamps]

Here are my experinces, only one was really bad

I had a game worn Cowboys Roy Williams jersey( bought from the gift shop). He was doing a free signing and I was very skeptical if I would get the good signature of his or the RW31. I watched him sign every signature perfectly with his good sig. When I threw down my jersey he looked me dead in the eye without saying a word, RW31 on my jersey, and looked looked me dead in the eye to get my reaction. The ironic thing is I never would have sold that jersey, and I am sure his thought process was "I am going to sign this bad so he can't sell it"......so if you guessed that I sold the jersey, you are 100% correct. And I am no longer a fan of his.....he should be a linebacker anyways.

Mark Teixeira was doing a signing at a local card shop his rookie year. It was a paid for autograph signing. I had a game used bat I bought from the gift shop. He looked at the bat, inspected every detail of it, asked me where I got it and said "they are not suppose to be selling these." But he was not rude, and I still have the bat.

Mike Young - free signing at Home Depot - exact same response as Teixieira.

Hank Blalock - signing at Tri Star show. I figured I would pay the $40 or so and get a good auto, and not get hanggled. I got a perfect signature and not a word or glance.


I agree with previous posters.

My opinion of this behavior, Game worn/ used equipment is something personal that the players feels belongs to them. If they wanted to give it to you, they would have, and would have signed it. When they are signing normal auto items, balls, cards, etc and then get a rookie worn jersey (which they either want or would like to have sold) it freaks them out.

[cjosefy]

I've seen both type of reactions.

A buddy of mine had a game-used rookie Craig biggio jersey. At the Tristar show Craig wasn't very happy and after looking at the jersey for a long time asked him "How the hell did you get this?" He still signed it, though.

Same buddy had a Chris Burke minor league jersey. At the tristar show Burke looked it over, smiled, and said that yes indeed it was his minor league jersey. Then he signed it. Of course, he's a really nice guy.

I took two bats to get signed by Brad Ausmus. One of which simply had the word "Bro" in place of the normal "Brad Ausmus." He looked at it and then told a story about how Biggio had ordered the bats for him as a joke. He looked at the other bat (a normal Ausmus bat) and said, "Now there's one of my bats." He signed both nicely. A guy got up to him a little later with a game used bat from his days with the Tigers and he said "Now that's an old one."

I got an Alan Ashby game used bat signed and he just said "I've haven't seen this in a while."

[Yankwood]

Funny you should mention Graig Nettles. I once had him utter the "F" word twice when asking me where I got a cracked bat of his. I told him I got it from a collector in Detroit and he then proceded to ask me where the "F" he stole it from. I told him he didn't have to sign it if he didn't want to and he said, you paid your "F'ing" money, I'll sign it. It was kind of embarrassing since there were so many young kids in line that heard him talk that way. I didn't know why he was so mad either since he was over 50 at the time and the bat had been cracked in the early 70's. Oh well. If anyone sees him soon, tell him I still have his "F'ing" bat.:D

[BULBUS]

I didnt show anything game used to Nettles, but a few years ago I had him sign a baseball. I asked him to put his number 9 on the ball, he looked up at me, gave me an angry look, sighed, and added his number.

Anyway, the coolest guy ever is Don Mattingly. I recently went to a signing of his, brought a game used bat of his, asked him if he remembered the model, he said yes, and I got a cool picture of him holding the bat :)

[Yankwood]

I always liked Nettles as a player, but now I wish I never met him.

[Oil Can Dan]

I was having lunch about two blocks from my house in Boston in 2004. Low and behold I notice Carlton Fisk sitting two tables down from me. I watch as two different people approach him for autographs then I decided to run home to get a 1972 Sports Illustrated that has him on the cover. I run home, run back, take a seat at my table and wait for him to finish eating, then once he's gotten and paid his check I approached him and tell him I'm a huge fan and ask if he wouldn't mind signing the SI for me. He says "oh, you just HAPPEN to have this on you, huh". I say "no, as I said I'm a big fan and this has been hanging on my wall un-signed for the last five years. I just ran home and got it". He says "whatever, I'm sure I'll see this on eBay in five minutes". He signed it, but it's not on my wall anymore. It's in an envelope in a desk drawer now. Screw Fisk.

[suave1477]

OilCan I can understand your dissapointment to hear something like that from an Athlete you really like, but you shouldn't take it personal. Look at it from his side. Here is this guy who pops up with a magzine of him and then you tell him the story you ran home to get it and came back. I am sure he heres that all the time from people. Who are looking to make a quick buck on ebay.

So dont take it personal!!

[Kid4hof03]

At the time of my Nettles experience I was a major collector of his stuff. I had a helmet, several Yankees jerseys and a load of bats. After meeting him my entire collection was sold within 30 days and I've never regretted it. I know Jason said not to take it personally, I really didn't but I did make the decision that I couldn't really enjoy the stuff after meeting and surely didn't want to ever go get another autograph.

Abe

[2000mvpfan]

......for a guy as popular as Nettles is with those of us who remember those late 70's and early 80's Yankees teams,he sure comes off as a grumpy old man at a lot of his appearances.Last year a buddy of mine and I saw him at a BC Sports in Woodbridge,NJ and even though there wasn't a huge crowd for him,he didn't utter a word...no hello,thanks,hi-nothing!Then he only reluctantly took a photo with my friend's son,and didn't look at all thrilled about it.
.......meanwhile,last time I saw Donnie Baseball,HE thanked ME for coming out to get his autograph.Donnie's definitely class all the way!


Joe

[Oil Can Dan]

OilCan I can understand your dissapointment to hear something like that from an Athlete you really like, but you shouldn't take it personal. Look at it from his side. Here is this guy who pops up with a magzine of him and then you tell him the story you ran home to get it and came back. I am sure he heres that all the time from people. Who are looking to make a quick buck on ebay.

So dont take it personal!!

The thing is, what's the alternative to my story? Do I carry around a 29 year old magazine with me at all times in case I bump into him or something? To be honest I really can't figure out where he was coming from with his comment. It seems pretty obvious to me that I had to have noticed him, then gone somewhere to collect the 1972 Sports Illustrated with him as a rookie on the cover, then come back. Just as I explained. And it seems pretty obvious to me that only a fan would have something like that at their disposal. So what was his point? I understand that a person may sell his autograph for profit, and I guess I could see how that could burn you up, but I don't understand the "oh you just HAPPEN to have this on you, huh" comment. Made no sense. And I did everything absolutely correct - I waited for him to finish his meal, pay his check and stand up to leave, apologized for interupting him, said please, etc. And I had a Sox hat on at thet time, too.

I've told that story to many people here in Boston and I've learned from others that Fisk is particularly ornary. No big deal, but truly disappointed me as I've always respected the heck out of how Carlton played the game and carried himself. There wasn't any need for him to be a dick. I'd have preferred he just didn't sign it, or that he signed it "To Dan", which would have been totally fine by me.

Now back to your regularly scheduled discussion - sorry for the hijack.

[fixter]

You guys may have figured out if you have read any of my other posts that I pretty much collect game used items from the Bell family exclusively. My experiences have all been very positive. But it may have much to do with the type of person that any given player chooses to be. I guess I am fortunate that the entire family has been top notch on every occasion I have had to meet them.

By far the best game used item experience I have had has been my "bat quest." I have a game used Gus Bell bat. I decided shortly after I got it that I wanted to have it signed by Buddy, David, Mike and Rick. I travelled to Spring Training this year in AZ, where I (and my bat) met Gus Bell's sister in the stands, got Buddy to sign it (one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed - he took it in his hands, extended it, looked down the barrel and said "Wow") and then 2 days later got Rick to sign it while we walked and talked so far I wound up in the restricted area when we finished. And to top it off a security guy saw me looking for a way to get out came over and helped me find my way because he wanted to see the bat he had heard the stories about being at the game 2 days earlier.

[metsbats]

I have 7 game used bats and 4 game used jerseys of 86 Met Ed Hearn and he told me I have more memoriablia from his playing days then he had. He's been over my home to see my collection of his game used stuff was very amused by it.

Gary Carter was pleasant when I showed him a photo of 4 bats he used to reach several milestones in his career (1500th hit, 900th RBI, 5 hrs in 2 days to tie MLB record, 250th home). His agent Mead Chasky said he remembered the bats and then proceeded to hand me his card and asked me to contact him if i wanted to sell them.

Fortunately I've never had a bad experience w/ players when showing them gamers however my gamers are mostly from the 80's Mets an era when players were n't out to make extra bucks marketing their stuff.

I 'm not surprised the modern day players react negatively to being presented their gamers given the way the teams and players market their gamers for resell.

David

[kylehess10]

Kylehess I think your missing the point the players are not mad bcuz they are having a bad day. I have run across that same problem a couple of times. The reason they are mad is bcuz from my opinion 2 reasons.
1) They feel slighted that you got something of theres and they didnt give it to you. ( "like how did you get that i didnt give it to you" )
2) There a bit annoyed becuz you got something of theres and they didnt see any money out of it.

I bet you if the Athlete himself sold that same item to you for $1000, he woulfd be like "Yeah sure ill take a picture with you, is your wife around tell her to get in the picture too"

Some guys are nice some are not.

Here is my experience - I had one athlete deny about 3 items i had of his were his. I know for a fact they were his, yet he denied it bcuz he was pissed he didnt get anything out of it.

I thought that the players ARE paid for their game used. I purchase most of my game used from ASI & ESM and someone from ESM once told me that all of their game used were purchased directly from the player.

[suave1477]

Kyle here is my take on items from those companies. I do beleive they purchase the items from the players. If you notice vertain player items constantly on there chances are they have made a deal with that player especially when they have LOAS showing a player signing items for them or an LOA signed by the player.

BUT!!! have you ever noticed they will have 1 item of a player that they never had before and most likely never will again. I think those items come from the players that they do deal with. Like maybe one of there contracted players happend to trade with a teamate or another player and they threw it into there batch of items that they sold to them. You notice with those items they issue a LOA just stating the players name and game used.
They do not include any photo of that player or include any letter signed by that player.

[sandman02910]

In response to Geoff's original post concerning Hanley Ramirez. I know Hanley has done signings with ASI and he has also give many many items to his former Clubhouse Manager. The items Geoff has came from both of those sources from me. I have met Hanley on about half a dozen instances and all were much less than positive dating from mid 04 through the end of 05. Sometimes he appears shy and others he seems just plain iggnorant. He could either be sitting in the stands early before a road game during a rain delay or getting off the team bus at an away game and he has snubbed fans each time. I could also go into many stories about what his teammates think of him but the purpose of this post is not to bash Hanley.
In Geoff's case Hanley did not even bother to find out what items he may have had. If they were ASI items or items he gave to his clubhouse manager why would he be upset. ASI paid him and the other items were gifts.
In many other instances I have had extremely positive eperiences with Jon Lester, Craig Hansen, Justin Morneau, Bronson Arroyo, Jason Bay, Jed Lowrie and above all Jonathan Papelbon. All of these players seemed very appreciative that someone was a big enough fan to collect their items. I have also had players ask me for certain items I was having them sign in exchange for other items. I have been lucky enough to actually start good relationships with players this way. I approached Jason Bay with a Game Used AA minor league jersey and he held it looking at it amazed it still existed. I would have to say in my experience a majority of players fall into this category but sadly there are the few like Nettles and Hanley that ultimately turn their fans away.

[Swoboda4]

Moral of the story:Take your picture with the player first-THEN tell him you have his game used stuff. Otherwise he'll believe the picture is being used to authenticate future sales. Fisk is OK,he was just taken a little by surprise at the restaurant with the magazine request and like a lot of older players err on the side of suspicion. Remember they're(older players) ALL pissed off they didn't get paid like players today so don't worry about it. Don't get upset that these guys aren't perfect-don't let it ruin your love of the game.

[geoff]

Great thought all.I never told Hanley when and where i got those items and he just did not care.

[GrndSlm]

I guess these situations happen all the time. Back in 1983, I had a game used Eddie Murray bat and asked him to sign it in spring training. Well, he took one look at it and took it from me. He walked right into the clubhouse and left it in his locker. He then passed right by me into his rental car and left the stadium. I was 14 years old......

[earlywynnfan]

I guess these situations happen all the time. Back in 1983, I had a game used Eddie Murray bat and asked him to sign it in spring training. Well, he took one look at it and took it from me. He walked right into the clubhouse and left it in his locker. He then passed right by me into his rental car and left the stadium. I was 14 years old......

Wow, that's funny! Sorry it happened, though; I've heard he's, uh, jerky.

Phil Niekro was impressed as heck that I had one of his bats.

Al Oliver took his gamer, stood up and took a few swings, and said "I think it still has some hits left in it!" That was way cool, and I felt like a bigshot to everyone else behind me in line.

I was having a conversation with Vern Fuller and told him I was bidding on a bat of his but got beat out. He said "Why the H*ll would you want that?? I bet it didn't show any use; I never hit anything." He was kidding -- he is really a nice guy.

Reggie Jax looked his bat over very carefully and signed it "gamer" at my request, which was very nice. On the other hand, he wouldn't shake my hand or look me in the eye. He probably thinks it went to auction the next day, but the joke's on him: it's still displayed on my wall!

(I don't want to take potshots at Jax, Fisk, or any other pro athlete for thinking this; how would it feel to watch people constantly make money off of you? And I don't chalk that up to greed on the player's part, either. I got the nicest baseball signed by Hilly Lane (quick, who can identify him??) and he included a nice letter and extras. On the bottom, he wrote "PLEASE don't sell this." I felt really embarrassed, even though I never had any intention of selling it.)

Sorry for the rant,
Ken

[Utopian2630]

I remember being no older than 12 and approached Terry Pendleton at the team hotel with a game used bat I bought at a card show months earlier. He grabbed the bat, examined the bat by nearly taking a check swing and then began curse me out saying "you stole my f-ing bat"..."how did you steal my f-ing bat"...I told him that I bought it at a card show to which he replied "car show my a--". So when my dad saw me getting berated by Pendleton, he stepped in basically telling him to lay off and that I was just a kid who bought this bat at a card show. Pendleton then tells my dad he's a bad father for allowing his son to have stolen goods. It never really escalated and he ended up signing the bat anyway. That was the only bad experience I've ever had getting game used items signed. I once got an aluminum stick from Gretzky after a morning skate and years later at a golf tournament my mother was on medical staff at, I ended up meeting him and showed him the stick. He signed it beautifully, with a great lengthy inscription wishing me well in school and dated it.

Thought I'd give 2 different extremes of my experiences.

[Yankwood]

(I don't want to take potshots at Jax, Fisk, or any other pro athlete for thinking this; how would it feel to watch people constantly make money off of you? And I don't chalk that up to greed on the player's part, either. I got the nicest baseball signed by Hilly Lane (quick, who can identify him??) and he included a nice letter and extras. On the bottom, he wrote "PLEASE don't sell this." I felt really embarrassed, even though I never had any intention of selling it.)

Sorry for the rant,
KenHilly Lane didn't want you to sell it? Hilly Lane? I'm sure you're going to get flooded with requests for it now that everyone here knows you have it. :confused: Who the hell is Hilly Lane? When I was a kid, a friend of mine lived on a street that ran perpendicular to Hilly Lane.;) So, like, who is Hilly Lane, seriously.

I once stood in line waiting for Willie Mays to sign an old Adirondack bat of his. I had heard all the "horror" stories about Mays and I was somewgat guarded while waiting to meet him. As the usual things passed before him, the promoter handed him the bat I brought. He literally stood up and took a few short swings with it. He asked who brought it, and the promoter pointed me out. I was waiting for the worst. Instead, all he said was, "Y'know, I never kept anything like this from when I played." And then he talked a little while he signed it. Very nice.
Later, as I was walking around the place looking at everyone else's stuff, the promoter came up to me and told me he had a request from "Mr. Mays" to offer me $1000 for the bat. I respectfully declined and told him I had just purchased the bat for $600 (obviously that was a while back, huh?) and that I intended on keeping it forever (I didn't). :(
The bat in question was a model 282C. I have seen many times in bat discussions the "C" bat topic come up. When Willie looked at the knob he said,"282C, man, I used a ton of these for a while". Now, maybe he thought he did and was mistaken but I don't believe it by the way he said it. These guys know their bats, I believe. Anyway, this doesn't make the "C" Adirondack bat model controversy any clearer but I DO believe some of them were used by major leaguers. Stick to Louisvilles, I guess. :confused:

[allstarsplus]

Greatest experience would be with Cal Ripken Jr. He definitely knows his own stuff as he will take the time to inspect a bat or jersey and discuss the item and whether the item was used by him and will give an opinion either way.

He will even give an opinion sometimes on premium items on his personal suggestion on what type of pen he should use for signing. If he picks up the gold paint pen----he likes it!

[Swoboda4]

Utopian2630's bad experience with Pendleton and Yankwood's fortunate encounter with Mays is the best authentication in the world. When players are moved to jumping out of their seats and sizing up an item,in these cases a bat,you should be very,very happy. Forget when the encounter is rough,you just hit the autentication jackpot.

[geoff]

I have a game used Brian Roberts bat that i got from ESM on ebay a while back.I am going to a Roberts signing on monday night at a local store.I think i am going to bring my bat for him to look at.I hope he does not get mad at me and take it like that Eddie story.I will let you know if he was a nice guy or a mean young ballplayer.Geoff

[bigtime59]

I have a game used Brian Roberts bat that i got from ESM on ebay a while back.I am going to a Roberts signing on monday night at a local store.I think i am going to bring my bat for him to look at.I hope he does not get mad at me and take it like that Eddie story.I will let you know if he was a nice guy or a mean young ballplayer.Geoff

Geoff:
I will be very interested in your experience with BRob. I presented him with one of his Rochester Redwings minor league jerseys to sign at the Orioles Summer Fanfest 2003 (at least I think it was '03). When I presented it to sign, I said, "I expect it's the last time you'll see one of these." He looked pissed, and didn't say a word.
Now, I'm in my 40s, and look it--especially on a softball field(!)-- so, perhaps, he thought I was a dealer. But, still, I went to the trouble to buy the thing from the Redwings, and stand in line for him to sign it.

By contrast, Eric DuBose, when presented with his Midland Rockhounds jersey at the Baltimore Fanfest in 2005, smiled, said he remembered Midland, and seemed happy to sign the jersey.

Of course, BRob is now the O's starting second baseman, and DuBose is mired in AA ball...could that have had something to do with their reactions?

[Royalsfans]

I got a Frank White gu bat. And when I meet him he was so happy to see one of his bats again. We talked for a some time after that

[Thunderhead51]

This experience wasn't with a player as much as it was Brandon Steiner. Tino Martinez did a signing this afternoon at a Last Licks location in Armonk. Martinez being my girlfriend's favorite player, I had gotten her a GU Bat of his from his Cardinals days (I believe it originated from birdbats.com then through Chris from HSI) a little less than a year ago and of course didn't even pay a FRACTION of what one of his NYY GU/Steiner bats go for. I paid the $150 for him to put his sig on the bat and snap a quick pic with him and my gf. Brandon himself was standing at the front of the table with the other Steiner rep, Eric (who goes to just about all the signings from the way it reads on his blog) was sitting to the right of Tino handing things over to him to make the signing go quicker. We hand Brandon the bat who looks at it, notes the knob, the handle, the pine tar in the middle and says in a rather ticked off tone; "hmpf, another game used bat" as he shakes his head. His cronie Eric just rolls his eyes! Tino just smiled and didn't seem to care as he put a nice signature to the left of his imprinted name. There really wasn't much time to ask anything as we were being pushed through the place like cattle, so I snapped the quick pic and we left. I thought about it after and was a little miffed at his reaction. Why scoff at a GU bat just becuase YOU didn't sell it? Oh, of course, he was ticked becuase he didn't charge $200 or more for Tino to sign something game used!?! Not my problem he didn't instruct his people to ask that. All they wanted to know was "What are you having signed". There were other GU bats I saw people had in line. A couple of them were Yankees bats but one guy seemed to have an older one so who knows what that might have been. Although the one guy who walked right in with a Martinez used Yankee bat and game used home plate got right to the front of the line! I'm sure he wasn't scoffed at after dropping what I'd think was close to 8 GRAND on those items. He was probably welcomed with open arms. Point being Mr Steiner needs to realize that the GU collecting world is MUCH BIGGER THAN HE IS and we all as a community are clear evidence of that. Heh, I wonder how much longer until they start turning down GU items at their signings that they didn't sell? Sooner than later I'm sure. Anyone else have this kind of experience with Steiner?

[Yankwood]

As a matter of fact, I had a representative of Paul O'Neill tell me that he would sign my game used bat through his website for no less than $800 since they considered the item stolen and that's how much he would want to go to charity if the bat hadn't been stolen. Personally, I don't understand the logic, I just said, "No thanks" and that was it.

[geoff]

Went to the Brian Roberts signing tonight but did not bring my game used bat because it was pouring down rain and did not want to chance anything happening to the bat.But did get a replica Roberts jersey signed by him.He was very nice and taking pics with everyone that was there.I got a pic with him and he even told me thanks for coming.Thought that was nice of him to say.By the way on saturday Rudy Gay of Uconn is going to be there from 1pm to 3pm for the baltimore locals if any on the forum.

[hblakewolf]

Forum Readers-
At the request of several hobby friends who know this story, here is my experience........

During the late 1980's, a friend of mine owned a limo service in Detroit. He used to drive several of the Tigers around for various "activities" i.e., lady friends in the back. Instead of cash, my friend asked the various Tigers for game used bats and equipment. One of the more frequent customers was Kirk Gibson. Gibson gave my friend not only his equipment, but also bats, hats and batting helmets from other Tiger players. In 1990, my friend decided to sell quite a bit of his equipment, and I purchased it. One of the better items was Gibson’s home batting helmets from 1986 or 1987.

Living is Seattle from 1988 through 1995, I often went to the Mariners games with our corporate tickets that allowed me amazing access to the players during BP. I took the Gibson helmet to the game in 1994, and once inside, spotted Gibson and Juan Samuel near the first base line. I called Samuel over, and he signed several Phillies hats and a Phillies warm-up for me. I then called Gibson over, and explained to him that we had a mutual friend in Detroit who used to drive him around, and this friend was aware that I was a huge Gibson fan and gave me a helmet for my collection. Gibson took one look at the helmet, the came nose-to-nose with me (the old Kingdome allowed the players near the first base line to come directly up to fans) and said, "Tom is no Fuck-- friend of mine-he's an acquaintance". I then said, "Acquaintance-O.k.-can you please sign the helmet KIRK GIBSON-GAMER on the bill?". He shook his head in disgust, and began walking towards the dugout. At this point, I had nothing to loose and I walked behind the dugout into the first row of seats and said, "Kirk-thank's alot-welcome to Seattle-you're a great signer and the fans really love ya'". Wrong thing to say. Gibson immediately stared me down in front of the dugout and screamed, "How did you get the Fuck-- helmet? How did you get this Fuck-- helmet?” Now, several of the players have gathered around, as they were taking BP, and all eyes were on me. I said, "All I want is for you to autograph it. I got this from Tom in Detroit who used to drive you around in his limo". Gibson then yelled, "Is the Mother fuck-- cracked? Is the Mother Fuck-- cracked?". I explained that it was not and he yelled, "Exactly-unless it was cracked, I would have never have given it away". At this point, stadium security gathered around Gibson on the field and approached me in the stands. I was well aware that Gibson was not going to sign it, so I figured what the hell. I calmly said, Actually Kirk, you used to take your equipment and other Tigers equipment and give it to my friend in exchange for payment for his limo service when you and Dave Bergman scored chicks". Gibson then walked closer to me and yelled, "I'm going to watch where you Fuck-- sit tonight. If I break my fuck-- helmet, I'm comin' up to your Fuck-- seat and getting the Mother fuck-- helmet back". I replied, "I'll make it even easier for you, Kirk. I'll swap you straight up for the batting practice jersey you're wearing-deal?". Gibson became so enraged that he bolted for me in the stands, and began to climb over the photography pit on the left side of the visiting dugout in order to come up into the stands. As he began to climb up, coach Dick Tracewski bear hugged him, and pulled him back onto the field. Dick yelled, "You don't talk to people like that. Stop it". Gibson broke loose, and walked into the outfield to shag balls.

Both the Seattle Police and Kingdome Security came to me and asked what happened. I explained that I'm a collector of game used memorabilia, and they had no issue with it. Several fans could not believe what they saw, and said I should have let him taken a swing at me. Folks, I had no idea how in shape and how big Gibson was until I saw him up close. I'm a pretty fit guy, however, I did not stand a chance against Gibson. He would have killed me.

After this incident, I wanted no part of any of Gibson's equipment and sold all of it.

I have met over 200 players during BP, and have never had any type of experience close to this. Most players show little or no interest in their items, and have graciously signed.

Moral of the story-don't explain anything to Gibson if you attend a show and desire him to sign his game used equipment.

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[geoff]

Wow that was great of you too share with us.

[suave1477]

Moral of the story-don't explain anything to Gibson if you attend a show and desire him to sign his game used equipment.

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net



Howard what do you mean? If I ever meet Gibson with any of his Game Used items Ill tell him I got it from Howard lol lol lol:D :D
Just Kidding!!

[byergo]

Sounds like ol Kirk has a little roid rage problem!

[Calrima]

Years ago, I handed Willie Stargell a LV to sign and he took the bat, and stood up from the table and started swinging it. I said, "Sir, do you reconize that bat?" Mr. Stargell replied " Oh yeah, its one of mine" Then he said " Look at the tape, Im a left hander, I wrap it the opposite of a right hander" A minute later, he replied, I will sign this for you, but may I ask where you bought it and how much?" I said " Aa baseball card show for $40" Willie signed it, and I was glad to have it in my hands and out the door. I sweated bullets when he Took such a huge interest in the bat at first.

Den

[thomecollector]

I started reading this, and couldn't help but chime in. I am a huge collector of Jim Thome items. I aquired one of his 95 World Series jerseys from his Indians days. I had met him numerous times over the years. He knows me as the "big guy" . Anyway, I went to his charity event a few years back. He used to stay in the same smaller hotel with the guests. So, we would run in to him 3 0r 4 times during the weekend. So I asked him if he would sign a couple of things later on. He said, "Sure". So,later in the afternoon. I saw him in the hall. Ask if he would sign. He said yes. My buddy had a picture bat,and a glove. He signed them both. I had the jersey. When he figured out what it was he said he wouldn't sign it. Because of what it was, I guess. Anyway , he signed a bobblehead. I was kinda disappointed. So, later on that night ,we went to the auction. I ran into a guy that had know him since he was a kid. We started talking about our stuff. I told him what happen. He said that he could get it signed for me. The jersey, that is. Sure enough, later on. He had one of his sons take it over to Jim. He gladly signed it in black sharpie..Right on the 5. So, I really had what started off as a bad trip, turn into a great one. Even if I did pull a fast one. But , don't get me wrong. I have had Jim sign numerous items since. Always a great guy. Heck, I even talked baseball with him this past year. While we were in the hallway at the hotel. Best 10 minutes of my life!!

[stkmtimo]

I replied, "I'll make it even easier for you, Kirk. I'll swap you straight up for the batting practice jersey you're wearing-deal?". Gibson became so enraged that he bolted for me in the stands, and began to climb over the photography pit on the left side of the visiting dugout in order to come up into the stands.


Howard, I have to admit, this was one of the funniest stories I have heard in a long time! Gibson sounds like such a jerk.

Tim

[Number9]

I realize this is not completely on topic, but I was watching one of the Yankeeography DVDs tonight and noticed the darndest thing. On the bonus features for Thuman Munson, they showed the last out of the 78 World Series at LA. Munson catches a popup to end the World Series and fans swarm the field even though it was in LA and New York won. The camera shows Yankees players running to the dugout and if you look closely, you see Munson running north, not to the dugout. He is chasing the fan that picked up his mask and he catches him too.
This is in no way meant to condemn Munson (for one thing there should have been better crowd control) and I know a catcher's mask is more personal than say a bat but it does show how attached he was to his gear, that his teammates are celebrating a WS title and he is chasing a fan that has his mask. If you have Yankeeography volume 1, check it out.

[Number9]

PS, I know his name was 'Thurman', not Thuman. It was a typo. Can you edit your mssages on this forum? I don't see an edit icon anywhere.