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View Full Version : Griffey Should Pay More Attention To Detail....



hblakewolf
04-17-2007, 12:41 PM
Forum Readers-
AS I've discussed here many times, Griffey Jr. realized the huge opportunity to order extra equipment, strictly for the purpose of reselling it to card shops and collectors. He even had other players using his C271 bats during BP and then selling them as if he had used them.

Currently on Ebay is a 1994 home jersey. Maybe Griffey should have told Russell to supply his "extra" shirts with the correct 125th Anniversary patch AND the standard Mariners patches on the sleeves....

http://cgi.ebay.com/1994-KEN-GRIFFEY-JR-GAME-USED-HOME-JERSEY-AUTOGRAPHED_W0QQitemZ200099788951QQihZ010QQcategor yZ60597QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

LHG39
04-17-2007, 01:27 PM
I do not understand why someone making over $10million a year would feel the need to dupe fans for a few extra $$$.

cjmedina1
04-17-2007, 02:08 PM
If thats the case no HOF for him.
Carlie Mednia III
carliemedinaiii@sbcglobal.net

eGameUsed
04-17-2007, 02:32 PM
Howard and others,

I do not own any Mariners jerseys this early, but is it possible this jersey is not the right one for the COA? It looks like a good replica, but is the 1994 year tag correct. I thought thwy used more of the paper tag. I had someone try and sell me a Frank Thomas HR bat with a Mill Creek COA but was a forged inscription. Just a thought!

kingjammy24
04-17-2007, 06:39 PM
now i'm really curious.. does anyone have any photos of the 1994 mariners, at home, showing the right sleeve?

i'm wondering if they wore the 125 patch on their home jerseys?
i know they wore them on the road and alt jerseys but i can't find any pics at all of the 1994 mariners at home, which is a little strange.

i've found a few that i think are from 1994 but can't be positive. the ones i've found don't show a 125 patch.

at any rate, if ward received the jersey from griffey, i imagine it was likely one of those situations where griffey ordered mass quantities solely for the purpose of giving out to players, vips, charities, etc. how many players were asking griffey for a jersey in the early 90s? dozens at least.

rudy.

Rboitano
04-17-2007, 06:50 PM
Chris could you send me those photos of the Vlad bat?
Rboitano@charter.net

kingjammy24
04-17-2007, 07:01 PM
alex rodriguez made his major league debut in 1994. immediately prior to appearing in the big leagues, he played for the appleton foxes.

here are 4 cards that came out in 1994. since arod didn't play for the mariners in 1993, these pics can't be from 1993. since these cards came out in 1994, they can't have pics from 1995. so the pics must therefore be from 1994 right?

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/58/arodim6.jpg

rudy.

centerfieldsports.com
04-19-2007, 02:34 PM
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/blazerben/0404_large.jpg

Kid4hof03
04-19-2007, 04:50 PM
So did Griffey not get it wrong?

Abe

kingjammy24
04-19-2007, 05:06 PM
hello abe,

for me, the jury is still out but the evidence seems to point to the idea that the 1994 mariners did not have the 125 patch on their home jerseys.
i know they had them on their road and teal jerseys. if anyone can add to this, please feel free.

to be honest, what troubles me about the griffey jersey isn't the lack of a 125 patch but rather the lack of any of griffey's usual jersey customizations (extra length, etc). i think the provenance is good but, given that griffey was one of baseball's biggest superstars in 1994, i think he just handed out boilerplate jerseys to other players and vips. jeff "birdbats" scott once posted a great article about how players intentionally order extra jerseys solely to trade them amongst each other. the article seemed to imply these jerseys were never worn. they were just ordered and traded. as such, these jerseys may not be completely up to spec.

rudy.

kingjammy24
04-19-2007, 05:31 PM
here is a 1994 griffey home jersey, apparently with a letter from griffey himself. note the extra length:

http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auction_Item.asp?Auction_ID=9795

i'm unsure whether the strip tag should be cloth or paper.

rudy.

CollectGU
04-19-2007, 05:32 PM
I would like to hear Howard's thoughts on the above....

Regards,
Dave

centerfieldsports.com
04-19-2007, 05:36 PM
Mariners used both style year tags in 1994.

kingjammy24
04-19-2007, 06:09 PM
I would like to hear Howard's thoughts on the above....

Regards,
Dave

the AMI description states that their jersey has the 125 patch. can anyone find a photo of the 1994 mariners at home showing the right sleeve? mears? don't you guys have like 15 million photos of the 1994 mariners alone?

i can't see how my arod pics are wrong? they can't be minor league pics because he spent much of 1994 playing for the appleton foxes, jacksonville suns, and calgary cannons. none of those teams are called the "mariners" and he's pictured in a "mariners" jersey. he made his major league debut on 07/08/1994. those baseball cards were released in 1994. they couldn't have had pics from 1995. ?!?

2 mariners magazines from 1994:
http://img460.imageshack.us/img460/4817/marinerstf7.jpg

honestly, i'm lost. either they didn't wear the 125 patch which means all of my images are right and the ami jersey is wrong or the ami jersey is right and all of these images are from 1993. i'd like someone to explain to me how arod was photographed playing in a mariners uniform in 1993 though.

as well it seems griffey gave duane ward a 1994 home jersey without a 125 patch and also wrote a letter on the ami 1994 home jersey that has a 125 patch.

rudy.

kingjammy24
04-19-2007, 06:12 PM
*** in the first magazine shot below, amongst the group of 4 players is eric anthony. anthony's ONLY year with the mariners was 1994. he wasn't with them in 1993.

now either the ami jersey is rubbish. or in 1994, the mariners wore their game jerseys (not bp jerseys) in spring training without the 125 patch and had the patch sewn on when the regular season begun?

rudy.

kingjammy24
04-19-2007, 06:33 PM
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/5903/patchnh1.jpg

in the pics below, the magazines seem to be shot at spring training. the 1994 SI "preview" came out around the time of spring training. it's clear that the mariners had their "game" style jerseys at spring training. if they had them, then they probably used them. it's also clear that these jerseys didn't have the 125 patch. the arod pics on the baseball cards were likely shot at 1994 mariners spring training in order to get them done in time. arod debuted in late summer 1994. he was likely expected to make the team. if the card companies had waited until he actually debuted to take his pic, then it likely would've been too late. i believe the answer to this mystery is that the mariners used their game jerseys in spring training and these game jerseys did not have the 125 patch. once the regular season started, their home gamers had the 125 patch sewn on. just like the 1994 yankees shown above. at best then, the ebay jersey is a spring training shirt. it's likely that duane ward would've acquired such a shirt during a time like spring training. hence why it's missing the patch.

rudy.

hblakewolf
04-19-2007, 07:13 PM
Rudy-
It appears the AMI jersey may also have the N.O.B. sewn directly on the back, instead of the traditional plate. If that's the case, then you have your answer.

Thoughts?

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

CollectGU
04-19-2007, 07:27 PM
Howard,

Can you please provide some insight into the 125 year arm patch as you said it should be there. Do you own any 1994 jerseys from the mariner's with this patch? What photo evidence did you use to come to this conclusion?

Thanks,
Dave

hblakewolf
04-19-2007, 08:16 PM
Howard,

Can you please provide some insight into the 125 year arm patch as you said it should be there. Do you own any 1994 jerseys from the mariner's with this patch? What photo evidence did you use to come to this conclusion?

Thanks,
Dave

Hi David-
While living in Seattle during the Griffey era, he flooded the market with his game worn shirts. I remember purchasing a home with the patch and his LOA. What was interesting about the shirt was the fact that both the tackle twill and sleeve patches were as stiff as a board, however, the LOA from Griffey himself indicated is was worn.

I''ve always been extremely vocal about how Griffey, then A-Rod flooded the market with their jerseys. I have no doubt that the jersey I owned and reference was worn, however, not for more than maybe a handful of games.

I now understand from your earlier posts that you are considered staff at American Memorabilia. As such, is there any chance you can possibly convince Vic and Keeta to include some additional photos in their next catalog (same as their most recent catalog) of the two of them sitting together on couch or from the other shoot with Vic wearing the gold 1970's blazer at the juke box? Or better yet, maybe you can join Vic in a similar photo of him holding the eagle and you can display another endangered animal? I laughed so hard that my contacts washed out of my eyes!

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

CollectGU
04-19-2007, 08:39 PM
Howard,

How about stopping with the childish insults and spin and answer the specific question I asked you:

Can you please provide some insight into the 125 year arm patch as you said it should be there on the Griffey home jersey. Do you own any 1994 jerseys from the mariner's with this patch? What photo evidence did you use to come to this conclusion? People may not be bidding on the shirt because of what you wrote, so please be responsible and back up how you came to your conclusion.

Thanks,
Dave

kingjammy24
04-19-2007, 08:58 PM
howard:
excellent catch re: nameplate. 1994 mariners jerseys had nameplates. the ami is missing the nameplate. i guess that pretty much renders it nothing more than a silly concoction that griffey pawned off. unfortunately, someone paid over $1k for it.

when in doubt, look at a common player jersey. i found one in my photos. a 1994 milt hill gamer:
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1113/hillkq8.jpg

looks like they did have the 125 patch. again, i suspect the ebay jersey does not because it's a) another silly griffey concoction or b) it was worn/given during spring training and they hadn't yet affixed the 125 patches.

personally, i'd like to own an early 90s griffey or frank thomas gamer. unfortunately, even though i've seen many with griffey's loa, i don't think i've ever seen a real one to date.

rudy.

hblakewolf
04-20-2007, 07:48 AM
howard:
excellent catch re: nameplate. 1994 mariners jerseys had nameplates. the ami is missing the nameplate. i guess that pretty much renders it nothing more than a silly concoction that griffey pawned off. unfortunately, someone paid over $1k for it.

when in doubt, look at a common player jersey. i found one in my photos. a 1994 milt hill gamer:
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1113/hillkq8.jpg

looks like they did have the 125 patch. again, i suspect the ebay jersey does not because it's a) another silly griffey concoction or b) it was worn/given during spring training and they hadn't yet affixed the 125 patches.

personally, i'd like to own an early 90s griffey or frank thomas gamer. unfortunately, even though i've seen many with griffey's loa, i don't think i've ever seen a real one to date.

rudy.

Rudy-
Glad you could provide an actual jersey of a common as proof. The jersey I once owned of Griffey looked the same, however, had minimal use.

You ask a great question about the questioned Griffey jersey on Ebay-why no 125th patch and also no name plate? I wish I had an answer, however, I'm as dumbfounded as you on this one.

I do know, and it may or may not be related to this, that the DEMAND for Griffey game used equipment in 1994 was greater than the SUPPLY. Griffey's "partners" in selling his equipment (who went by the names of Jazz and Frankie) simply could not get enough jerseys, hats, bats, batting gloves, etc. to meet the markets needs.

I personally met with them and purchased some of the first Griffey Jr. game used items to hit the market. This included a pair of game jerseys, a fielding glove and a few bats. They indicated they would have more game used jerseys from the current season, bats, and fielding gloves in a few weeks after our initial meeting. I made one more purchase from them, and parted company after they introduced me to Griffey and he refused to sign my game worn batting helmets from 1990 (he was extremely upset that HE did not originally have them to sell instead of a major dealer who purchased the entire inventory of older style M's equipment including batting helmets, jackets and jerseys). The helmets were simply abused, and were perfect in every detail (as compared to thoise Griffey sold in his later years that had minimal or no use at all). I indicated that unless he signed them, I had no interest in continuing our business relationship. Although he signed them, I was extremely uncomfortable dealing with these 2 friends of Griffey''s and never purchased equipment from them again.

I also saw Griffey, in his later years, have other players use his black, criss-crossed taped C271's during BP in the Kingdome. With the huge demand for his game used bats, he quickly figured out how to meet the demand.

In conclusion, I would not put it past Griffey to think that he had extra jerseys made up quickly, strictly with the intent of selling them through his friends for a profit, and disregarding having them made correctly, i.e., with name plates, patches, etc. Likewise, having his own LOA means nothing to me, after dealing directly with him and being exposed to his business practices.

Just my thoughts.

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

3arod13
04-20-2007, 11:01 AM
Howard,

How about stopping with the childish insults and spin and answer the specific question I asked you:

Thanks,
Dave

I was at the end of a few of them also. If I recall, I was called ignorant. Well, maybe I'm not as knowledgeable as many in this forum, but I don't think I'm ignorant.

Play nice!

kingjammy24
04-20-2007, 05:41 PM
funny we were just talking about 94 mariners home jerseys:

http://www.greyflannelauctions.com/showdetail.cfm?CategoryNum=6&Lot=488

125 patch AND a nameplate.

rudy.