"Where did you get this bat!!??"

[emann]

So, I'm very new to getting my GU items signed by the players. I've always wanted to do this as it gives some sort of instant authentication and is more interesting to own to me than a signed photo or ball. (... and most of what I collect is from the 80's generation of players anyway, well before MLB holos... LOL)

I've brought two bats to signings this month and gotten the same reaction from the players; "this was my bat... but how did you get it?"

Neither of them have been "angry" about it, George Foster was one of the two and was actually very nice, saying "it was a good bat, but it's got a crack, see?" (then pointing out the crack to me). He talked with me a little more, looked it over fondly and even wrote "game used" on it for me.

But it still left me feeling a bit odd. I'm just wondering how other collectors feel when you get something signed (or show to a player). I'd prefer not to get a "this was stolen from my locker, you theif!!!!"* at some point from one of my favorite players, but feel it might be unavoidable given the fact none of us really know where some of the GU items come from...

Thoughts?

* I read the thread about Kirk Gibson going ballistic over his batting helmet.

[cjclong]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

The first game used bat I ever got was a Rafael Palmeiro Louisville Slugger with a tape job. He was signing autographs as I went through the line. When I got to him and handed him the bat everything stopped while he held it up and inspected it. It seemed like a couple of minutes. It was obvious he recognized it. He asked me where I got it. I told him on ebay and thought , Lord I hope it wasn't stolen out of his locker. He signed it and then the line moved on. But from his reaction I knew I really did have one of his game used bats.

[sox83cubs84]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

One bad encounter I had was in the 1990s with the late Dave Ricketts, then a Cardinals coach. I showed him a late 1980s gamer of his at Wrigley Field and his response was a loud "How the hell did you get that?", followed by an almost immediate "Never mind, you probably stole the G** D*** thing!" After that, I wanted to flip that jersey as quickly as possible. His tone was not discreet, either...everyone within 30 or so feet heard him.

Dave M.
Chicago area

[emann]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

"How the hell did you get that?", followed by an almost immediate "Never mind, you probably stole the G** D*** thing!" After that, I wanted to flip that jersey as quickly as possible. His tone was not discreet, either...everyone within 30 or so feet heard him.

Yikes, that's what I want to avoid... Did it slow you down from getting GU stuff signed in person?

[godwulf]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

I've been told that many players routinely "tip" the batboys and clubhouse guys with bats and other equipment, and that this has been going on for a long time. They also give their bats to other players, either as souvenirs or to use, and many bats, when a player leaves a team, get left behind and used by somebody else or even sent down to the minors.

Every once in a while, you hear about a player who jealously guards all of his game-used or -worn stuff, but the vast majority of them don't seem to do that. I can't imagine why most players would be unduly surprised or upset because one of those items ended up in a fan/collector's hands...and, in fact, in all the time I've been collecting and getting bats signed, I've only ever been asked the question a few times: both times I had Chris Young sign a bat for me, he asked where I'd gotten it, but not in an angry way, just curious...and then, there was the incident with Randy Johnson and the 2001 World Series bat, which I've related a couple of times. He was obviously pissed, but then, Randy usually is, about something.

[sox83cubs84]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

Yikes, that's what I want to avoid... Did it slow you down from getting GU stuff signed in person?

Not really...I just felt it was a case of "consider the source". The other surprising thing is the number of Cardinals fans/collectors I have told the story to who can't (or won't) believe that Ricketts cursed at me. Apparently, he was quite the stand-up guy for the home fans. Still doesn't change my opinion of him, though.

Dave M.
Chicago area

[Yankwood]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

Graig Nettles asking me about a bat at a signing,"Where the f--- did you get this"? When I told him I got it from a clubhouse guy in Detroit where he cracked it he said, "Yeah, and how the f--- did he steal it from the clubhouse"? All of this was said loudly in front of small children. I told him "If you don't want to sign it, then don't". He said, "Did you pay your 10 bucks". That's how long ago this show was. I said I did so he signed it gruffly and rolled it across the table to me. I wanted to bash his head with it. Instead, I sold it to the first person who wanted it. He went from one of my favorite Yankees to someone I dispised.

[W_EISENHUTH]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

I've had nothing but good luck getting game used items signed but I've heard the horror stories. Since when do the payers buy their own bats/jerseys, hats, gloves, etc. and why should they give a hoot if a fan collects discarded items or those sold by their own ball club at fan conventions/team garage sales? Perhaps you should have asked Nettles how much he paid for the bat!

[sox83cubs84]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

Graig Nettles asking me about a bat at a signing,"Where the f--- did you get this"? When I told him I got it from a clubhouse guy in Detroit where he cracked it he said, "Yeah, and how the f--- did he steal it from the clubhouse"? All of this was said loudly in front of small children. I told him "If you don't want to sign it, then don't". He said, "Did you pay your 10 bucks". That's how long ago this show was. I said I did so he signed it gruffly and rolled it across the table to me. I wanted to bash his head with it. Instead, I sold it to the first person who wanted it. He went from one of my favorite Yankees to someone I dispised.

Back in the 1980s, many collectors believed that Nettles was so upset about his bats getting out because he was alleged to be corking them. He had run-ins with other bat collectors during his playing days, as well.

Dave M.
Chicago area

[012562]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

I think that possibly getting questioned about an item comes with the territory. Rarely do I try to get any game used items signed. However, a few reactions that come to mind:

a. Ned Yost Brewers cracked bat while he was still playing, after a spring training game in Sun City, AZ, inspected a bat and told me that if it was not cracked (he had cracked it that day), he would have taken it back. He did sign it.
b. Dave Chalk, two Angels cracked bats, way back in 1976, at a personal appearance at a McDonald's restaurant in Orange, CA, and no other fans were there, he rolled the bats over on the table and found the small cracks, and also told me that if the bats were not cracked, he would have taken them back. He also signed both of them.
c. Eduardo Perez, game used Angels rookie jersey, I asked him to sign it in the neck the next year at spring training in Tempe, AZ, he gladly signed it and wrote the year in the collar, and then said "make sure you hold onto this, it is going to be worth a lot of money someday." The funny thing is that both my friend and I could tell he was serious when he said it.

On Nettles, I had a friend working in the visiting clubhouse and he could NEVER get a cracked bat through many seasons. Finally, he did get an unused, uncracked bat, but from my view, I agree that Graig must have watched his game used stuff closely. I never tried to have Graig sign the bat. Another quick and funny Nettles story that has nothing to do with game used. Tommy John had a golf tourney during the winter when he was on the Yankees that Nettles attended. At one of the tees, they had a basket of red apples for the players to pick up and eat. Nettles walks up, picks up an apple, and says "what's this supposed to represent, the Big Apple?" He took a bite, and said "well there goes a million maggots!"

Tom Duino

[redoctober]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

So, I'm very new to getting my GU items signed by the players. I've always wanted to do this as it gives some sort of instant authentication and is more interesting to own to me than a signed photo or ball. (... and most of what I collect is from the 80's generation of players anyway, well before MLB holos... LOL)

I've brought two bats to signings this month and gotten the same reaction from the players; "this was my bat... but how did you get it?"

Neither of them have been "angry" about it, George Foster was one of the two and was actually very nice, saying "it was a good bat, but it's got a crack, see?" (then pointing out the crack to me). He talked with me a little more, looked it over fondly and even wrote "game used" on it for me.

But it still left me feeling a bit odd. I'm just wondering how other collectors feel when you get something signed (or show to a player). I'd prefer not to get a "this was stolen from my locker, you theif!!!!"* at some point from one of my favorite players, but feel it might be unavoidable given the fact none of us really know where some of the GU items come from...

Thoughts?

* I read the thread about Kirk Gibson going ballistic over his batting helmet.

George Foster had a very similar reaction for me when signing a gamer... I remember that he kept saying to anyone in earshot "this is my bat... he's got my bat!" It was all very playful on his part though.

[xpress34]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

I've had nothing but good luck getting game used items signed but I've heard the horror stories. Since when do the payers buy their own bats/jerseys, hats, gloves, etc. and why should they give a hoot if a fan collects discarded items or those sold by their own ball club at fan conventions/team garage sales? Perhaps you should have asked Nettles how much he paid for the bat!

EXACTLY!!! Talking to Clint Barmes during his Rookie Year with the Rockies, Clint has told me if I ever wanted a GU jersey, he would get me one but I would have to pay whatever the team charged him for it which at the time was about $200 per jersey. He was very cool about it and if my financial situation was so bad at the time, I would have one now!

Players forget that the TEAM supplies pretty much EVERYTHING they use...

Now, for a few good stories for me on getting GU items signed...

Matt Holliday and his 2000 ST Jersey (his 1st MLB Spring Training and his 1st 'Big League' Jersey)... I bought the jersey with Rockies LOA in 2002... when Matt came up in 2004 I took the jersey to to Coors Field and as Matt ran out he kept looking back at it and finally told me to stick around while he worked out. When he came over, he asked, "Where the hell did you get that?" I told him and he said he didn't ever think he'd see the jersey again (he was #84 at ST 2000 - pretty far down the pecking order). He thought it was cool and graciously signed it and has been awesome for me ever since.

I picked up one of Seth Smith's GU 2007 WS hats from the Rockies before 2008 ST and took it to Tucson with me. When I presented it to Seth to sign along with the Rockies LOA, he signed it and inscribed it Gam eUsed and then asked how I had obtained it. When I told him it was purchased directly from the Rockeis through their Dug Out Stores he laughed and said he always wondered what happened to thats tuff at the end of the season - he said last game of the season, you undress and head to the showers - you come back and all of your uniform stuff is gone. He thought they just cleaned it and sent it to the minors!

All the best -

Chris

[David]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

Chris, I read your Seth Smith story and thought he said when he came back from the shower and saw his clothes gone, he thought HE was sent to the minors.

[italianchulo]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

I have an old Willie Randolph bat the one with the funny handle. I got it signed by him at the Yankee Fan Festival many years ago. I was a young kid. He is one of my favorite players and he handled the situation like a the great guy that he his. He asked me how did I get the bat, and he even took it and did a few practice swings n told me he loved that style bat or something like that and said wow i havent seen one like that in years. He took his time with me to talk for a little. Hes a really classy guy and a great experience for me.

[jshortt]

Re: "Where did you get this bat!!??"

Great stories so far. I've really only had one bad experience, and everything else has been either funny or really nice. We'll start with the bad.

If anybody has dealt with Joey Votto, then you know he can be a bit...ummm...prickly. The first game bat I got of his (when he was still in AAA), I took to Louisville in hopes of getting it signed. When I asked if he had time to please sign my bat, he motioned me over and took the bat. He looked me up and down, looked at the bat from every conceivable angle, and then said "Where did you get this?" I was floored, but politely showed him the crack in the handle and explained that I got it on Ebay from a seller based out of NC. He asked me how much I paid for it, signed it grudgingly, handed it back to me, and stormed off. I felt so badly about the whole thing that I stuck around after the game and offered to give it back to him, as well as get the seller's contact info to him. At that point his tune changed a little and he said "No that's o.k. You can keep it, but thanks for offering."

I have had several hilarious jaw on the floor moments with Jeff Keppinger, but those are in a whole other category. The three best experiences other than the ones with Kepp were with Michael Tucker (my 1st game jersey), Mike Cameron, and Dusty Baker. Tucker was amazed that I had one of his Reds gamers, and actually yelled at the ballpark security guys to leave me alone because I was with him, when they tried to make me go to my seat. He talked to me a bit about it, asked how I came across it, signed it beautifully, and thanked me for being a fan.

Mike Cameron was thrilled to see an old Reds LVS that I came across, and actually asked if I minded if he looked at it. He looked it over, talked with me about it and how long it had been since he'd seen one, then took a few practice cuts with it before signing it, complete with a '44' instead of the '25' he wears now.

I presented Dusty with one of his bats and his face lit up. He asked me where I'd gotten it, and after levelling it a few times, confirmed it was his and gave me a total rundown of the history of that particular model (it happened to be Ron Cey's personal cut). He signed it, and you could tell he was genuinely touched and pleased to see something like that.

-Josh