Cal Ripken bat on eBay

[cjclong]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

The taping question interests me because I have an Alex Rodriguez black Louisville Slugger game used bat while with the Rangers that is taped and its the only ARod taped bat I've seen. Wondered if this was unique to him on this one or if another player used it. I suppose this issue comes up occasionally like with the Ripken bat. Anyone know of ARod taping a bat?

[sportscentury]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

Brett and CJ,

It's a fair question. It really depends on the player. Ripken and ARod (since you brought them up) rarely, if ever, taped their handles and have had the same bat characteristics, for the most part, throughout their careers.

Then you have players like Rickey Henderson who have varied so incredibly that it is hard to keep up (he used bats with pine tar and no tape, shaved handle, pine tar with criss cross tape, pine tar with just tape on the knob, just pine tar, nothing at all, etc.). To make matters crazier, Rickey's bat variations can often be seen within the same season. I know this from going through Rickey's bats at the stadium a few times. They were all 100% real Rickey gamers (it literally would have been impossible for them not to have been real), but many of them looked like completely different players' bats, because the characteristics varied so widely.

You also have guys somewhere in the middle like Andruw Jones. While Andruw is known for usually using prepped bats with the black/white combo cushion tape, his bats have varied somewhat (shaved handle with no tape, plain handle with pine tar, etc.).

The reason I had placed my first post was because Ripken was so regular in his bat habits. If Ripken did use a few bats with this criss-cross tape pattern, they would be rarer (as you pointed out, Brett), but I don't think that would translate into added value in this case as I don't think many Ripken collectors are looking for this type of a Ripken gamer to add to their collections. It did intrigue me, though, as someone who has owned just about every example of Ripken's bats, at one point or another, but had never seen a Ripken bat with criss-cross tape before.

If there are more pics of Ripken using bats with tape, I am sure I'm not the only one who would love to see them posted in this thread.

Reid

[mr.miracle]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

Reid,

Excellent points, prior to this bats appearance I had only been aware of one Ripken bat with tape on the handle prior to the ebay bats appearance but since Cal has minor league and major league bats dating approximately 25 years, it would certainly not be out of the realm of possibility that such other examples exist.

I think you are right that since this or any taped bat would not exhibit the common characteristics that are known in Ripken bats that this would probably not be a bat that would be highly valued by collectors. I kind of presented that wrong in my first post. I think we are probably seeing the reflection of that in the fact that the bat on ebay did not get a sniff at $900.00 when other Ripken bats if genuine would obviously bring somewhere aroun $2-$3k. John Taube just had a flame treated P72 from I believe 86-88 that he was selling for $3300 and I believe it sold rather fast. Just goes to show you what the market is doing for solid Ripken bats right now.

I emailed the ebay seller after the auction ended and he seemed to be getting frustrated by all the questions. I explained to him that a Ripken taped bat was a very, very rare item and most likely this was what was holding back the price as many potential buyers were questioning the legitimacy of this bat.

I appreciate the feedback Reid, I forgot about Henderson using all kinds of variations of tape and many not with tape. That is a great example of players changing things up. You are right however, Cal was known for doing certain things with bats and taping them up was no one of them.

Thanks
Brett Herman

[worldchamps]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

I wanted to chime in one more thought about Ripken, the player. I saw a great interview/piece on him on some old baseball show. It talked about his batting stance and how it changed a lot. He talked about resting the bat on his shoulder, slinding it back and forth like a violin, and then a more upright postion, and on and on. The point being is he said he would switch it up alot when he was in a slump or felt like trying something new. Would taping a bat be the same thing??? not sure, but it is a thought.

As for the Arod bat that has tape, it is my understanding sometimes taped bats are for batting practice only. I have heard of some players doing this, not sure about Arod though

Bill

[MSpecht]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

I may be wrong, but under magnification it appears to me that the tape nearest the barrel end of the bat, above the second "s" in the overlay SportsIllustrated, is criss crossed and not solid. It is difficult to tell.

At any rate, my other thought is that since taping was a very uncommon/
unusual/rare Ripken characteristic, it seems likely that the few examples that may surface would be inconsistent in the application. Also, another possible reason for the use of tape besides "something different to get out of a slump" may be due a slight injury at the time. That may cause a player to use tape in some manner to protect a finger or hand, or to secure a better grip if one hand or wrist was not 100% at a certain time. Just a thought as I think about things I do on the golf course from time to time to cover off slight injuries.

If Ironmanfan has a different photo than the one posted by Bill, it would be great to see it in a post.

Best to all.

Mike jackitout7@aol.com

[sportscentury]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

The other very possible scenario that we haven't considered as of yet is that it is a real Ripken game bat that was used by another player (who taped his bats). This is certainly well within the realm of possibility. In my discussions with the seller, he told me that the bat came from someone with the Orioles (a bat boy or someone like that; I don't remember specifically), so it's not like Ripken handed him the bat after stepping off of the diamond. The provenance certainly allows for this alternative explanation.

Reid

[mr.miracle]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

Mike & Reid:

Excellent points, I remember talking to the seller months ago when he was selling an 85 game worn Ripken jersey. He told me he had a source on the team but would not reveal who or at what level the source was at. I would imagine that somebody was lifting these items from the clubhouse the way that he talked about it and the fact that he did not want to reveal a source from 20 years ago that one would wonder if the person is even still with the team. Not sure if the source was the same for the jersey and the bat and or the other items he obtained. He told me he had a batting helmet about 6 -8 total bats 2 jerseys etc. It would be entirely possible that this bat was used by a teammate. If I get some free time in the future I may explore whether any Ripken teammates were known to tape bats in that manner and if Ripken was ever known to share bats. I know a bat just sold through American memorabilia about a month ago that was a Ripken model and it said it was most likely turned over to Ripken teammate Floyd "Sugar Bear" Rayford who overwrote Cal's #8 on the know with Floyd's number. Certainly a possibility.

Brett Herman

[ironmanfan]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

I had the good fortune last week of working in the Press Box of the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen & had ample opportunity to speak with Cal. One of our discussions was about his game used bats & I specifically asked him about his use of tape. He told there was a time that the quality of the Pine Tar was below the norm for whatever reason and he did use tape on his bats for a bit as an experiment (similar to how he experimented with batting stances). He said that he ultimately wasn't happy with the grip he got with tape and went back to using the pine tar rags. When I get caught up from being out of town for the week, I'll try to post a couple pictures that I have him using taped bats.

[mr.miracle]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

I had the good fortune last week of working in the Press Box of the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen & had ample opportunity to speak with Cal. One of our discussions was about his game used bats & I specifically asked him about his use of tape. He told there was a time that the quality of the Pine Tar was below the norm for whatever reason and he did use tape on his bats for a bit as an experiment (similar to how he experimented with batting stances). He said that he ultimately wasn't happy with the grip he got with tape and went back to using the pine tar rags. When I get caught up from being out of town for the week, I'll try to post a couple pictures that I have him using taped bats.

Thanks as always to Ironmanfan for the excellent feedback. That is most helpful as you cannot get any better verification than that.

Thanks
Brett Herman

[sportscentury]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

Bill,

Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing/updating. I've had the pleasure of talking equipment with Steve Carlton a few times in the past and so I can imagine what that experience was like.

Btw, the seller (Alan) contacted me and stated that the bat sold. Someone out there very likely got an incredible deal.

I look forward to seeing the additional photos, when you get a chance to share them.

Reid

[ironmanfan]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

As promised, I'm enclosing a picture of Cal Ripken Jr. using a bat with tape. You'll note that the taping "criss cross" pattern is very similar to the one on the bat that was offerred on eBay. This picture is from a 1990 USA TODAY promotional item (although the actual picture they used is from 1989).

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k172/whhp72/ebay008-1.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k172/whhp72/ebay011.jpg

[mr.miracle]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

Below is a link to a current Hunt Auctions Cal Ripken Jr. 1980-83 game used bat that has a taped handle. These bats have proven to be very rare and this is only the 2nd bat from this era that I have ever seen used by Ripken with a taped handle. The other being a Rochester minor league gamer used by Ripken during his 81 season in New York. Seems to provide additional evidence that Cal used taped bats during a couple of stages in his career. I would like to see additional close-up pics of the bat to clearly see just how much use this bat really has.

http://www.huntauctions.com/online/imageviewer.cfm?auction_num=29&lot_num=761&lot_qual=&url_referer=search.cfm

[mr.miracle]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

Here is the other one I am familiar with.

http://robertedwardauctions.com/site/bidplace.aspx?itemid=4700

[mr.miracle]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

Below is a link to a current Hunt Auctions Cal Ripken Jr. 1980-83 game used bat that has a taped handle. These bats have proven to be very rare and this is only the 2nd bat from this era that I have ever seen used by Ripken with a taped handle. The other being a Rochester minor league gamer used by Ripken during his 81 season in New York. Seems to provide additional evidence that Cal used taped bats during a couple of stages in his career. I would like to see additional close-up pics of the bat to clearly see just how much use this bat really has.

http://www.huntauctions.com/online/i...rer=search.cfm

Just a quick additional note on this bat. I have asked Hunt Auctions for additional photos of this bat. I did not originally read the description closely as this bat had all the markings of a Ripken P72 Walker finish which is the bat of choice for the most part during the 1980-83 labeling period for Cal. This bat is an M159 which I checked with Mike Specht and he verified that according to factory records Cal never ordered any Walker finish M159 bats during this labeling period. The only factory records listing this model were for natural and Hickory finishes during this label period. Unless I am blind, the bat in question in Hunt Auctions is a Walker finish with a taped handle which we know that Cal did use in very limited roles. In any case, I am awaiting Hunt's reply but it appears that this may be yet another bat from early in Cal's career that does not match factory shipping records. If that is the case it is a real shame as it appears to be a very, very nice bat.

[sportscentury]

Re: Cal Ripken bat on eBay

Brett,

Criss cross tape PLUS an undocumented finish does not sound like the road I'd want to travel. How comfortable would you feel with it? Thanks for your posts and let us know what you find.

Reid