Ripken Rawlings C155 Bat

[ripkengamers]

Jim, Mike,
What can you tell me about factory records for Cal Ripken and Rawlings bats. Lelands has a "1984 C155 34" Rawlings" bat on auction:

http://www.lelands.com/bid.aspx?lot=718&auctionid=611

Not being familiar with these bats, although I know Cal used them for a period of time. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

[ripkengamers]

Mike, Jim,

Any help??

[ironmanfan]

Dan: My understanding is that the Rawlings/Adirondack ordering records have not been available to anyone for review.

I have a another '84 Rawlings bat which Cal gave me himself back in '84 which is another model # (CR8 I believe). When I get home later, I'll measure it & email you privately.

[drrad2]

Unsure if the information will be useful to you but I have a beautiful game used Ripken 1985 Rawlings Model CR8 that I obtained from Andy Benish.

[mr.miracle]

Unsure if the information will be useful to you but I have a beautiful game used Ripken 1985 Rawlings Model CR8 that I obtained from Andy Benish.

Hello drrad2, can you post pictures of this Rawlings bat? I am assuming it is a 35 inch bat can you confirm that? I have been looking for pictures of a Rawlings Ripken with great game use and have yet to see one.

Thanks

[drrad2]

I hope these will suffice

[mr.miracle]

I hope these will suffice

Thanks, that is fantastic

[MSpecht]

Hi Dan--

As you know, there has been virtually no access to Adirondack / Rawlings factory records over the years, despite some significant attempts. That being said, a player's ordering patterns generally do not change significantly between manufacturers.... for instance, you will generally not see a player use a 36 inch Adirondack throughout his career and suddenly start ordering bats from H & B measuring 32 inches for his professional game use, not even Tris Speaker.

With this bat you would likely want to get some additional information from the auction house, or at least see how an LOA addresses a couple of points:

1) According to H & B records, Ripken Jr ordered approximately 3181 bats from H & B between 1978 and 2001. Of those bats, only 14 were ordered in a length of 34 inches (12 bats in 1983 to the Orioles and 2 bats in Jan 1986 to Baseball Miscellaneous with specified weight). Throughout H & B records, 34 inch bats were typically manufactured as promotional bats. Given that this bat is described as 34 inches in length, is there additional provenance beyond that offered in the auction description that would suggest that it was professionally used by Ripken, despite the apparent conflict with his established ordering patterns?

2) The stamping of a batch code and year code on the knob was well-established for Rawlings/Adirondack by 1984 on professional model bats, although it is known that there are instances in which a pro model Adirondack does not have these identifying markings. It may be useful to see how the LOA addresses this particular issue with regards to this specific bat.

3) Regarding the date of manufacture of this bat, the auction title states 1984, however the combination of the center label and the barrel label as shown in the photos indicates a date of manufacture of 1985 or 1986. Additionally, the term "Personal Model" is noted in the auction description which may be just a coincidental generic use of the term, but would have date of manufacture implications if the term was actually on the bat barrel label (again, which is not shown as such in the photos).

This bat represents a good example of the need to analyze a bat when records from a specific manufacturer are not available. In this case, there are known records from another manufacturer that establish an ordering pattern (length and weight) for Ripken Jr. The length of this bat, while documented as shipped to Ripken on two occasions during his career, is outside the scope of his established ordering pattern. This bat may indeed be a rare (ultra-rare) Ripken 34 inch gamer, or it may be something else. You must decide your comfort level in placing this bat in Cal's hands, and accordingly, how much you are willing to pay to have this bat in your collection. A closer look at the use present on this bat, as compared to Ripken Jr's individual player use characteristics, could help in that regard, along with any additional provenance, such as original source, that may be offered with this bat.

Good Luck.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com

[mr.miracle]

[quote=ironmanfan;25724]Dan: My understanding is that the Rawlings/Adirondack ordering records have not been available to anyone for review.

I have a another '84 Rawlings bat which Cal gave me himself back in '84 which is another model # (CR8 I believe). When I get home later, I'll measure it & email you privately.[/quote]


Hello Ironmanfan:

Wondering if you could assist me by letting me know what the length of your 84 Rawlings bat and model # of the bat is from your collection? Feel free to post here or email me at my address listed below. As always, I appreciate all of your help as I am trying to unravel the mystery of Ripken Rawlings 34 inch game used bats real or not.

Thanks

[mr.miracle]

Unsure if the information will be useful to you but I have a beautiful game used Ripken 1985 Rawlings Model CR8 that I obtained from Andy Benish.

drrad, not sure if you are still around on here but if so, could you provide the length of your Ripken Rawlings game bat for me either here or by email as well? Either a 34 or a 35 I would think.

Thanks