"1983-1984 Keith Hernandez BP" on ebay

[TNTtoys]

Sorry guys... if you're thinking that this is the real thing, I'm here to disappoint you.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-1983-84...item27ecf3a62f

Is a purported "1983-1984" Keith Hernandez BP. The seller likely does not know what he has. I emailed him yesterday to update him but there was no reply. In any case...

YES, it is a legitimate Mets BP... but The style BP is a lightweight solid poly jersey, which is a 1981-1983 style. In 1984, the Mets switched to mesh. No Mets BP of this era could be from "1983 or 1984" as they are 2 different styles.

So, with the jersey being a 1981-1983, two things stand out --
1. The numbers have SERIFS -- which was only done on road and road BP jerseys during the 1981 season. By 1983, the jerseys had no serifs.
2. The jersey is a size 46 -- Keith Hernandez wore a 42 in 1983... BUT Ellis Valentine, who wore #17 wore a size 46.

You see where I'm going, right? The BP jersey in question is a 1981 ELLIS VALENTINE.

[commando]

Incredible analysis. Someone make this guy a Moderator immediately!

[TNTtoys]

lol...thanks Anthony... I see the seller re-listed the jersey :-)

[Doodles]

So, with the jersey being a 1981-1983, two things stand out --
1. The numbers have SERIFS -- which was only done on road and road BP jerseys during the 1981 season. By 1983, the jerseys had no serifs.

Good analysis, but not entirely true. The home BP also had serifs. The serifs were used until 1983. The 1984 mesh BPs saw the end of serifs. One exception...in 1983, Tom Seaver had the solid jersey with no serifs while everyone else still had serifs. He was special.

[Doodles]

Here is the photo

[sox83cubs84]

I would go so far as to pin the exact year of use as 1981. From what I've studied, 1982 was the transition year where Rawlings tags began appearing on the left tail instead of the right.

Dave Miedema