Hunt: 1993 Devon White All-Star jersey

[kingjammy24]

http://www.huntauctions.com/online/imageviewer.cfm?auction_num=37&lot_num=583&lot_qual=&url_referer=view_lots_items_list.cfm

1993 devon white gamer purported to have been used in the 1993 all-star game.

for many years, including 1993, the jays used 2 kinds of strip tags in the collar. a square which had just the year and a full rectangle which had the player's number, year, and set. the square/year only were spares and the rectangle/full-strip were specific player orders from wilson. the hunt jersey has a square/year only, indicating it started life as a spare and was made up after the jays received it. not a big deal really.

when you view photos or video footage, the squares or rectangles are often seen through the jerseys from behind. eg:


in the two molitor pics above, paul is wearing jerseys with rectangular squares indicating full strip tags. alomar on the other hand is shown with a square, indicating a spare tag. the difference between the square (spare) and rectangle (full-strip) and the fact that they can often be seen from behind can often reveal some interesting details about what a player wore, when, why, etc.

so anyway, a couple weeks ago i was watching the 1993 all-star game on dvd. i was curious if i could see whether white had a square (as seen in the hunt's jersey) or a rectangle (full-strip). at one point, the camera is at the end of the dugout and white walks right in front of the camera, with his back to it, and the outline of a rectangular, not square, strip is very evident.

rudy.

[dcgreg25]

Re: Hunt: 1993 Devon White All-Star jersey

Rudy, fascinating insight. Thanks for the valuable contribution- this is the kind of insight that makes this site so valuable. While I would not be a bidder on this jersey I definitely learned something from the thread. Keep up the good work!!!

[BaseballGM]

Re: Hunt: 1993 Devon White All-Star jersey

I agree with rudy about the tagging. A possibility is that this was a back up All-Star jersey - just in case one ripped or something similar. If I remember correctly, MLB or the host city team ran an All-Star charity auction that included jerseys, bats etc. back in the mid '90s. With the explosion of the internet and MLB auctions, a lot is done online now.
As for Robbie, he would go through his normal 2 sets and start wearing spares since he slid so much "head first."

[kingjammy24]

Re: Hunt: 1993 Devon White All-Star jersey

I agree with rudy about the tagging. A possibility is that this was a back up All-Star jersey - just in case one ripped or something similar. If I remember correctly, MLB or the host city team ran an All-Star charity auction that included jerseys, bats etc. back in the mid '90s. With the explosion of the internet and MLB auctions, a lot is done online now.
As for Robbie, he would go through his normal 2 sets and start wearing spares since he slid so much "head first."

from what i recall, 1992 was the first year that the MLB directly auctioned off the jerseys from the all-star game. an MLB rep would go into the clubhouse immediately after the game and collect the jerseys from the players. the hunt jersey comes with the MLBPA letter that accompanied these jerseys.
here's the '93 alomar that the MLBPA auctioned off: http://www.lelands.com/bid.aspx?auctionid=108&lot=726

joe carter's 1993 all-star shirt from the MLBPA auction: http://www.lelands.com/bid.aspx?auctionid=205&lot=1933

so anyway, i believe i know the story behind these. they weren't backups. the players knew ahead of time that an MLB rep would be collecting their shirts after the game. well, some players wanted to keep their all-star shirts so they had duplicates made up and arrived in baltimore with 2 shirts for the sole intent of wearing one, keeping it, and giving the MLB rep the duplicate. a player on the 1993 AL all-star team told me this personally. so when i saw the white, for me the MLBPA letter was the nail in the coffin. i knew it had been collected by the MLB rep and that white had probably pulled a switch. i have little doubt that the jersey really was collected from the lockerroom after the game. unfortunately, the video evidence seems to show that it wasn't the actually jersey that was worn that night. sort of reminds me of the namath SB helmet fiasco..the helmet may very well have come from namath and maybe namath even said he used it in the SB..but the photos proved otherwise.

anyway, i certainly don't think all of the players pulled these switches but some definitely did. i remember reading a story written by the guy who actually collected these after the game. he said he put them in garbage bags and the next day the stench was foul so obviously some of the players gave him their real all-star gamers.

rudy.

[ironmanfan]

Re: Hunt: 1993 Devon White All-Star jersey

what can one really expect from a LOA from Donald Fehr??

[kingjammy24]

Re: Hunt: 1993 Devon White All-Star jersey

i also wanted to post because i know there a few jays collectors out there and i wasn't sure if they paid attention to the rectangle vs. square when looking at photos and video. it can help sort out some interesting issues such as whether call-ups or traded players ever wore full-tag jerseys and when, etc. i remember when jack morris first joined the jays and photos of his first starts clearly showed a square, indicating he was pitching in a spare jersey. handy info in case anyone was ever offered "jack morris' first jays jersey" and it was tagged with a full-tag instead of as spare/square. i've seen a bunch of rickey henderson jays jerseys around and i was always curious whether he ever actually played in a full-tagged jersey or whether he just played in the spare he was given when he first joined. photo evidence shows he did indeed eventually transition from the spare he was first given into a full-tagged shirt. you can piece together some interesting things just by looking at the back of the jersey to see if you see the outline of a square or a rectangle.

rudy.

[kingjammy24]

Re: Hunt: 1993 Devon White All-Star jersey

ok here we go. from lou lampson's website, here's a 1993 duane ward all-star jersey he authenticated:

"DUANE WARD 1993 TORONTO BLUE JAYS HOME JERSEY
13423
6/29/2005

"This representation is a 1993 Toronto Blue Jays home jersey worn by relief pitcher Duane Ward during the Jays’ World Series Championship year when Ward made the National League All-Star team. The jersey body is a white heavy knit with light blue/white/royal blue sleeve striping. It sports the uniquely fonted team nickname and numerals, which are correct in all features, as are the NOB and front logo... A “93” swatch label is zigzag affixed to the neckline beneath the label as was apropos. An additional feature is the presence of the 1993 All-Star patch sewn onto the left sleeve. The presence of the autograph could mean that the jersey was used in the ’93 All-Star game and signed by Ward, because MLBB did auction off a set from the game. Overall, it has nice wear, particularly along the collar path and the button path edges."

so it's a 1993 ward jersey with the 1993 all-star patch and a "spare-style" tag in the collar showing just "93" right? well how about this:



ward's 1993 all-star game jersey. full-strip tag in the collar. 1993 all star game patch. guess which one ward actually wore and which one the MLB rep received?

rudy.

[suicide_squeeze]

Re: Hunt: 1993 Devon White All-Star jersey

http://www.huntauctions.com/online/i...items_list.cfm

1993 devon white gamer purported to have been used in the 1993 all-star game.

for many years, including 1993, the jays used 2 kinds of strip tags in the collar. a square which had just the year and a full rectangle which had the player's number, year, and set. the square/year only were spares and the rectangle/full-strip were specific player orders from wilson. the hunt jersey has a square/year only, indicating it started life as a spare and was made up after the jays received it. not a big deal really.

when you view photos or video footage, the squares or rectangles are often seen through the jerseys from behind. eg:


in the two molitor pics above, paul is wearing jerseys with rectangular squares indicating full strip tags. alomar on the other hand is shown with a square, indicating a spare tag. the difference between the square (spare) and rectangle (full-strip) and the fact that they can often be seen from behind can often reveal some interesting details about what a player wore, when, why, etc.

so anyway, a couple weeks ago i was watching the 1993 all-star game on dvd. i was curious if i could see whether white had a square (as seen in the hunt's jersey) or a rectangle (full-strip). at one point, the camera is at the end of the dugout and white walks right in front of the camera, with his back to it, and the outline of a rectangular, not square, strip is very evident.

rudy.

So, I guess what you're saying, Rudy, is that Devon White had no part in adding to the "stench" factor of the collected jerseys in the trash bags?