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While today is indeed Christmas and while our family is taking a break from the day's festivities, I thought I'd share with you my "real" Christmas which actually took place the other day when I was able to meet up with both Bill & Cal Ripken to exchange holiday wishes and for them to examine & sign some of my GU pieces...
The afternoon started in Aberdeen, where Bill Ripken after his XM 175 Satellite Radio show took the time to look through some of the bulkier GU pieces I had of his that I hadn't gotten signed in the past. These items included a GU road hat from his stint with Cleveland in 1995, an Orioles GU Batting Helmet from 1992 and a flannel TBTC GU jersey of the Detroit "Bisons" from 1998..I know I posted the other day that I don't usually prefer my jersey's to be signed, but I made an exception for this item:
From Aberdeen I headed south to Baltimore and was able to spend some time with Cal. He signed some misc. pieces for me, but my main goal was for him to examine the two GU bats of his that I had picked up in 2009 for his thoughts as to authenticity.
You may recall earlier in the month, I posted about a bat I picked up on eBay that had flown out of his hands in Detroit in June, 1995 (bought it from the son of the man who got it). For the first time in over 14 years, this bat returned to his hands and he certainly remembered the incident. He remarked that he was surprised that he lost his grip as there still is a fair amount of pine tar residue left on the handle.
The other bat was one that I picked up through the help of another Forum member in the spring which had originally belonged to the former Orioles groundskeeper, Pat Santarone. The bat was a two tone LS P72 (cracked), and after careful examination of the handle and barrell (including a couple of practice swings), he was convinced that it was indeed a gamer as well..He also showed me some of the small things he did on some of his game bats (which both of these bats exhibited) that I know will help in examining his bats in the future.
The very best part was that when Cal signed them, he included the inscription "GAME USED." People who collect Ripken know that he very rarely EVER uses that inscription, as he is very wary of the game used market (we discussed some of the fake items he has been presented with to sign over the years). He added "1995 Game Used" (which also happens to be the year that he passed Gehrig) to the one bat but since we couldn't pinpoint the exact year of the other, he simply added "Game Used."
Needless to say, I consider myself very fortunate to have this fantastic opportunity and I couldn't have asked for a better holiday present.
Happy Holidays!
The afternoon started in Aberdeen, where Bill Ripken after his XM 175 Satellite Radio show took the time to look through some of the bulkier GU pieces I had of his that I hadn't gotten signed in the past. These items included a GU road hat from his stint with Cleveland in 1995, an Orioles GU Batting Helmet from 1992 and a flannel TBTC GU jersey of the Detroit "Bisons" from 1998..I know I posted the other day that I don't usually prefer my jersey's to be signed, but I made an exception for this item:
From Aberdeen I headed south to Baltimore and was able to spend some time with Cal. He signed some misc. pieces for me, but my main goal was for him to examine the two GU bats of his that I had picked up in 2009 for his thoughts as to authenticity.
You may recall earlier in the month, I posted about a bat I picked up on eBay that had flown out of his hands in Detroit in June, 1995 (bought it from the son of the man who got it). For the first time in over 14 years, this bat returned to his hands and he certainly remembered the incident. He remarked that he was surprised that he lost his grip as there still is a fair amount of pine tar residue left on the handle.
The other bat was one that I picked up through the help of another Forum member in the spring which had originally belonged to the former Orioles groundskeeper, Pat Santarone. The bat was a two tone LS P72 (cracked), and after careful examination of the handle and barrell (including a couple of practice swings), he was convinced that it was indeed a gamer as well..He also showed me some of the small things he did on some of his game bats (which both of these bats exhibited) that I know will help in examining his bats in the future.
The very best part was that when Cal signed them, he included the inscription "GAME USED." People who collect Ripken know that he very rarely EVER uses that inscription, as he is very wary of the game used market (we discussed some of the fake items he has been presented with to sign over the years). He added "1995 Game Used" (which also happens to be the year that he passed Gehrig) to the one bat but since we couldn't pinpoint the exact year of the other, he simply added "Game Used."
Needless to say, I consider myself very fortunate to have this fantastic opportunity and I couldn't have asked for a better holiday present.
Happy Holidays!
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