Birdbats: The Home for Cardinals Memorabilia Collectors




						Birdbats blog... November 16, 2009. Three of the bats I offered here on 10/25 -- the Pujols, Collins and Hendrick -- are now available on eBay. I've also listed a 1973-75 Tim McCarver bat and a 2004-05 Lance Berkman bat... The Musial bat mentioned on 10/25 is still available for $3,500... The current Grey Flannel auction has a few "interesting" Cardinals jerseys, including a Joe Torre shirt that clearly is a minor league issue; someone tried to squeeze the NOB between the high-set number and the collar and call it a Torre gamer. Ugh. There's also the obligatory 2002 Pujols jersey complete with athletic cut, a questionable NOB font and inconsistent tagging. A 1992 Ozzie Smith jersey with what appeared to be a retail 100th anniversary patch already has been pulled from GFC's auction. And the 2008 Rick Ankiel jersey originally was advertised as a 2009 shirt, in spite of the fact it doesn't have the ASG patch. Hard to believe Grey Flannel was once considered the gold standard of jersey authenticators. November 6, 2009. I called it! On my 9/22/09 blog entry, I noted how eBay scammer "wearingitagain" purchased a 2008 Pujols bat handle (item #170384068695) and a 2009 Pujols bat barrel (item #170376361973). I said I'd be shocked if he didn't put the pieces together and try to sell them as a Pujols bat on eBay. Well, guess what? He did it. Amazing. Dude has balls. Needless to say, stay away from this one. November 5, 2009. The Cardinals announced today that the Winter Warm Up will move to the Hyatt Regency (formerly the Adam's Mark). As always, it will be held during MLK weekend. The other big change affects autograph tickets. There will be no early-bird sales at the stadium anymore. All autograph tickets will be sold online via the team Web site from 1/9 thru 1/13. The only autograph tickets available at the event will be those that don't sell out online. Everything else is the same -- events, auctions, exhibits, even the price of the 3-day pass ($40). Details here. November 3, 2009. The seller of this Pujols bat suggests that the use characteristics and source gives him confidence that Albert used the bat. I'm going to offer a second opinion. Notice the 5 on the knob is no longer black and there's a 1.9 written next to the 5. The seller suggests this is the bat's weight, which it is (31.9 ounces) -- but the weight also is stamped into the knob, so there's no need to write it, too. Imagine if there was no decimal point; then you'd have the number 19. Nick Stavinoha wore #19. The bat was manufactured on 4/30/09. I saw Stavinoha use a Pujols model bat starting on 5/17/09. These could be coincidences. Or, this could be a Pujols bat used by Nick. You decide... The Bob Gibson bat listed on 10/25 is sold, but the others are still available. October 28, 2009. I have it on good authority (yep, my barber, Tim) that the Winter Warm Up will not be held at the Millennium Hotel in January. After several years at that cramped venue, it apparently is moving to another downtown hotel. Tim got his info from a buddy who works at the Millennium. My contact with the team confirms the event is moving, but cannot divulge the new location... Wonder what type of bat Mark McGwire will use as hitting coach, a generic fungo or one of his MAC 25 Rawlings models. Maybe he'll get a customized Rawlings fungo... Reader Rick Lucas suggests if you want to make $1,400, you might want to purchase this Pujols jersey. The seller is offering a double-your-money-back-guarantee if it doesn't pass authentication. It's a post-2001 jersey with an athletic cut (tails). That's all I need to see. Of course, if you buy it and it is blessed by your authenticator of choice, don't blame me -- the risk is all yours. October 25, 2009. I have five bats I'm selling on consignment, and a couple of these are real gems. First is a 1974 Bob Gibson LS model B268. The bat can be pinpointed to factory records -- Gibby was shipped just three of these bats on 5/7/74. It shows moderate use with visible pine tar, rack scrapes and ball marks. Gibson bats are tough. $2,800... Next is a 1958-60 Stan Musial Adirondack model 57B. It has LOAs from PSA/DNA, GFC, SCD Authentic, GAI and Steiner (on the signature). The bat is hammered with use and ideal except for a 13" handle crack that is repaired by several small nails. Even if you didn't get it restored, you'd still have an outstanding club from The Man. $3,500... Third is a 2002 Albert Pujols Rawlings model 707B. It shows decent use and has LOAs from GFC/PSA/DNA and SCD Authentic (A8). In spite of that, I don't believe the tar is consistent with Pujols use. I'd expect the wood to be darker on the upper handle and clean where he grips it; this bat is the opposite. Even if you agree with that assessment, this is still a nice, early Pujols model at a reasonable price. $950... This 1950s Rip Collins LS model H117 is in almost pristine condition. Ripper was the best offensive player on the '34 Gas House Gang. This stick dates after his retirement, but any Collins bat is rare and desirable -- especially one that's such a clean example of Hornsby's H117 model. $275... Finally, I have a 1978 George Hendrick LS model S44. Hendrick wore #27 during only his first season in St. Louis before switching to #25. This bat shows tremendous use. $100. If you're interested in any of these bats, please contact me. October 24, 2009. OK, two weeks vacation is long enough. Time to dig back in. Let's start with this Musial bat that just sold on eBay. It should look familiar -- it's the same bat sold on 9/13 for $700. At the time, it seemed the buyer might have made one heck of a steal. But, when it was reposted with new photos, I started having doubts because of the knob stamping. Look at the bat in question (top left) and three other certified Musial Adirondack knobs. Clearly, the font is inconsistent. What you also may notice is the grain count. On the eBay bat, I can count at least 22 lines across the knob. On the three other bats, the grain count is about 10-12. I'm not saying the eBay bat is real or retail, but I have a hunch it will have a hard time earning certification from MEARS or PSA/DNA... I really can't make a call one way or the other on this Pujols bat based on the photos and description. But, it doesn't help when the same seller is offering a McGwire bat that clearly does not have Mac's use characteristics... Ozzie Smith's restaurant in St. Louis has closed and the memorabilia that decorated the walls will be auctioned tomorrow. Unfortunately, Ozzie took his Gold Gloves, All-Star Game jerseys and Hall of Fame bat. All that remains are posters, photos and a few non-Cardinals jerseys that (in spite of the plaques on the frames) don't seem to show any use. I'll be at the auction anyway, looking for a bargain... I'll be listing some new bats for sale (on consignment) tomorrow. Included are a 1958-60 Musial, a 1974 Bob Gibson, a 2002 Albert Pujols (with inconsistent use characteristics), a 1950s Rip Collins and a 1978 George Hendrick.
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