Tag: Bats

Steve Sax Private Signing

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I am a big Steve Sax fan. Why am I a Sax fan? It’s certainly not because of the terrible 69 OPS+ he put up during two bad years with the Sox. It’s also not because of his charming personality, as he’s never been a super friendly guy to fans.

It all comes down to my mother. I grew up with a single mom in Southern California. My mom was a huge Dodgers fan. More specifically, she was a big Steve Sax fan. But she never referred to him as Steve Sax. He was always “Sexy Saxy”.

Let me be very clear. His “sexiness” has nothing to do with my fandom. My mom loved him, so I loved him. Later in life, I’d come to realize that Sax was overrated as a player. But that did nothing to dim my Sax fandom. And so, here I am, probably the only person alive that is a fan of both Sax and the Sox.

Steve Sax was one of many players attending the HOF Classic game in Cooperstown, NY this year. Jamie Blye conducted a private signing with a few of the players, including Sax. So I sent him a few items to get signed.

A couple of items didn’t turn out perfectly. One ball and one card are kind of smudged. But the most important item, the bat, turned out perfectly!

   

   

   

   



Early Wynn Bat

I decided years ago not to get bats signed by pitchers. It made much more sense to have hitters sign bats than pitchers. But I had an opportunity to pick up this Early Wynn signed bat with inscriptions for a reasonable price. I decided to bite the bullet and pick it up. I mean, he played before the creation of the designated hitter, so he did bat quite a lot. Not only that, but he hit 17 home runs in his career!

Now that I have this Early Wynn, I may pick up a few more pre-DH HOF pitchers on bats.

Adam Dunn Bat

I know Adam Dunn isn’t very popular amongst Sox fans. Not without good reason, mind you. His 2011 season was one of the worst in the history of the franchise. That wasn’t exactly what Kenny Williams had in mind when he finally caught his white whale.

He did have a solid 2012 season for the Sox, and his last couple of seasons weren’t terrible either. But it’s really hard to shake such a horrific first impression.

Nonetheless, the man did hit 462 home runs in his career. He also finished with a 124 career OPS+. I think that’s worth a bat! When I had the opportunity to buy this for a great price, I didn’t hesitate. It probably won’t make the wall, but I’m happy to have it in the collection.