Interesting Thurman Munson Pic

[NYRangers]

Check out this photo in the upcoming Legendary Auctions

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=98691#

Something looks odd to me.
Care to guess what?

[suave1477]

ok ill bite!!

Whats odd?

[cordovacollector]

The two bats he was leaning on?

[sox83cubs84]

Seems like there are an awful lot of chalk lines on the field in odd places, almost as if the field was laid out for a football game.:confused:

Dave M.
Chicago area

[NYRangers]

Big Hint: The thing that looks odd to me has to do with Munson's bat.

[both-teams-played-hard]

The small trademark?

[NYRangers]

OK, another monumental hint - unless my eyes are deceiving me, that is a bicentennial logo bat. Is that right? If so, what is unusual about the pic?

[b.heagy]

Reggie. Thats assuming the bat was not carried over to the following year.

[NYRangers]

That's what I was referring to, Bill.
Munson with a 1976 Bicentennial bat but standing with his teammate Reggie Jackson who did not join Yanks until 1977 season.
Not monumental but odd.

[cordovacollector]

Are both bats Munson is holding bicentennial bats, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?

[suicide_squeeze]

That's what I was referring to, Bill.
Munson with a 1976 Bicentennial bat but standing with his teammate Reggie Jackson who did not join Yanks until 1977 season.
Not monumental but odd.

It's not as "odd" as one may believe.

As many of you know, some players use a glove for many seasons.

Some use bats that cross annual lines for several reasons: They are leftovers, they are a favorite model of theirs, the particular bat in question may be a particular favorite, etc.

In this picture, the logical explanation is probably that it was a "leftover" from the prior year, as he is about to employ it in batting practice.

Consider these two documented facts when thinking about this subject....


Roger Maris, while hitting his infamous 61st home run in 1961............was wearing a jersey from 1960.

Babe Ruth, in his very last at bat of his career in 1935........was using a bat manufactured in 1932.

In the latter example, that bat spanned 3 seasons.

[suave1477]

Yeah I was thinnking the same thing too. Thats really not that odd. I have seen many players carry over bats.

Perfect examples.

I think every bat Xavier Nady used for his first season with the Yankees was Pirates bats.
Pudge also, his first bats he used was Tigers bats.
Chad Moeller was using Nationals bats when he came over to the Yankees.

[NYRangers]

I guess "odd" wasn't the right word.
I will go back to my original word "interesting."

I find it interesting that the photo shows Munson with a 1976 bat (along with a rookie bat, arguably the most coveted of his career by collectors) during the 1977 season. I find that interesting. Better?

[flaco1801]

tom seaver used the same glove for years... my glove is like coach leather now, i would use it til the end, breaking in a new glove is not a option.

[metsbats]

Here's a close up of the bats.

The 2nd bat is a Adirondack.

Why is the bat a rookie bat era bat?

[metsbats]

Just to add this was a great observation NYRangers.

It's definitely not uncommon from players to use bats from a previous year.

I have two Gary Carter bats used in 1986 with 84-85 era HB labeling and two Ed Hearn Rawlings Adirondack bats from 1986 used in 1987.

[NYRangers]

Hi MetsBats -
I am doing a terrible job with the English language here.
What I meant was that I found it interesting that this pic shows Munson with a 1976 bicentennial bat in a photo that can be no earlier than 1977 (perhaps later). One of the things that makes it interesting to me is that the style of bat (1976 bicentennial) is probably one of the Munson game used bat styles most covetted by his fans (1976 and perhaps his rookie year bat being the most covetted). I also understand that a player can carry over a bat or other equipment from a previous season but, to me, it was an interesting photo given that it is Munson (a NY folk hero) and the bat is readily identifiable to a particular season that predates the arrival of Reggie (another NY folk hero), and the bicentennial bat style is one that collectors seem to put a premium on.
Sorry to over-complicate the thread. This is what happens when a Mets fan like myself tries to talk Bronx Bombers!

[metsbats]

Hi MetsBats -
I am doing a terrible job with the English language here.
What I meant was that I found it interesting that this pic shows Munson with a 1976 bicentennial bat in a photo that can be no earlier than 1977 (perhaps later). One of the things that makes it interesting to me is that the style of bat (1976 bicentennial) is probably one of the Munson game used bat styles most covetted by his fans (1976 and perhaps his rookie year bat being the most covetted). I also understand that a player can carry over a bat or other equipment from a previous season but, to me, it was an interesting photo given that it is Munson (a NY folk hero) and the bat is readily identifiable to a particular season that predates the arrival of Reggie (another NY folk hero), and the bicentennial bat style is one that collectors seem to put a premium on.
Sorry to over-complicate the thread. This is what happens when a Mets fan like myself tries to talk Bronx Bombers!


Ah I get it now. I agree the 76 bats are highly coverted.

Thanks for clearing this up.