Michael Jordan using a WORTH bat????

[fabes23]

Does anyone know if Michael Jordan ever used a WORTH bat in his short lived baseball career?

Thanks.

[metsbats]

Here's an old thread on Worth bats. There was a member "oldworth" who claimed he had ties to Worth and in one of his posts he mentions making Michael Jordan bats.

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/archive/index.php/t-9141.html

[33bird]

Yea he did. I've seen pictures of it.

[fabes23]

Greg, do you know where i can find some of those pictures? thanks

[oldworth]

To the best of my recollection, I am not sure if Michael Jordan ever used a Worth logo'd bat. What I do know is that he definitely used the first and only Wilson logo'd bat that I can recall. This bat was produced by Worth in the exact same plant. I do not recall anyone else ever getting a Wilson logo'd bat.

I believe this was a solid black bat, and I think the screening and branding was yellow, but not certain. I doubt it would have said just MJ on the barrel of the bat, but I cannot say 100% - if they specifically asked, they could get it. This was when he was playing with the Birmingham Barons. I know he tried out with the Nashville Sounds, but I do not know if he had a bat made.

The unusual part is, minor league players generally used club bats, not their own named and designed bat.

Do you have a photo ?

[oldworth]

Actually, I think the screening and branding was WHITE now that I have thought about it.

[fabes23]

Tomorrow I'll post a couple pics. It is supposedly from the Chicago White Sox "Picnic in the Park" from '96 or '95. The bat is cracked, black in color and has yellow branding. It says "MJ" instead of "MICHAEL JORDAN", and the signature does NOT have a UDA hologram. Kind of fishy but, stay tuned.....

[33bird]

No, I'm pretty sure he did use a worth. He used quite a few different bats in his short career. I think Howard Wolfe might have a Worth MJ bat. I think I send him pictures of MJ using one. Search Gettys and Ebay. That's where I found a few.

[fabes23]

Ok, Here's a couple pics...what do you think this bat is worth? Ha ha ha...no pun intended:D , but seriously! The signature doesn't even have a UDA sticker. Did MJ even sign items without UDA in '94 or '95?

[oldworth]

Everything about that bat looks authentic. I cannot vouch for the signature.

I did not remember making that bat - I worked there in the afternoons and summers, and my mom who was the supervisor did not remember making it.

My guesses are that it was MJ on it for a reason, whether it was because he was doing it minor league and Worth pro bats were only for pros, or it was kept secret before the news of it, or there was some licensing deal with Wilson. I cannot confirm.


I can tell you that it is a very rare bat.

I would like to see the knob of the bat, out of curiosity. Can you show me a picture ?

As another interesting note, I see that Upper Deck has certified 500 Wilson signature bats that sell for about $1k. I do not believe these ever came off the same machine that made the pro bats, and are not the exact same style. I can only see them coming off one of the mass production machines. The pro bats were made one at a time and took about 10 minutes per bat to turn based on a pattern. On top of this, they each came from a carefully selected billet of wood, with a certain starting weight, and weighed again once finished.

The UDA signature bats do not have a cone knob. I believe most if not all of the actual pro bats for use that he ordered did have a cone knob.

[oldworth]

also, both a side view of the knob, plus any end stamping would be appreciated.

Another thing is - anyone could order a bat with their name on it. Even you. But that bat appears to be a pro bat.

[ndestrucktable]

If it helps at all the Signature is good, no clue on the bat though.

[fabes23]

Here's a picture of the end of the knob on the bat...it reads
MJ
5
wC1176K

http://design46.com/endofbat.jpg