Birdbats' Collection

[Birdbats]

I bought my first pack of baseball cards in 1969 and became an avid collector, building (or buying) complete sets until about 1990. After graduating college and getting a real job in 1984, I also started buying vintage cards, with a goal of acquiring rookie cards of all Cardinals Hall of Famers. But, in 1994, I bought my first game-used bat -- a 1974 Lou Brock -- and everything changed. I started selling off my cards and putting the proceeds into game-used bats. By 2002, I was adding jerseys to the collection, beginning with Edgar Renteria's 2001 home gamer.

Today, I've focused my collection on bats from the Cardinals championship teams of 1964, 1982, 2006 and 2011. I also am trying to get one Cardinals jersey from every season since 1971, when the team began wearing knits. That includes trying to get one example of each style of pregame jersey, as well as special event shirts, such as "turn back the clock" jerseys. I would like to own a nice flannel, but harbor no illusions of ever getting one per season.

I do own bats, jerseys and other items of players -- Cardinals and non-Cardinals -- that have nothing to do with my collecting focus. Often, these items have stories attached to them related to certain feats or certain players who have a place in Cardinals history. In the posts that follow, I will share some of these stories.

[Birdbats]

On Aug. 29, 1990, the Cardinals traded Willie McGee to the Oakland A's for three players. When McGee's number 51 was given to Lee Guetterman and Lonnie Maclin in 1993, not a peep was heard. When T.J. Mathews wore 51 in 1995, again there was silence. McGee returned to the Cardinals in 1996 after stints in San Francisco and Boston, and remained a Redbird until he retired after the 1999 season.

On June 10, 2001, rookie pitcher Bud Smith made his Major League debut for the Cards in Colorado. Number 51 was taken out of mothballs and given to the young hurler. Two days later, he again appeared in relief in Colorado. A few people took umbrage with the digits on his back. "We got back to St. Louis and I remember a clubby mentioned to me that the fans were pretty upset that I was wearing 51," Smith recalls. "And I was like, 'Really? Why? I just pitched one inning, what did I do?"

It was Smith's first start at Busch on June 17 that really created an uproar as home fans, for the first time, personally witnessed Smith wearing 51. "They told me, 'Man, the fans are really upset, that was Willie McGee's number and even though they didn't retire it, the fans wanted to retire it. He was a fan favorite and they don't want anybody else wearing 51.' I said, 'Oh, OK.' I didn't mind. Any number was fine for me, I was just happy to be up there."

That Father's Day in 2001 was the last time a St. Louis player wore #51. The following day, Smith was optioned to Triple-A. When he was recalled from the minors and appeared in his fourth game on July 16, Smith took the field at Busch wearing number 52.

I'm not sure what changed during Willie's unremarkable second turn with the Cards. In those four years, he hit a combined .279 with 11 home runs, 133 RBI and 27 stolen bases -- good numbers for one season, not four. But, somehow, McGee achieved mythical status by 2001 that clearly wasn't evident a decade earlier when he departed the Gateway City the first time.

Yesterday, I had a chance to meet Bud Smith and have him sign his 2001 road jersey -- his number 51 jersey, the one he wore during his first game. We talked about the controversy and his innocence in the matter. After he signed the shirt, a young lady (I assume was Bud's wife) asked if he could take a photo holding the jersey because his mom would like to see it. I assume within minutes, Bud's mom received an email with a photo of her son holding his first jersey -- with the infamous number 51 on the front.



Lee Guetterman in 1993

Bud Smith on 6/17/01

[Birdbats]

As long as we're talking about the number 51, here is one of my favorite bats. On August 22, 1999, Mark McGwire became the first player to hit 50 home runs in four consecutive seasons, a feat later matched by his rival, Sammy Sosa. Two days later in Montreal, Big Mac hit his 51st home run of 1999 with much less fanfare. In fact, I can't even find a photo of him hitting it. It was his 508th career home run and his 493rd as a first baseman, tying the MLB record set by Lou Gehrig.

At some point, McGwire cracked the bat and decided to give it to his soon-to-retire teammate, Willie McGee. Mac inscribed on the bat: "To Willie, A True Pro. Your Friend, Mark McGwire. HR #51, 8/24/99."

McGee eventually gave the bat to a friend of his living in the Bay Area. After owning it for a few years, that friend contacted me about selling it. I purchased the bat in 2009. Legit McGwire gamers are fairly rare because Mac used bats until they cracked -- and he didn't crack that many. Authenticated home run bats are even more scarce. But, the icing on the cake is the connection to McGee; a bat used for home run number 51 given as a gift to the guy who famously wore number 51. McGwire might be disappointed to know McGee gave his bat away, but I was happy to adopt it and give it a good home.

[molina4fan]

Love the McGwire bat!!!!

[Birdbats]

When Cardinals fans think of tragedies, the names Josh Hancock and Darryl Kile obviously come to mind. But, back in 1922, two active members of the Cardinals died just months apart. Pickles Dillhoefer was a backup catcher for the Cards from 1919-21, distinguished more by his colorful nickname than by his play. After a 1921 campaign in which he hit .241 in 76 games -- and just weeks after his wedding -- Dillhoefer died from typhoid fever in February 1922.

Unlike Dillhoefer, Austin McHenry was a rising star. In 1921, he had more than 200 hits and batted .350, second only to his teammate, Rogers Hornsby. McHenry also finished among the top five NL hitters in slugging percentage, doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases and extra-base hits. McHenry proved that his 1921 season wasn't a fluke; after a slow start, he was hitting .332 by mid June. But, in his last 11 June games, he hit just .191 and Branch Rickey noticed McHenry was having a difficult time catching fly balls. McHenry admitted he thought he might be going blind, but after a month's rest, he was back in the lineup. The return didn't last long; a pinch-hit, RBI single on July 31 proved to be McHenry's final at bat. A medical exam eventually discovered McHenry had a brain tumor. That's right -- he hit .303 in 1922 in spite of having a brain tumor. McHenry agreed to undergo risky surgery in October, but he died on November 27. Years later, Rickey still considered McHenry one of his all-time favorite players.

Because his illness was known, McHenry's untimely passing was not as shocking as Kile's, but it was every bit as devastating to his teammates and to the Cardinals' fortunes on the field. One can only wonder what difference a healthy McHenry might have made to a team that won its first World Series in 1926.

These two bats have special places in my office: At top is an A. B. (Austin) McHenry model; below it is a signed, 2000 Darryl Kile game-used Louisville Slugger.

[Birdbats]

Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of Rick Ankiel's return to the Major Leagues and his dramatic home run at Busch. Ankiel, of course, was a pitching phenom who went 11-7 for the 2000 Cards with 194 strikeouts in just 175 innings. But, in the 2000 post season, Rick gave up seven earned runs in just four innings during two games. His poor efforts were punctuated by nine wild pitches. Ankiel was ineffective in 2001 and injuries kept him off the field in 2002 and 2003. A brief comeback in 2004 went nowhere, though Rick did receive a win in his final game on the mound with four strong innings of relief work.

In 2005, Ankiel gave up on pitching and decided to see if he could reinvent himself as an outfielder. He started at class A and, after hitting .270 with power, was promoted to AA where he continued to progress. Shelved by injury again in 2006, Ankiel started 2007 at AAA and proved his mission wasn't misguided. He hit 32 home runs and drove in 89 runs in just 102 games.

On August 9, 2007, Ankiel made it back to the show as an outfielder. Starting and batting second, he was retired on a weak pop up and two strikeouts. But, in the seventh inning, Ankiel drove a Doug Brocail pitch into the stands for a home run. Predictably, the crowd went nuts. Even the stoic Tony La Russa was laughing and clapping with joy for one of his favorite players.

I bought the bat at the Cardinals Authentics store, only to discover after looking at several photos that it was Rick's comeback bat. Rick later signed it for me, adding a nice inscription. A couple years later at a local memorabilia show, one of my buddies was selling a baseball from Rick's last game as a pitcher. It came from La Russa's ARF, complete with Tony's notations and Rick's signature. I bought it because it seemed like a fitting complement to the home run bat.

The bat

Matching the bat to photos

Rick hitting his HR

Rick signing the bat

Ball from Rick's last game as a pitcher

[mlbnut]

Awesome R.Ankeil bat Jeff, I was at that 1st game back of his... Very cool!