Posted By:
Frank WakefieldHere you go...
Hillerich and Bradsby had a big store of cracked bats. These were marked and held as pattern bats. If a player needed new bats he could write or wire, H&B would find the old pattern bat, dowel down some new bats, and send them off. My belief is that most players started the year with 2 bats, back at the turn of the century. Two bats would usually last the player the entire year. Most of the pattern bats were cracked. The black markings above the bat label are part of H&B's patern markings.
This bat came from that stock, when H&B was moving about and relocating. It is about 37" long. Wakefield is stamped there into the barrel, for Howard Wakefield. In 1908, which is when I'm guessing this bat is from, Wakefield hit .275 for Toledo and Indianapolis in the American Association. In the majors he'd caught for Cleveland and Washington, 1905-07. In that 1908 year he'd have been on teams with some T206 players, including pitchers Durham, Marquard, and Lattimore. The labeling on this bat dates it about 1906 to 1909, I think. Someone here might know more about that than me.
The long bat, thick handle, slight taper is typical of bats of the era. When I got this bat I also got one of Ernie Orsatti, the Cardinals gas house gang center fielder. It's on display in the museum in St. Louis. That bat is shorter, thicker barrel, thin handle, typical of the bats in use after Ruth started bustin' 'em. It wasn't just juiced baseballs, white clean balls (after Chapman and Mays), and the disappearance of spitters, bat physics had a bit to do with the increase in home runs and batting averages. In the 30s, as now, bats break. In the old days they'd last forever. You can go kill snakes with that old bat, or beat rugs. it is tough!
and one more image of that handle....
