I was once again reminded that I am an “old guy” when my son asked me what sort of article I was working on. I told him I was planning on doing a piece on “shortys.” To that he replied, “Does mom know about this? It would seem that in today’s “hip-hop” culture, “shorty” is slang word for a girl, and usually an attractive one at that. This is not what I’m writing about, although, after you finish reading, some of the items may seem a bit more attractive to you that at first blush.
In my mind, a “shorty” refers to bat of less than 34” in length. I decided to do a little digging and see how many players from the period I am most interested in used the “little lumber.” It is not so uncommon for more modern or contemporary players to use shorter bats, especially now that they wear batting helmets and a variety of protective gear that permits them to take away the inside portion of the plate. The provided listing is certainly not all inclusive by any means, but I did find a number of surprising players such as the 6’- 6” Sky King – Dave Kingman making the list.
Many of the players listed are Hall of Famers or popular players with team or individual collectors. Knowing that some of these guys used “shortys” may present you with buying opportunities that others may pass on. Getting back to answering my son’s question, yes she does know what I’m writing about and she could care less about attractive girls or short bats…she is not concerned with either of them. Here we go:
Gene Alley
5/24/59- G69L- 33”/30oz-4 ordered
Richie Ahsburn
7/29/48- 76A- 32”/34-36oz-6 ordered
8/15/50- U1- 33”/32oz- 6 ordered
3/7/56- M159-33”/32oz- 2 ordered
Glen Beckert
6/15/62- M117- 33 ½ “/31oz- 3 ordered
Vida Blue
7/28/80 – R161- 33”/32oz- 6 ordered (cork handle)
7/28/80 – P72- 33”/33oz- 6 ordered (cork handle)
Clete Boyer
3/27/58 – S2- 33 ½”/30 1/2oz – 2 ordered
4/10/58 – S2- 33 ½”/ 30oz – 6 ordered
5/7/58 – M110- 33 ½”/30oz – 6 ordered
6/27/58 – M110- 33 ½”/30oz – 6 ordered
Ralph Branca
3/18/52 – P65- 33 ½”/42oz- 2 ordered
9/26/52 – P65- 33 ½”/42oz- 1 ordered
Lou Brock
3/5/68 – R161- 33 ½/35 oz – 6 ordered
3/5/68 – R161- 33 ½/33 oz – 6 ordered
6/3/75 – C234 -32”/34oz- 12 ordered
6/12/75- C234C- 32”/34oz- 12 ordered
4/3/76- K75-33 ½”/33oz- 12 ordered
3/9/77- A105- 32 ½”/37oz- 6 ordered
3/9/77- A105- 32 ½”/33oz- 6 ordered
3/25/77- R161- 33 ½”/33oz- 6 ordered
5/21/79- C229- 33”/31oz- 12 ordered
6/13/79- C229- 33”/31oz- 12 ordered
10/4/79- C229- 33”/31oz- 6 ordered
1/21/80- C229- 33”/31oz- 12 ordered
Lew Burdette
2/27/59- K55- 33”/34oz- 1 ordered
Chico Carrasquel
5/20/55- R43- 33”/33oz- 6 ordered
7/8/55- R43- 33”/33oz- 2 ordered
2/1/56- R43- 33”/33oz- 6 ordered
4/13/56- C12- 33”/34oz – 6 ordered
Dave Concepcion
5/14/71- Mc44- 33”/35oz- 12 ordered
Vince DiMaggio
4/9/42- “Chuck Klein”- 33”/35oz- ? ordered
Darrell Evans
8/15/65- D2- 33 ½”/32 ½ oz- 3 ordered
George Foster
8/25/69- S2- 33 ½”/32 oz – 4 ordered
Nellie Fox
8/10/49- S91- 33”/33oz- 12 ordered
6/10/55- C12-33”/33oz- 6 ordered
7/8/55 – C12 (All Star)- 33”/33oz
7/2/56- C12- 33”/33oz
7/6/56- C12 – 33”/33oz (All Star)
8/7/56- C12- 33”/33oz
8/30/56- C12- 33”/33oz (wide grain with knots)
Tony Gonzalez
6/21/57- K55-33 ½”, 33oz- 1 ordered
6/21/57- D2-33 ½”, 33oz- 1 ordered
Bob Grim
7/31/59-C189, 33”,31oz- 3 ordered
Billy Herman
3/18/47- K55- 33”, 32oz- 4 ordered
Jim “Catfish” Hunter
9/4/73- M110, 32”, 30oz- 6 ordered
George Kell
2/14/47- F4- 33-35”, 33-35oz- 6 ordered
4/8/55- R43- 33 ½”, 32oz- 6 ordered
Dave Kingman
3/7/73- S2- 33”, 34oz- 6 ordered
Mickey Lolich
3/11/65- P72L- 33 ½”, 32-34oz- 3 ordered
5/26/65- P72L- 33”, 33oz- 4 ordered
7/29/65- P72- 33”, 31 oz- 4 ordered
9/1/66 – P72L- 33”, 31 oz- 4 ordered
5/3/67- D140, 33”, 30oz, 4 ordered
Fred Lynn
1/27/76- M110- 32”, 32oz- 12 ordered
Tim McCarver
5/23/74- W248- 33”, 34 ½ oz- 12 ordered
6/20/74-C271- 33”, 34 ½ oz- 12 ordered
Minnie Minoso
6/18/52- R43- 33”, 32 1/2 oz- 6 ordered
6/2/53- M150- 33 ½”, 33oz- 12 ordered
7/10/53- M150- 33 ½”, 33oz- 2 ordered (All Star)
1/27/54- M150- 33 ½”, 33oz – 3 ordered
7/5/55- M168- 33 ½”, 32oz – 6 ordered
4/17/56- K55- 33 ½”, 32oz – 3 ordered
7/6/56- K55- 33 1/2 “, 31 oz
7/6/56- M169 33”, 31 oz
5/22/58- W171- 33 ½”, 32oz – 4 ordered
Al Oliver
4/3/79- C243, 33”
4/23/79- C243, 33”
4/24/79- C243, 33”
6/4/79- C243, 32 ½”
10/31/79- E43, 33”
3/12/80- E43, 33”
3/21/80- E43, 33”
6/5/80- E43, 33”
7/22/80- C243, 33”
1/5/80- C243, 33”
3/25/81- C243, 33”
6/1/81- C243, 33”
Phil Rizzuto
3/13/47- Mc44, 33”, 32oz- 12 ordered
Brooks Robinson
2/8/73- O16, 32”, 34 1/2oz- 6 ordered
2/8/73- M169, 32”, 34 1/2oz- 6 ordered
2/8/73- O16, 33”, 34 1/2oz- 6 ordered
2/8/73- M169, 33”, 34 ¾ oz- 6 ordered
9/10/74- B267, 33”, 33oz-6 ordered
9/10/74- B267, 33”, 33oz-6 ordered
5/4/76- Mc44C, 33”, 32oz – 6 ordered
Pete Rose
7/11/63- U1, 33”, 29oz- 1 ordered
Nolan Ryan
3/20/73- K48, 33”, 32oz- 6 ordered
Red Schoendiest
8/2/55 – M140 – 33″/30oz. – 12 ordered
2/11/58 – K55 – 33″/33oz. – 6 ordered
10/1/58 – S210 – 33″/35oz – 2 ordered
10/17/58 – S2 – 33″/36oz. – 3 ordered
12/30/58 – S210 – 33″/36oz. – 2 ordered
6/26/59 – S211 – 33″/35oz. – 3 ordered
3/3/60 – S211 – 33″/32oz. – 6 ordered
8/2/55 – M140 – 33″/30oz. – 12 ordered
3/16/61 – S2 – 33″/32oz. – 3 ordered
3/16/61 – S2 – 33″/32.5oz. – 3 ordered
5/23/61 – S2 – 33″/32oz. – 6 ordered
Andy Seminck
4/15/55- S2, 33 ½”, 33oz- 2 ordered
Roy Sievers
5/23/63- M146L, 33”, 320z- 6 ordered
Rusty Staub
6/6/69-S256, 33”, 32oz- 6 ordered
6/6/69-S256, 33”, 34oz- 6 ordered
Don Sutton
4/20/71- D143, 33”, 33oz-3 ordered
4/30/71- G105, 33”, 33oz-4 ordered
5/24/71- G105, 33”, 33oz-6 ordered
1/30/72- G105, 33”, 32oz-6 ordered
Zoilo Versalles
2/2/60- K55, 33”, 31oz- 12 ordered
2/26/60- K55, 33”, 31oz- 6 ordered
2/8/61- K55, 33”, 32oz- 12 ordered
3/23/61- K55, 33 ½”, 32oz- 6 ordered
?/1/62-S2, 33” 33 ½”, 32oz- 12 ordered
?/14/62-S2, 33” 33 ½”, 32oz- 12 ordered
?/28/62-O1, 33 ½, 31 ½”oz- 6 ordered
Maury Wills
3/2/65- K55, 32”, 30oz- Unknown
3/2/65- K55, 33”, 30oz- Unknown
Richie Zisk
4/19/72- U1, 33”, 32oz,- 3 ordered
4/19/72- C205L, 33”, 32oz,- 3 ordered
As always, collect what you enjoy and enjoy what you collect…Maybe now its time “Get Shorty.”
MEARS Auth, LLC
For questions or comments on this article, please feel free to drop me a line at DaveGrob1@aol.com