helping the Americans

Carl Everett autographed bat worth up to

Dear Babe: We saw this autographed bat (image attached) at an antique shop. The owner of the shop did not know who signed the bat. It looks like the player was the No. 2. Does this signature look familiar to you?

Da Babe had no clue on the signature, but he did know who to ask. The guys at PSA didn't take much time in identifying the signature. They say the bat was signed by Carl Everett. He wore No. 2 for the Red Authentic Tom Jackson Jersey Sox in 2001 and 2002.

Everett played 14 years in the Majors. He ended up with a respectable .271 average with 202 homers and 792 RBI in 1405 games. A switch hitter, he helped the White Sox win a World Championship in 2005.

Everett will always be known to BoSox fans as the hitter who slapped an 0 2 pitch into left field to spoil Mike Mussina's perfect game with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning on Sept. 2, 2001.

There was a signed Everett bat being offered on eBay for a Buy It Now price of just $14 plus $12 S That bat was a Louisville Slugger and not in the best shape.

The fact that this bat is a black Big Stick with a nice silver signature makes it more valuable than the one offered on eBay.

Dear Babe: I have a Tom Jackson Broncos Jersey 5x7 Lincoln Mercury card, showing Jesse Owens in a suit. It is signed: "All my best wishes, Gary Zimmerman Jersey Jesse Owens." It appears to be in mint or near mint condition.

Of course, Jesse Owens is the legendary track star who put on one of the greatest shows ever at the 1936 Berlin Olympics much to the dismay of Adolph Hitler.

Hitler, a racist if there ever was one, was looking forward to dominating performances by Aryan athletes.

Owens single handedly spoiled the Nazi leader's plans.

It was a time when sprinters ran without starting blocks and in leather shoes. They were sloppy and low in rainy weather. Artificial turf tracks were decades from being invented. Owens ran over the cinder track made sloppy by rain.

Owens won four Olympic gold medals. He tied the world record of 10.3 seconds in the 100 meter Karl Mecklenburg Jersey dash; set Olympic marks of 20.7 seconds in the 200 meter dash and 26 feet, 514 inches in the long jump. To cap off his fantastic performance, he ran the opening leg in the finals of the 400 meter relay, helping the Americans set a world record of 39.8 seconds.

Readers may recall our discussion of Topps baseball card numbers. For the 2013 Series Gary Zimmerman Broncos Jersey 1 set, star players were no longer on the round numbers. Topps had no comment on the change after decades Karl Mecklenburg Broncos Jersey of putting stars on the big numbers. Da Babe wondered if it had been a mistake. Apparently that's the case. In Series 2, David Wright is No. 400, Stephen Strasburg is 500, and Mariano Rivera is 600.