"A fan approached me with my own bat and asked me to sign it" - Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher alleges New York Yankees prospect stole and sold his bat for baseball cards
Earlier this week, the New York Yankees cut prospect and minor leaguer Jake Sanford after multiple accusations that he stole and sold his teammates' equipment. You read that correctly.
After the news broke, multiple fans also came forward saying Sanford had scammed them in the past. Apparently, he was fond of putting up fake items for sale on the internet. Often, they were autographed and Sanford claimed they had been used by players in-game. Buyers would send Sanford money for the items but never receive them in the mail. The items were never really for sale. Sanford was just stealing from people, both his teammates and his fans.
Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Robert Stack alleges New York Yankees prospect Jake Sanford stole and sold his bat for baseball cards
Obviously, this kind of behavior was unprecedented. MLB reporters around the country tweeted about it, starting a chain of personal stories from fans and Sanford's former teammates.
Sources: The Yankees cut third-round pick Jake Sanford after he allegedly stole bats and gloves from teammates and tried to sell them online. He also allegedly scammed fans, selling autographed equipment and never delivering: nj.com/yankees/2022/0…
"Sources: The Yankees cut third-round pick Jake Sanford after he allegedly stole bats and gloves from teammates and tried to sell them online. He also allegedly scammed fans, selling autographed equipment and never delivering" - @ Brendan Kuty
Robert Stock, a former MLB pitcher who played in the major leagues up until last year, played with Sanford at one point in his junior career. Stock, who now plays professional baseball in Korea, has quite a twitter personality. When New York Yankees reporter Brenden Kuty tweeted a story about Jake Sanford's nefarious past, Stock replied with a story of his own.
Stock said that, after pitching a minor league game, a fan approached him with a baseball bat that he wanted Stock to sign. Stock obliged, but realized something odd about the bat: it was his, and he'd never given it away.
After a game one one time a fan approached me with my own bat and asked me to sign it. Incredulously I asked him how he got my bat. He said my teammate traded it to him for some baseball cards (of himself). Months later that teammate was released for rampant stealing. twitter.com/brendankutynj/…
"After a game one one time a fan approached me with my own bat and asked me to sign it. Incredulously I asked him how he got my bat. He said my teammate traded it to him for some baseball cards (of himself). Months later that teammate was released for rampant stealing." - @ Robert Stock
As it turns out, Sanford had stolen Stock's bat and traded it "for some baseball cards." Those must've been collector's cards, and you've got to wonder if Stanford made a fair deal with his trade partner.
Yes, I signed the bat lol.
"Yes, I signed the bat lol." - @ Robert Stock
But Stock can look back now on the experience and laugh. Replying to his own tweet, he ended the story:
"Yes, I signed the bat."