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Kirk Gibson Jr Bat

Kirk Gibson Jr. Slugger 2000 adjustable bat

" "Nobody calls me chicken!" / He [Marty] rushed Griff. / The bigger kid grabbed something from his belt with his right hand and put it behind his back. Whatever it was, it didn't look very big. Still, Marty told himself to be careful. / Griff swung his right hand forward — only now it held a baseball bat! Marty had no time to wonder where the bat had come from. He barely had time to duck. Marty's foot snaked out, catching the bigger guy around the ankle. Griff's foot went out from under him. That, and the still-swinging bat, were his undoing. / Griff yelled and plummeted to the floor. "
—From Back to the Future Part II by Craig Shaw Gardner (quote, pages 41 and 42)
"Batter up!"
—Griff Tannen to Marty

The Kirk Gibson Jr. Slugger 2000 adjustable bat was a bat manufactured in the 21st century that was named for a baseball player that won a memorable World Series game for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988.

The bat could be easily hidden and carried in its compact form, and could automatically extend itself like a telescope to almost twice its original length.

History

Griff Tannen possessed one of these bats in 2015 and extended it for use during his exchange with Marty McFly, whom he believed was Marty McFly, Jr. Griff swung frantically at Marty, only to hit the video simulacrum screen in the Cafe 80's and also smash the taillight of his BMW 633CSi. He used the bat one last time to swing at Marty while over the water in Courthouse Square, but missed when Marty jumped at the last second.

Behind the scenes

Batterup

Griff lines up to swing.

In keeping with the theme of giving familiar names for people in 2015 (such as Marty McFly Jr. and Goldie Wilson III) "Kirk Gibson, Jr.", the man whom the bat was named after, is the name of a prominent ballplayer in the 21st century.

  • Kirk Gibson himself was on the minds of baseball fans during the time Back to the Future Part II was written, due to his heroic effort that helped win the 1988 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Stepping up to bat as a pinch hitter with two injured legs, he hit a home run from Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Dennis Eckersley, marking the first time a World Series game ended with a come-from-behind home run. The Dodgers would go on to win the World Series in five games.[1][2] Another improbable come-from-behind win was achieved by Jim Decker during the football game played by UCLA vs Washington, November 12, 1955.
  • There really is a Kirk Gibson, Jr. As reported in Sports Illustrated on May 29, 2000, Gibson had four children. His oldest son, Kirk, was 13 at the time of the article, giving his birth around 1987, but not quite old enough to be endorsing a bat called the Slugger 2000, unless however "2000" refers to a model number.[3][4]

Actuality

  • Adjustable bats like that used by Griff in Back to the Future Part II have yet to be invented.
  • The bat may have been modeled on the extendable police batons, camera tripods, and collapsible telescopes.

Appearances

Notes and references

  1. Feature Commentary with Producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton
  2. 1988 World Series
  3. Kirk Gibson, Indomitable Outfielder
  4. Kirk Gibson
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