Still One Of My Favorite Moments Growing Up 

Billy Ripken Obscenity Bat: He Finally Talks 20 Years Later - Sports Biz with Darren Rovell - CNBC.com: ""

"Now I had to write something on the bat. At Memorial Stadium, the bat room was not too close to the clubhouse, so I wanted to write something that I could find immediately if I looked up and it was 4:44 and I had to get out there on the field a minute later and not be late. There were five big grocery carts full of bats in there and if I wrote my number 3, it could be too confusing. So I wrote 'F--k' Face on it."

So great. When my friends and I first found this card, we thought it was quite possibly the greatest thing ever. I think it was one of our most sought after baseball cards (along with the Ken Griffey Jr Upper Deck rookie card and the "Bo's Back" Bo Jackson card).

Of course, as with anything fun, Billy Ripken tries to ruin it:

"I can't believe the people at Fleer couldn't catch that. I mean, they certainly have to have enough proofreaders to see it. I think not only did they see it, they enhanced it. That writing on that bat is way too clear. I don't write that neat. I think they knew that once they saw it, they could use the card to create an awful lot of stir."

Whatever. Take credit for one of the defining moments of the late 80s.

Here it is, in all its glory ...

(Via Baseball Musings.)