Mini bats

[Jcfowler6]

I was hoping you guys could help me out. I was recently on vacation and stopped at a junk shop. The guy there had a bunch of mini bats in an apple basket. Probably 30 or so. I only looked at them real quick and just asked him what he wanted for them. He said $15 a piece.

I did not pick any of these bats up because my first instinct was no way. I don't know anything about them. I wish I would have looked at them closer.

Here is what I know. They all seemed older than the 80's. Not sure if any are vintage. They were all wooden. Non had paint on them. The only one I specifically remember was a Joe Morgan H&B.

Anyone have any opinions on mini-bats? Any advise for in the future? What are some things to look for in a mini-bat?

Thanks guys.

[perezfan]

They come in lots of variations, colors and sizes. The Morgan Mini Bat for $15 was not a horrible buy, provided it was vintage and in nice shape. Do you recall whether the label read "Louisville Slugger" or "H & B"? If it was the latter, then it was likely vintage and somewhat tough to find.

They are still quite plentiful though, and many of these were manufactured well past the Players' careers. I know they made Babe Ruth Mini Bats from his playing days, all the way through to the present. Same for Mantle, Di Maggio, etc.

I just bought 3 Reds (Big Red Machine era) Bats for $29 a piece. They were all from the early - mid '70s, in nice shape, and came in unusual colors, so I did not mind paying that amount. If I was patient, I could have eventually paid less... but I am not :o


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120701329535&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310301988767&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310307245578&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Hope this helps!

[Jcfowler6]

Thanks for the ideas and tips.

I do know the the Morgan bat was the H&B label. That caught my attention. It did appear older. I found the basket of bats buried under a bunch of stuff in a junk shop. The bats did not have a glossy finish but did appear original to me.

I was thinking of picking them up just a man room decorations at the time but 15 bucks a peace seemed much for that. I didn't consider the collectibility of them at the time.

Also if they are original is it possible to treat them or restore them at all and keep the value?

Oh and the Joe Morgan bat in the second link was the bat I saw there. Looks like the asking price there is 29.95. The only difference would be that the one I saw was not as clean and shiny.

[autograf]

The "Louisville Slugger" emblem on the mini bats began somewhere between 1977-1979. Anything H&B would have been earlier. As for the mini's you can also tell differences between the rolled or stamped signatures and the actual 'burned' signatures that were the early 1960's and earlier.

The first mini's H&B put out were in the late 1910's to 1920's. They were 14" long and have either H&B or J.F. Hillerich on the center brand. Those typically are the best ones. They'll be $40-$100 with some going a lot higher like Gehrig and Cobb. Ruth is the most prevalent and is in the $100 for a decent copy. I had a really nice lot of 9-10 Philadelphia Athletic 14" minis at one time. I still have a few of my mini's left but not many.

The 1930's/1940's saw the brown bats with '40' in the label and gold printing on them. In nice shape, they are some of the prettiest mini bats out there. There are probably more mini bats from that age than any other in my estimation.

If you look at the Famous Slugger Yearbooks that H&B put out from 1921 till 1978, in many of them from the 1930's on, they have listed 12-18 mini bats that they were producing during that year and you could order for 25 cents up to a few dollars toward the end. At one time, I attempted to catalog all of them from the Yearbooks but didn't get too far. I think H&B produced the general ones listed there but then I think they produced mini bats for the teams to sell in gift shops and I think they also produced them for the players themselves to give out. Just my opinion.

They are a great collectible but do take up some space. Will try to post a couple pictures of some here in a minute...........

[autograf]

Some miscellaneous mini bats.............

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Bcz-rWRkngQ/ThdhTmTiMRI/AAAAAAAAJDA/KhQfPmlwDHQ/s640/P1070063.JPG

Some 14" mini bats..............

http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W9CZ6AzZ9ao/ThdhTE-Kk4I/AAAAAAAAJC4/eAhIRIANVpA/s800/P1070065.JPG

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NwNYpCm7XdQ/ThdhTWPv7SI/AAAAAAAAJC8/RNayzPrEhBc/s640/P1070064.JPG

[Mr. Zipper]

Really nice! :)

Seems like an affordable way to collect some pretty nice vintage bats.

[Jcfowler6]

Tom,

Nice collection. Thanks for sharing.

[perezfan]

Great collection, Tom. Thanks for posting...

Also.... Where did you get the Mini Bat Racks? Did you have them made up custom, or is there someone who sells these?

Thanks,
Mark