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Posted By: Jerry Ficchi

Last year I purchased a DiMaggio used coach’s bat from a Slater’s Auction which came with a Bushing/Knoll letter of authenticity. The letter states the bat is 35 inches. At the last Fort Washington show, I brought the bat to Troy and Dave and paid SCDA in order to receive a better/prettier/more comprehensive letter. When I received said letter, much to my surprise, the bat had miraculously turned into a 34.5-inch "team" bat as DiMaggio had never ordered that size.

My question is, did Bushing consign this "Coach’s" bat to Slater, stating its 35-inch length in order to sell it, then, when faced with reauthenticating the same bat, reveal its true colors? Granted, it’s far from a $100k+ bat, but to me it makes a difference. This is simply another example of the shenanigans that go on in this "hobby". As a matter of fact, when reading his signed Slater’s letter of authenticity, Bushing joked that he should bring it to Jimmy Spence to authenticate his own signature.