Prices for current players’ game used bats

[ooo-ribay]

Looking at Goldins current auction, as an example, I am amazed at what Judge, Trout, etc. bats are fetching. They’re good bats, with good provenance, but the prices seem crazy. Judge may or may not be a HOFer. Trout most likely is.

Still, I bought an early SF Bonds bat, years ago, for $350. Yes, steroids, but also the all-time single season and career HR leader. In the 1990s, I got a legit early 1960s Mays gamer for $2500.

Is it just me or are the current prices crazy? Another reason I think people are overpaying is because, unlike the days of Mays, game used bats are now purposely kept and “sent to market.” A lot of Willie’s bats ended up in the Candlestick Park dumpster.

[ooo-ribay]

I would also cite Rizzo and Bryant but do I understand the “Cubs curse is over” surcharge. Still, overvalued IMO.

[Dewey2007]

I was thinking the exact same thing about crazy prices when I saw the Trout bat at $31K...

[yanks12025]

Originally Posted by Dewey2007

I was thinking the exact same thing about crazy prices when I saw the Trout bat at $31K...

The Trout bat was also used for his first career MLB hit.. So if he ends up being the great player that everyone expects he'll be, this would probably be the greatest bat to own then..

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

The Trout bat was also used for his first career MLB hit.. So if he ends up being the great player that everyone expects he'll be, this would probably be the greatest bat to own then..

Very fair point.

I would put Jeter in the overpriced category as well, due to the nimbers of bats that always seem to be in the market.

I want a good Posey but am not going to pay through the nose. Buster seems like a good bet to me seeing as he has 3 WS rings, a batting title, a ROY, MVP, comeback player of the year and a WBC ring. Sadly, for this Giants fan, he may not see any more hardware.

[MGHPro]

Quality jeter bats are much more scarce than it seems. While there's a ton of jeter bats on the market , there really aren't that many with heavy/pounded use . And there's a good amount of bats being sold as used by him which aren't .

The trout bat is underpriced at 31k IMO. If it was Jeter's first hit , I'd expect it to go over 100k . I feel like trout is just as popular as jeter is/was.. if trout was a yankee his bats would demand more because of the ny market .. which leads me to Judge . His bats demand what they do because he's in NY. They'd be half price if he was on basically any other team.

[MGHPro]

Good buys on both but the vintage market has skyrocketed since the 90s. People buying quality gamers in the early 90s would make a fortune if they held on to them and sold now . I'll buy the mays if you want to make a nice profit

Originally Posted by ooo-ribay

Looking at Goldins current auction, as an example, I am amazed at what Judge, Trout, etc. bats are fetching. They’re good bats, with good provenance, but the prices seem crazy. Judge may or may not be a HOFer. Trout most likely is.

Still, I bought an early SF Bonds bat, years ago, for $350. Yes, steroids, but also the all-time single season and career HR leader. In the 1990s, I got a legit early 1960s Mays gamer for $2500.

Is it just me or are the current prices crazy? Another reason I think people are overpaying is because, unlike the days of Mays, game used bats are now purposely kept and “sent to market.” A lot of Willie’s bats ended up in the Candlestick Park dumpster.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

The Trout bat was also used for his first career MLB hit.. So if he ends up being the great player that everyone expects he'll be, this would probably be the greatest bat to own then..

Trout bat is an insane piece. Personally, i think he is already a lock for the HOF. The only way he won’t have career numbers is if something TRAGIC happens. As in, death or horrible injury. I am sure people will disagree with me on this and they would not be wrong probably. But the guy is INSANE. If he were on the Yankees, his stuff would be worth DOUBLE.
His bats are pricy.. I paid up for a hr bat of Hernandez.. but man.. it sure is a beautiful bat

As for Judge.. He is a Yankee and had a monumental rookie season(in the books) so he will always have that. But.. his bats should be nowhere near say trout.

As for comparing to old hof’ers: I agree with op on the thought process. If a trout bat is say going for 31k, an equal mays first hit should be 310k or more. The thing is.. the old guys bats are not rock solid provenance many of the times. To compare a trout 10 bat first hit to any 60s mays bat is not a good comparison. There is a leap of faith. Also, you are comparing prices you paid in the 90s. Bat prices/market has obviously gone up since I would rather have a Mays bat much more than a trout bat if all things were equal though no doubt and pay much more.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by MGHPro

Quality jeter bats are much more scarce than it seems. While there's a ton of jeter bats on the market , there really aren't that many with heavy/pounded use . And there's a good amount of bats being sold as used by him which aren't .

The trout bat is underpriced at 31k IMO. If it was Jeter's first hit , I'd expect it to go over 100k . I feel like trout is just as popular as jeter is/was.. if trout was a yankee his bats would demand more because of the ny market .. which leads me to Judge . His bats demand what they do because he's in NY. They'd be half price if he was on basically any other team.

It looks like we were thinking all the same things.. you just got two in before i hit post oh.. and OP.. i will also buy your mays bat

[Dewey2007]

I didn't even bother reading the full listing for the Trout bat. If it's a bat used for his first career hit then in that case it might be worth it in the long run as long as Trout doesn't turn into Josh Hamilton!

[Westsiders]

Originally Posted by Forever Young

Trout bat is an insane piece. Personally, i think he is already a lock for the HOF. The only way he won’t have career numbers is if something TRAGIC happens. As in, death or horrible injury. I am sure people will disagree with me on this and they would not be wrong probably. But the guy is INSANE. If he were on the Yankees, his stuff would be worth DOUBLE.
His bats are pricy.. I paid up for a hr bat of Hernandez.. but man.. it sure is a beautiful bat

As for Judge.. He is a Yankee and had a monumental rookie season(in the books) so he will always have that. But.. his bats should be nowhere near say trout.

As for comparing to old hof’ers: I agree with op on the thought process. If a trout bat is say going for 31k, an equal mays first hit should be 310k or more. The thing is.. the old guys bats are not rock solid provenance many of the times. To compare a trout 10 bat first hit to any 60s mays bat is not a good
comparison. There is a leap of faith. Also, you are comparing prices you paid in the 90s. Bat prices/market has obviously gone up since I would rather have a Mays bat much more than a trout bat if all things were equal though no doubt and pay much more.

Congrats on the Trout HR bat off of King Felix (assuming it’s the #36 HR bat)! Beautiful Bat! It’s the only modern day Bat that I regret selling. I should have kept that one, but we all know how that goes...selling one Bat to fund another.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by Westsiders

Congrats on the Trout HR bat off of King Felix (assuming it’s the #36 HR bat)! Beautiful Bat! It’s the only modern day Bat that I regret selling. I should have kept that one, but we all know how that goes...selling one Bat to fund another.

Yes sir. That is the one. Hard not to love this guy and msybe..just maybe this supporting cast will help him get to the playoffs. Postseason needs trout.

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by MGHPro

Quality jeter bats are much more scarce than it seems. While there's a ton of jeter bats on the market , there really aren't that many with heavy/pounded use .

It seems to me the reason for that is that Jeter and many others consciously send bats to the market. Isn’t Steiner a large part of that? McGwire was doing the same during his 70 HR season.

Years ago, I had a phone conversation with Vince Malta. It was actually right about the time McGwires were going for insane prices. Vince theorized that Mays probably went through 750 bats in his career. Of those, he figured half were gone forever (dumpster, etc). Of the remaining 375, he figured half of those were in collections and would never be resold. So that left maybe 180 total Mays bats to be recycled through the market. I would put my Mays in the “never to be re-sold” but who knows what my wife will do with it when I’m gone...

[MGHPro]

Yes . Steiner has their hands in many teams game used items at this time .

As for mays - I doubt 375 honestly still exist .. unless there's a stash of them sitting somewhere unknown to the hobby .

Originally Posted by ooo-ribay

It seems to me the reason for that is that Jeter and many others consciously send bats to the market. Isn’t Steiner a large part of that? McGwire was doing the same during his 70 HR season.

Years ago, I had a phone conversation with Vince Malta. It was actually right about the time McGwires were going for insane prices. Vince theorized that Mays probably went through 750 bats in his career. Of those, he figured half were gone forever (dumpster, etc). Of the remaining 375, he figured half of those were in collections and would never be resold. So that left maybe 180 total Mays bats to be recycled through the market. I would put my Mays in the “never to be re-sold” but who knows what my wife will do with it when I’m gone...

[bat_master]

Originally Posted by MGHPro

Yes . Steiner has their hands in many teams game used items at this time .

As for mays - I doubt 375 honestly still exist .. unless there's a stash of them sitting somewhere unknown to the hobby .

Agreed. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the number of Mays bats in existence was in the 100-150 range. The numbers get even smaller the further you go back.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by bat_master

Agreed. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the number of Mays bats in existence was in the 100-150 range. The numbers get even smaller the further you go back.

Interesting estimate. When writing about the Louisville Find in 1992, Michael Montbriand estimated in the SCD that there were only about 800 bats in that find of pre-war, game used bats that carried the names of HOFers and star players.

[Huck]

Originally Posted by ooo-ribay

Looking at Goldins current auction, as an example, I am amazed at what Judge, Trout, etc. bats are fetching. They’re good bats, with good provenance, but the prices seem crazy. Judge may or may not be a HOFer. Trout most likely is.

Still, I bought an early SF Bonds bat, years ago, for $350. Yes, steroids, but also the all-time single season and career HR leader. In the 1990s, I got a legit early 1960s Mays gamer for $2500.

Is it just me or are the current prices crazy? Another reason I think people are overpaying is because, unlike the days of Mays, game used bats are now purposely kept and “sent to market.” A lot of Willie’s bats ended up in the Candlestick Park dumpster.

In my opinion prices are insane for some of the current players. Yadier Molina game used bat with an asking price of $800-$1000?? When did he die an enter the hall of fame? In this day an age, everything a player touches is considered memorabilia. For the current player, supply is not limited. The card companies need game used material for cards. Game used is hot.

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by bat_master

Agreed. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the number of Mays bats in existence was in the 100-150 range. The numbers get even smaller the further you go back.

Well. Vince Malta's estimate was 375 Mays bats in existence but only half of those "available."

[packs]

Modern game used prices are insane to me too but sometimes it's the only way to get something "unique" for a modern player. As discussed, there is an abundance of material out there for any one player, but when you factor in game used, sometimes you can find yourself a totally unique item for an oversaturated market and player.

For example, here's my Mike Trout career hit #410. There is only ever going to be one of these, which makes it a cool Trout item and is much more interesting to me than a bat he used for batting practice that is technically "game used":

[parker1b2]

I think some of the bats are also purchased by non-collectors in a sense that they just want to show off a "trophy" for the lack of a better term. For example, my accountant is not a collector but does have Jeter bat he got from Steiner in his office.

[mr2686]

As someone that has a future interest in purchasing 5 or 6 game used bats for a bat rack in the memorabilia room, I find the prices on these things (considering the provenance, or lack there of,) a bit silly. Does anyone have a suggestion for a good book/reference material etc. for game used bats? I may end up looking at some secondary players...ones that are easily known but won't make the HOF and were good solid players.

[packs]

Mears and PSA authenticate game used material.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by mr2686

As someone that has a future interest in purchasing 5 or 6 game used bats for a bat rack in the memorabilia room, I find the prices on these things (considering the provenance, or lack there of,) a bit silly. Does anyone have a suggestion for a good book/reference material etc. for game used bats? I may end up looking at some secondary players...ones that are easily known but won't make the HOF and were good solid players.

Vince Malta's A Complete Reference Guide Louisville Slugger Professional Player Bats 2006 is the standard text, but it is out of print and hard to come by.

[MGHPro]

There's plenty of affordable hall of fame player bats . Once you get pass the top 20-30% most popular or extremely desirable players, many become much more affordable .. don't be intimidated by what milestone bats sell for.

Originally Posted by mr2686

As someone that has a future interest in purchasing 5 or 6 game used bats for a bat rack in the memorabilia room, I find the prices on these things (considering the provenance, or lack there of,) a bit silly. Does anyone have a suggestion for a good book/reference material etc. for game used bats? I may end up looking at some secondary players...ones that are easily known but won't make the HOF and were good solid players.

[mr2686]

Thanks guys!

[ooo-ribay]

As a Giants collector, current prices for this sorry team might be:

Posey $2000+
Belt $400
Crawford $400
Panik $500
Pence $500
Bum $2000

Only Posey and Bum have any upside, IMO.