Here is one bat I own that I have always appreciated. 1923-25 Hank Gowdy H&B. Massive piece of lumber.

Love the look and especially the shape of that Gowdy bat. Do you happen to know the weight and length?

Keep em coming! I want to see how you guys display your bats.

Here's how I display them. The Adirondack Rack is from the '60s and is a perfect display vehicle for me. Most of my G/U Bats are from the late '50s - mid '70s time frame. So it's a pretty good fit!

Edit: Well dammit... this site always rotates my pics sideways. :mad: But hopefully you get the idea.

36 length, 40 ounces

Super efficient and appropriate display! Not surprised by, but really like, the #24 bats in the front. Is that a T131 next to them? is that an older bat? whose is it?

Pudge Rodriguez 1993 game used Cooper bat
 

Here is another of my favorite game used modern era bats that I have in my personal collection:
This is a great Pudge Rodriguez (HOF) 1993 game used Cooper bat that has terrific game use. Check out the cleat marks!

FYI, Pudge was Nolan Ryan's personal catcher in 1993 when he caught Nolan's final strikeout on 9/17/93 @ Anaheim and final win on 8/15/93 at CLE.

I was lucky enough to be sitting directly behind home plate and witnessed Nolan's final strikeout, who for the record, was Greg Myers (C) for the Angels in '93.

Pudge signed and inscribed this bat for me & it's part of my collection of Nolan's career milestone catchers.
I have signed game bats with inscriptions for these following milestone catchers:

John Stephenson- Nolan Ryan's 1st strikeout catcher-1966
Jerry Grote- Nolan Ryan's 1st win catcher-1968
Jeff Torborg- Nolan's 1st no-hitter, 1000th K & ML record 383K catcher-1973
Art Kusnyer- Nolan Ryan's 2nd no-hitter catcher-1973
Tom Egan- Nolan Ryan's 3rd no-hitter- 1974
Ellie Rodriguez- Nolan Ryan's 4th no-hitter and 100th win catcher-1975
Terry Humphrey- Nolan Ryan's 2,000th K-1976
Alan Ashby- Nolan's 5th no-hitter catcher-1981
Luis Pujols- Nolan's 200th win catcher-1982 and 3,000th K catcher-1980
Mark Bailey- Nolan's 4,000th K catcher- 1985
Chad Kreuter- Nolan's 5,000th K catcher 1989
John Russell- Nolan's 6th no-hitter 1990
Geno Petralli- Nolan's 300th win catcher-1990
Mike Stanley- Nolan Ryan's 7th no-hitter catcher
Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez (HOF)- Nolan's last win & last strikeout catcher

Great thread!

Just acquired this...2019 Trout (MVP), photo matched, PSA/DNA GU10.

Killer Trout. Love the lizard skin wrap.

On Father's Day 1995 at Tiger Stadium, Cal Ripken Jr. swung/missed at a pitch and uncharacteristically lost the grip of this bat as it "helicoptered" into the stands. Fortunately, no one was injured and the fan who retrieved it offered to pass it back down to the field to Cal, however Jr. motioned back to him that he could keep it.

Time rolled on and the fan who retrieved that errant bat sadly passes away and his son (who sat next to his dad that Father's Day) reached out to me to see if I had interest in the bat & a deal was quickly struck.

When I had Cal sign it, I asked him to add the '1995 Game Used' inscription but most collectors know that Cal won't do that unless he is 110% certain it's true. When I told Cal about the provenance, he fortunately recalled the incident & gladly added the inscription...

Adding also that 1995 is somewhat important to the story because less than three months later, he passed Lou Gehrig for the most Consecutive Games Played Record.

https://i.imgur.com/1MyOfH9.jpg

Nice Ripken!

Thanks Joecoco. It's actually some type of perforated leather wrap (more images below).

Bill, awesome Ripken bat, story, and of course year (95).

Here is my one and only Yankee infielder bat. He was a short timer

Sorry for the delay...

That's a Bobby Tolan Bat, used during his tenure with the Reds. One of those guys who's batting stance we imitated when we were kids. He held the bat way up high, until the pitch was about to come in. Too bad the Reds traded him away just before the Big Red Machine fully took shape.

Mark, Mark, Mark....

I'd really like to get a similar rack to display some of my 130+ Giants gamers.

Yeah, that Rack works well, in terms of displaying a lot of bats in a relatively small space. Very efficient, as well as age-appropriate.

Keep checking the Catalog Auctions... one should turn up before you know it!

This was the bat that really got me started collecting game used equipment. I had a few bats and I was activly looking for a Bonds Gamer. I picked up a Sosa bat that was cracked. I had slways avoided cracked bats but seeing and holding it the game use just jumped out at me. The crack was just a part of what happens when a player like Sammy swings a bat a good number of times.
Then I saw this in an auction not my favorite bat manufacturer but I had not seen another Bonds bat with this level of use offerd for sale in the 2 years I had been looking. Like others have mentioned the deep stich marks are an instant reminder of who was swinging this bat. PSA gave this a 9.

batS
 

Arrived today in the mail after some delay due to a shipping problem....could not be happier...took a shot because there were no backside pics or barrel end pics available...bat was mailed from Georgia....68-70 game used Hank Aaron 302 Adirondack 63 A model....35 inches...33.9 oz...lots of use with ball marks/cleat marks and a nice faded 44 on the barrel end as well as the knob end. Will have this bat for a long time.

Former Red Sox and Tiger Dalton Jones from the most recent CollectAuction. Not sure why I remember this but his 69 and 70 Topps card are from the same photo shoot. Topps airbrushed the 70 card and put him in a Tigers road uniform. My good friend once asked me why am I full of such useless information? I am still asking myself the same thing.
Attachment 392551

Attachment 392552

Attachment 392553

To put me in a happy place for awhile, I did a little rearranging of the bat cave. I like to display my bats horizontally, saving the neck strain of vertical, and being able to walk right up and peruse them. I went with the rail and peg method of display for sheer volume and economy. I managed to get 22 bats floor to ceiling per rack. I hung 88 bats for $76 in materials

Seen here Brewers Team sets from 1977,1982,and 2011 and the Brewers All-stars from throughout the years

That’s a very cool display!

Nice!

Awesome display!!

Christmas in April!
 

After a week under quarantine in my baseball room, I finally opened my mail!!!

I am excited to finally add Donnie Baseball to my Yankee collection!

Does anyone know about Young bats? Mostly that one I picked up out of curiosity. Looks like no real (or minimal) use, but the research I could find was that they made these for pro players back in the day, but they didn't catch on with many players.

Nice pickups...I heard that Cal Ripken used Young bats (not sure how often) for batting practice. I do know that some players did use them. I believe Rickey Henderson used them at some point again not sure how often. I'm sure the other bat guys will chime in. Really like the Yankee gamers though.

Picked up this Larry Brown bat recently. He had over 800 hits in the big leagues over a 12 year career with the Indians, Orioles, A’s and ended his career with the Rangers. He was the younger brother of Dick Brown who also played in the big leagues and died at age 35 in 1970.Attachment 397689

Attachment 397690

Attachment 397691

Attachment 397692

Was Brown a coach somewhere?...Bat is interesting in that it has a center label that first came out in 1980 & Brown's last season in professional ball as a player was six years earlier.

Bill: nice catch on the label. I will send the pics to Mr. Brown and see what he says. I don’t believe he was a coach after he retired.
Thanks

Thanks Mike....let us know....These kind of things always interest me

This Brinkman came in a couple of days ago courtesy of LOTG. Always happy to add another Tiger to the collection.
Attachment 399530

Attachment 399531

a bat
 

I added this Irish Meusel H&B recently. Looks like a pro-model, probably from the last 3 or 4 years of his career. I'm curious to learn if anyone has any info on other Irish M bats. This one is 35" and 36.5 oz. (if it was in good shape, it would probably weigh 38 oz.)

that's a fine bat, and he was not just any Tiger: he was a key part of one of the most memorable teams of the last 60 years. Are you working on a set of the 68 club?

I do have a handful of 68 Tigers. Brinkman didn’t join the Tigers until 1971. He was on the 72 team that lost in the playoffs to the Oakland A’s. He came over as part of the trade in October 1970 that sent Denny McClain to the Senators.

I sent a letter to Mr. Brown with the pictures of the bat. I let you all know if I here anything.

You all have awesome collections.

I just wanted to throw this out there that I have been looking for a Billy Klaus bat for his family. There was one listed on Worthpoint from a number of years ago that sold but I never received a response from the auctioneer as to if he could put me in touch with the buyer. I know this is a shot in dark but if anyone comes across a Klaus gamer please let me know so I can alert the family.

I could swear I have seen a Klaus lately, but I can't figure out where for the life of me (definitely not in my collection). If I see it, I will let you know right away.

I think the family recently picked up a Bobby Klaus who is Billy's brother but any lead you may remember would be very much appreciated

Picked up this Luke Scott bat for my nephew who played with Luke out of American Legion Post 6 in Florida.
Attachment 401257

Attachment 401258

I'm also a big Tigers fan and have focused on the 84 WS team for gamers (missing Allen & Kuntz), but I've also loved collecting Rickey Henderson and Vladimir Guerrero bats, too. My wife assigned me my own 'sports room' at our new house, but it's not ready yet for official 'Net54' photos, so here's just a picture of my bat rack.

Not the most valuable, but probably one of the rarest bats I have is my Jim Abbott gamer from when he was a pitcher with the Brewers in 1999, the only year he was forced to hit. I would love to get it signed someday, but he hasn't made a public appearance in years. He did show up in 2018 at Angels spring training and signed multiple days, from what I read, so I sent the bat out on consignment through a collector in AZ hoping he would be back last spring training, but no luck. He only had 21 official at bats in 1999 with 2 hits and 3 RBI's. It's cracked on the handle and shows some use.

Awesome Abbott and Henderson(s)!

My Collection
 

Great bats guys. Not sure how to post pics on here but here is a link to some of my collection:
https://www.gubats.com/my-collection

I also have a website with some great bat pics on there:
www.batbreak.com


-Nick Nunnari

Great collection & site Nick!

Here is a Charley Lau game used H&B (1965-68 labeling period) bat from his time with the Orioles...Of course, Lau later gained fame as a batting instructor primarily with KC.

https://i.imgur.com/uYoajrB.jpg

Mail day!
 

Had no trouble picking this one up. It is the home accounting office's favorite player. :D

That Brewers wall display is off the charts!

Let's keep it going with some random Spalding and H&B HOFers --


Greg

A quick update on the Larry Brown.

That's some sweet lumber there Greg. Good stuff.

Greg

Great, impressive group of HOF bats. More, individual photos eagerly desired! Looking at the lettering of the names on the Spalding bats, I wonder if you have any theories or thoughts about the different "font" sizes/ styles of the lettering of the names on the Hornsby and Schalk bats---as well as any theories about the two different kinds of lettering on the names on the Carey bat. Do you think that one is later than the other? If so, which is earlier? How do you understand the two name stampings on the Carey bat? Why would Spalding place two block letter names on one bat? Does the "Red Smith" resemble the lettering on H&B bats? Could that name have been placed on the bat by H & B after Smith sent it to them for future orders?

Mark

Thanks for the kind words Ron -- I'm constantly amazed with the new bats you manage to dig up!

Mark, a few quick answers -- the Hornsby style was I believe used by Spalding for a couple of years -- I have a Roush just like it. I don't know if perhaps the Schalk branding was unique to his bats -- I say that because the only other Schalk bat I know of that has sold at a major auction, looks just like this style.

As for the Max Carey, I think it started as a Red Smith bat, not sure when the Carey was added, but it may have been by H&B. This bat is H&B sidewrittten with both Max Carey and Red Smith, and it has Carey's C130 vault mark on it. Carey's H&B ordering records reflect his use of the Red Smith. I have another Red Smith bat that I picked up years ago just in case it too might have been used by Carey.

I will have to post some bats in the coming days.

Greg

Greg
Thanks. Very interesting info on the Spalding fonts. Thanks for sharing the photos. I know that some people here have stupendous collections, and out of modesty or discretion they don't show every great piece that they own. So, it's fun and instructive when advanced collectors share some especially nice pieces.
Mark

Mail day!
 

Picked up this bad boy for a pretty good price. I have been looking for a dash-dot-dash to fill the hole in my collection.

No idea on the player; the seller thought perhaps Rabbit Garrity, a minor league guy maybe.

34 inches, and 37.2 ounces!

I think it's more likely that the bat was ordered by the Senators' Patsy Gharrity--he played on some cool teams. It's my impression that they didn't spell every name correctly.

Oh, wow. That had never occurred to me. I will have to look that guy up.
Was that a fairly common event? Now that you mention it, I have seen a number of misspelled gamers from time to time.

Thanks!

a new one
 

Just got this bat today, and it's been on my list for a long time. I have been collecting pre-war Pirates bats since the early 90's. I remember passing up the chance to get a George Grantham bat in 1994, and I immediately regretted it. Promised myself I'd get the next one I saw, and today it arrived via FedEx. This fills a big hole.

Mail day!! Part II
 

Not sure if this technically qualifies as a gamer?
But you don't see these everyday, so I had to add it to my collection.

A heavy beast, 34 1/2" and 39.09 ounces.

And, it came from my own state of Maine, so that is just the icing on the cake!

Collectible Bats?
 

Okay, after decades of collecting cards, I am really new at the whole collectible bats scene. Are all pro models collectible? or do you just buy PSA Certified Game Used Bats? This is one area that the internet is extremely vague on. PSA lists value for GU'd but how can a novice tell? And if it isn't game used, does it still have value?

Case in point: I just bought thisJackie Robinson model for $1 plus shipping on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/JACKIE-ROBI...rdt=true&rt=nc

I'm guessing it's a professional model but not game used because of the JR4 on the knob. Where can I find out more info on bats other than the $100 books on Amazon? Thanks for helping a rookie learn the ropes of the big leagues...Scott

BTW I know the Jackie Robinson bat has screws in it to hold it back together...obviously it was played with and broken in action by someone.

That is NOT a Profesional Model it is a Store Model.

All bats have value, just some are worth more than others. I am kinda new to bats and collect everything from SGA to Game Used models.

I highly recommend this book. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Complete-Re...8AAOSwj-5eOvAf

The guys on here are a HUGE help; but do yourself a big favor and get Vince Malta's Complete Guide to Louisville Sluggers.

Be very, very careful when you buy stuff. The tiniest detail can make all the difference between a legit gamer and a store model.

Do lots and lots of research. Ask lots of questions.

But have fun! To me, there is absolutely nothing like handling a bat that you know Joe DiMaggio once used, or Wade Boggs (hi Ben).
I walk into my baseball room all the time randomly, and just pick up some vintage lumber. I love it.
You never know whose bat will pop up next.

Sean

Thanks
 

Thanks Ben and Sean; I'll get a copy of the Slugger book. I pretty much figured it was a store model but for $1 + shipping it still is cool. So what are store models tied to players worth? or is that in the book?

Also, regarding more bats...there is an Estate sale this week near me (about 40 miles away) that is selling at least ten authenticated bats. Until I get there I don't know the players, the condition or any specifics, but they look well cared for in tubes. Do I print the PSA pricing pages or wing it? Also it seems like signed bats, versus gamed-used, are demanding higher than PSA pricing currently. Is that true?

Ok, I ordered the book on Ebay; thanks for sharing the link; my Amazon Prime account had that same book listed for $96, which I alluded to in my first post.

rambling on...I know; I took another look at the estate sale website and only one of the bats might be a gamer, the rest look new; but two of those are autographed respectively by Reggie Jackson with "563 HR's" included on the signature, and Willie McCovey; do I go by PSA Autgraphed bat values as a guide?

The book gives you a lot of information on how to ID Louisville Slugger bats. It also has the ordering records of some big name players. There is no pricing guide in it at all.

Pricing is a PIA to figure out because there are so many different types of bats. I still harass the guy(Hi Sean) that got me into bat collecting with questions. I mainly used completed eBay listings for a price guide. Over the last 2 years I have made my own guide for the different bat types of the one player I collect.

bat price guide
 

Bat collecting is a fantastic hobby. In some ways, there used to be more info available. SCD often ran columns on bat collecting, and the MEARS website had lots of interesting essays by Dave Bushing, Troy Kinunen, and Dave Grob on a variety of bat makers. MEARS also made all of its LOA available to subscribers, so you could do a lot of research if you wanted to hunt it down. Now, most of that is gone. On the other hand, we seem to have made a number of important discoveries about collecting pro model bats, and most of what is most useful to know is availble in the archives here. As for a list of current prices, this is a start:


http://https://www.psacard.com/smrpriceguide/game-used-bat-values/8

acquiring bats
 

ok, so since may of you here have great bat collections, do you buy them and if so where? Do you only trust your local dealer or shop on-line at dealers, reputable auction houses or snatch them up on Ebay? Finally, do you pay near the graders values, or try to nab them for pennies on the dollar. I don't want this to break my bank. Case in point: a current Ebay listing has a game used Mel Ott bat from the 1940's. There seems to be some letter of authenticity that comes with it. PSA value for that bat is listed at $37,500; the bidding on Ebay starts at $499....can you see why I'm confused and a bit overwhelmed?

Do you look for authenticated gamers or don't care about the authentication hassles? The PSA site has whetted my appetite, but they remain vague as to specific identification characteristics. Especially how do you thr to "date" a bat? Is that where the book id's them?

Thanks again from Curious in Colorado

Like card collecting, rule number 1 is:
If it looks too good to be true, that is because it is!

A general rule of thumb that I use, and this doesn't always apply: If the bat has the inches marked on the knob, I generally consider it a retail bat; unless there is compelling evidence to the contrary.

Also, do not confuse signed bats, which might have a PSA or JSA sticker on them, with game used bats, which might have a PSA or Mears sticker on them.

If you want to collect bats, I suggest get the book, and then start small, with a few "known" bats that have PSA or Mears letters with them. Louisville Sluggers are a great way to start out, because the books will help you ID the gamers pretty quick.
There are also a couple of other great books on bats that are must haves.

If you like it, after a while, you will start taking chances on a few more of the bigger fish.

One thing that I watch out for is that I can totally talk myself into believing any bat is a gamer; so I often get an objective opinion if I can before doing anything crazy.

All good advice. I will add, learn about team index bats (Bats ordered by teams that have a players name but were probably never used by that player) Many collectors and even experts, get fooled by them

If you are collecting modern, stick with MLB Authenticated stuff. Also try to photo match bats, use sites like Getty Images and look for photos of the player holding a bat and compare.

You've seen what ebay has: you might go to the MEARS Online site to look at their monthly auctions. Beyond that, there are a number of auction sites, like Hunt Auctions and Heritage Auctions, that often have very desirable bats up for bidding. I recommend that you pick a few players that interest you and google their names, along with the phrase "game used bat" or "Professional model bat." Several old auctions should appear, and that will give you a good sense of what has been sold, where, and for how much. Maybe you've already done all this, but, if not, I suggest you give it a try.

Thanks for the advice
 

Thanks for all the great advice. One trend I've seen in all collectibles is that in 2020 you cannot find the bargains the way you could 20 years ago. Back then I bought some great condition Beatles 1st pressing LPs for $10 that had values of $300+. Today buyers are smarter and bid these low priced auctions much closer to BV than they did back then. This is true of cards and I'm sure bats too, so knowing that, if people aren't paying for it then it must not be worth much today.

Thanks for all the well wishes; I've printed the PSA Autograph prices and will check out the estate sale tomorrow. Hopefully I can get some bargains. I'll post updates if i buy any.

Good luck Scott -- take some photos to share with us of what you buy and don't buy. If we notice something good, you can always go back for it.

Greg

No luck
 

ok, when I got to the sale 10 minutes after the starting time there was still a line outside of 25 people. By the time i got in all the good stuff was sold. Only autographed bat remaining was a Dante Bichette (he was big with the Colorado Rockies). even that was priced at $95. There were a few stamped bats with names on the barrel...one was a Louisville Slugger full size souvenir model with Al Kaline stamped in it. I think they wanted $45.

The only HOFer I saw with a real signature remaining was a ball signed by McCovey and they wanted $125; PSA book value is a lot less. I picked up some old LP's, in great shape, but still $5 each, but nothing else.

Here is a link to the sale's promo site: https://www.estatesales.net/CO/Arvad...427?modal=true

Just saw this photo on ebay, a great closeup of Bobby Thompson's bat.Attachment 405790

Beautifully clear. Great idea to post vintage, close up photos of bats in the hands of the players. So, how do they ligninize a bat?

"Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of vascular plants and some algae. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity and do not rot easily."

Not a major league bat but I saw this vintage photo on ebay with an interesting pattern on the bat (photo is cropped).

Attachment 405944

Mail day!
 

Picked up this very cool Kren Model 105.

I think(?) it falls into that nebulous category of the retail/pro bat, but I am not entirely sure.

Kind of dry, I might give it a coat of lemon oil later.

That's too bad, but at least it wasn't a total loss!

Just added this one to the Tiger collection.
Attachment 406096

Attachment 406097

Attachment 406098

Acquired this Red Schoendienst fungo bat recently from a former member of the Cards organization. Never had a fungo before!

Kzoo
 

Hi Matt- shoot me an email when you get a chance, I may have some Tiger bats you would be interested in, thanks Nick. nunnari19@yahoo.com

hello everyone
 

I enjoy these threads and i’ve been wanting to post sooner, I appreciate looking at everyone’s equipment. I would like to share one of my favorites in my collection. It’s a double dash dot, louisville slugger. The side writing is somewhat visible with the naked eye, and looks better with different camera filters. The date returned is 4/27/23. the visible writing is 38 oz Gehr.. Lou... i can’t make out the other letters because, the bat was “cleaned” at some point. it is 35-1/4 long and a beautiful dark brown. I hope y’all appreciate the pictures of the bat as much as I do, thanks for your time.