Posted By:
Robert PlancichI have been doing additional research on this issue and one thing that is certain is that Cobb never and I mean never used a bat shorter than 34 inches. Dave Bushing the so-called "world's foremost expert" and Troy Kinunen, Director of Authentication for SCDA certainly should know and/or at least be aware of this fact. The bat that sold was 33 1/2 inches!
Also, it is my understanding that the individual that consigned the bat in AMI's auction purchased the bat from Dave Bushing as a Ty Cobb game-used bat. Therefore, when the bat was submitted to AMI Bushing had to "cover his tracks" so to speak and authenticate this bat as being used by Ty Cobb. Although if you contact Dave Bushing and ask him the question he will probably give you the same answer that he gave Michael O'Keeffe of the New York Daily News and that was that he (Bushing0 wasn't claiming it was a bat that Ty Cobb used; instead, he is actually saying that it's a used Ty Cobb bat and that he doesn't know who used it.
This brings us to the price that the bat sold for. My information says that this type of bat has a market value of about $2,000.00 being sold as a decal bat without the game-use by Cobb. The bat went for something like $37,000.00 with it being authenticated as a game-used bat used by Cobb. So that pretty little LOA added $35,000.00 to the price of this bat because if Dave Bushing says "it's real" then "it's real."