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Robert PlancichIn MastroNet's November 2001 auction a Joe DiMaggio 1941/1942 game-used bat sold for $18,336.75 (auction Lot #438). Under the description titled "Comments" it states that "This is a perfect DiMaggio game bat in all respects; one which was used by 'Jolten Joe' both at the peak of his powers and, very possibly, during his legendary hitting streak in the summer of '41." Now it is quite obvious the incredible difference in price that a "real" DiMaggio "streak" bat goes for $350,000.00 versus one that "very possibly" was used by the "Yankee Clipper". Both of these bats were authenticated by Dave Bushing & Dan Knoll with the only difference being that Dave Bushing & Dan Knoll owned and authenticated the "real" streak bat. However, this is not going to be the focus of this post.
What I find rather interesting lies in the description of Lot #438. Half way through the lot description it states that "Game bats are often a source of both joy and frustration for collectors. The joy stems from the fact they can, for all intents and purposes, be authenticated with certainty by their very markings and our knowledge of the actual manufacturing process. The frustration arises from the fact that certain manufacturing labeling periods extend over a large span of time, thus leaving the collector with little knowledge as to exactly what season the bat was actually used in by the player. Fortunately, that uncertainty with regard to dating is not the case with this particular bat due to information available through the H&B order documents. An examination of those shipping records indicate that this particular DiMaggio model bat measuring 36" in length and marked 35 1/2 oz. on the end, was only ordered by DiMaggio during a two year period 1941-1942. H&B records provide the exact breakdown of his four bat orders for that time period as follows: 1) six bats on 07/1/41. 2) two bats on 9/18/41, which were ordered for the World Series. 3) twelve bats on 3/27/42. 4) two bats on 7/1/42 which were ordered for the All Star Game. While it obviously cannot be stated with certainty that DiMaggio used this bat during his historic hitting streak that possibility (a 27% chance, as the order record attests) certainly exists. There is also an 18% chance this bat was used by DiMaggio in either the 1941 World Series or the 1942 All Star Game. In the field of bat collecting the ability to narrow the time frame down to a specific year or two, such as in this case, is usually far more than one can reasonably hope for."
It should be noted that in the case of the $350,000.00 DiMaggio "streak" bat that Dave Bushing & Dan Knoll owned and authenticated they were able to narrow the time frame down to the exact week that their bat could only have been used (07/11/41 -07/17/41) and thus be authentic and game-used. It's really amazing what one can do when one is properly motivated.
However, what I have a problem with (besides this DiMaggio "streak" bat) are the records and the percentages that are provided as fact and based upon the H&B Professional Bat Order Records (PBOR's). I have done some of my own research and come up with totally and significantly different percentages than the esteemed Dave Bushing & Dan Knoll did.
I was wondering if any of the Board members would be willing to contact Dave Bushing and verify the above information with him. I tried and he continues to ignore my emails. Dave Bushing's email address is DBushing1@aol.com. Also, I was wondering if anyone happens to know how I can contact Dan Knoll. I have asked Dave Bushing and Troy Kinunen for Knoll's email address numerous times and they simply refuse to give it to me.