HAL CHASE GAME USED BAT?

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

I don't mean to out a current auction but I thought this was fair for discussion. In Mastro's current auction is a Hal Chase "game used" bat. In the description, it is noted that the bat was created for Chase in his "post-big league days" during the period of 1921-31. Chase's major league career ended in 1919 - and not by his own choice. First, is it conceivable that H & B would create a bat for a disgraced former player to use in the occasional barnstorming game or a Mexican game that he organized? Second, how on earth could Mastro advertise this as "game-used" -- suggesting that Chase himself used it? How could they know? Has Chase ever been photographed using this bat?


http://www.mastronet.com/index.cfm?action=DisplayContent&ContentName=Lot%20Information&LotIndex=75389&LastLotListing=Lot%20Search%20Gallery&CurrentRow=1

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Posted By: barrysloate

I would call them and ask how they know he used it in a game.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

A7 is the grade on the bat....that doesn't mean that it was used by the player in question, but that the bat specifications and usage are comparable and it could have conceivably been used by the player.

I certainly wouldn't buy it because the labelling period is beyond his playing days, but Chase did play a lot of outlaw baseball before getting hurt in a car accident and there were players that did order bats from H&B beyond their MLB days.

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Posted By: Andy

While it does seem to be presented as a bat that Chase used at some point, the description doesn't actually state anywhere that he was the player that used it. It just says that the bat was made for him during the 21 - 31 labeling period.

I'm not saying the lot is presented well, just pointing out that they don't come out and say that Chase used it.

I also wonder why H&B would make a bat for a player, so shrouded in scandal during his player years, some 10 - 20 years later.

M2C


Thanks,

Andy

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

In the Mastro catalogue the bat is listed in the "Game Used" section. And the online description notes that it was made for Hal Chase. What else can one assume based on this description?

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Chase wasn't banned from playing baseball until 1921. This bat is from the labelling period 1921-31...that's not 10-20 years later. H&B are capitalists just like the rest of us good Americans. Why wouldn't they make a bat for Hal Chase?

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Posted By: Matt

Any argument that legally "game used" could mean that it was used by some kids in a sandlot game is ridiculous. If something is advertised as a game used product by a professional athlete it means they used it in their profession.

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Well, he was unoffically banned from the major leagues after the 1919 season -- banned from baseball I suppose in 1921.

Edited to add: I agree with Matt, obviously. The description notes that the bat "was issued to" Hal Chase, it is listed in the "game used" section. There is no mention that the bat could have been used by anyone in a game, not Chase.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Wasn't there an auction house that tried to use that ploy a few years back with a "game used" Ty Cobb decal bat? Anyone remember that?


"We didn't say it was used by Cobb!!!"

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I'd like to see the provenance on the bat, but if you're going to buy a gamer you need to familiarize yourself with MEARS grading system. I would never buy a bat without rock solid provenance, and in this case I'm guessing it doesn't have any or it most certainly would have included a much more flowery writeup.

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Posted By: Fred C

I think this came out the back door of H&B along with a lot of other bats. Maybe it was a spring cleaning event or something like that. I'm guessing it's real because I've seen others like it and my understanding is that the the source of the original material is/was good. I'm not an expert in game used but I think it's real. Game used? A lot of the others from the same source are cracked bats. It'd be nice to see the story on the origin of the bat and how it finally made it to Mastro.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

Mastro doesn't call it game used. The other bats in the category are called 'game used' in the title, and the Chase is not. I think it's normal to include game issued/team issued but not game used in the game used categories. Store models would probably be relegated to another category.

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Posted By: Mark L

As I understand it, H & B didn't sell to the public pro-model bats with the player's name in block letters on the barrel. Someone named Chase likely ordered the bat from H & B. If the specs match Hal's playing specs, then it was probably ordered and used by him. But if you have any doubts don't bid on it.

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Posted By: Ed Ivey

To me, "game used" is akin to "bridge for sale"

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Posted By: MVSNYC

i do agree with davidcycle here (hey man, you didn't edit your post )...

i think we just have to read the titles & descriptions very carefully...they can be misleading (possibly on purpose?)...

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Posted By: leon

still practicing......I am getting better...