Babe Ruth Bat on Ebay...

[mcgwirecom]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1920-BABE-RU...item27c983c107


Does this sound suspicious to anyone? Has MEARS sticker but the MEARS worksheet has 25% of it missing...

[ullmandds]

There is no way this is a Ruth...game used bat...not for that kind of money(BIN $4500 or so)! The type/style of bat is not right either. Def stay away from this one!

[Leon]

Originally Posted by mcgwirecom

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1920-BABE-RU...item27c983c107


Does this sound suspicious to anyone? Has MEARS sticker but the MEARS worksheet has 25% of it missing...

It does sound suspicious, and I don't know MEARS certs too well, but the listing says it has a serial number so if that matches the MEARS database then it should be ok, I would think. That being said, everything else about the auction doesn't look so great to me. I would have to do some serious verifying before I plunked down my money.

[SetBuilder]

I don't collect bats and balls and other pieces of memorabilia, so please excuse my ignorance on this subject.

When buying a ::insert player name here::game used bat, how on Earth can you trust that it was used by that player? Could it have been merely touched by that player, then passed off as game used? Could it just be a similar model bat used by that player and passed off as his?

These are all questions I wonder about when I look at listings like these. I would never buy a "game used" anything unless I get a forensic image analysis that pinpoints the item to an actual game.

[MGHPro]

The bat is not a gamer. It might of graded a 2, but only because Indiana bats were hand turned. I just had a hornsby on ebay and it didn't get a $200 opening bid. I have another Hornsby and a Ruth which are also hand turned, but none of which are gamers. Something else to remember, a pro model bat doesn't mean the players name who appears on the barrel ever got near it, could just be pro stock or in this case a just a hand turned bat.

[earlywynnfan]

Is anyone a member of MEARS? I let my membership slide. It'd be nice to read exactly what they said about this bat.

Ken

[Mark]

Originally Posted by earlywynnfan

Is anyone a member of MEARS? I let my membership slide. It'd be nice to read exactly what they said about this bat.

Ken

First of all, contrary to the seller, Mears has authenticated some bats as store model bats. So, just because they put a sticker on a bat or produce a worksheet doesn't mean it's a pro model bat. But it looks like they do consider this a pro model bat. Its measurements match factory records, and it's made from pro grade ash. But it's still from the Indiana Bat Company, and as far as I know, that company did not place many of its products in the hands of major league ballplayers. That, I would surmise, is the big reason for the rather low grade. If this were from Kren, it would be a great bargain.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by SetBuilder

I don't collect bats and balls and other pieces of memorabilia, so please excuse my ignorance on this subject.

When buying a ::insert player name here::game used bat, how on Earth can you trust that it was used by that player? Could it have been merely touched by that player, then passed off as game used? Could it just be a similar model bat used by that player and passed off as his?

These are all questions I wonder about when I look at listings like these. I would never buy a "game used" anything unless I get a forensic image analysis that pinpoints the item to an actual game.

The most common way that they link a bat to a player is to match weight, length (sometimes), handle style (sometimes), model number or type, et alia to the player's known factory orders. Hillerich and Bradsby have shared much of their factory records from the early 20's onward with a few experts, and there is a handy book listing the orders placed by hall of famers in the 20th century. The thinking is that if a player took the time to order a bat, he must have planned to use it. If there are any signs of use, ball marks, spike marks, etc., then the bat is usually said to be "game used." But it's better to say that one of these bats is "so and so's pro model bat." It's still pretty cool to see one, if you ask me.

An even better way of tracing a bat to a pre-war player is side writing, the grease pencil notation on some H&B bats which indicates that the bat was sent by the player to the H&B factory so that it could be used as a model for the player's future bats. The thinking is that the player selected the bat himself to be the model for more of his bats and that the bat must therefore have been used in game situations.

[drc]

At least in the old days, MEARS would put a serial numbed sticker on everything the examined. So a rejected bat or jersey could have a sticker.

[RUSH2112]

If you don't have the money to buy the Ruth bat you could bid on his other item, a piece of hardwood flooring stepped on by Micheal Jordan.

[BigJJ]

I'm cracking up, that 'flooring' listing is really funny. ridiculous listings

[deebro041]

Originally Posted by RUSH2112

If you don't have the money to buy the Ruth bat you could bid on his other item, a piece of hardwood flooring stepped on by Micheal Jordan.

If MJ would have spit on it and that was in the COA then maybe i'd be interested. I think i will hold out for a piece of ice that Wayne Gretzky skated on.