Game Used Bats: PSA vs Mears

[eastonfalcon19]

There is one thing that always has confused me when it comes to PSA DNA bat authentication. I have a bat which was authenticated by PSA DNA and it came back as an Index bat. Now in the letter it does state that the player ordered that length during that time period, 12 bats to be exact. Now I've seen his bats from that time period in auction catalogs measuring the same length as mine and they are considered Pro Model bats. Those bats have nothing as far as characteristics that mine doesn't have. I've seen this with other players too. To me that's a grey area in which affects the outcome of the bat and it's price if I were to ever sell the bat. So if a particular player orders that model, length, weight, etc how is not a Pro Model and written off as a Pro Stock? I get that there's a small chance the player used it and could never find out if he did or not but there's still a chance he did especially if other's are being authenticated as such. Hopefully this makes sense.

[yanks12025]

Originally Posted by eastonfalcon19

There is one thing that always has confused me when it comes to PSA DNA bat authentication. I have a bat which was authenticated by PSA DNA and it came back as an Index bat. Now in the letter it does state that the player ordered that length during that time period, 12 bats to be exact. Now I've seen his bats from that time period in auction catalogs measuring the same length as mine and they are considered Pro Model bats. Those bats have nothing as far as characteristics that mine doesn't have. I've seen this with other players too. To me that's a grey area in which affects the outcome of the bat and it's price if I were to ever sell the bat. So if a particular player orders that model, length, weight, etc how is not a Pro Model and written off as a Pro Stock? I get that there's a small chance the player used it and could never find out if he did or not but there's still a chance he did especially if other's are being authenticated as such. Hopefully this makes sense.

Can you post the letter?

[eastonfalcon19]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

Can you post the letter?

The letter also states about the notations on the knob which IMO was probably done by a kid after the bat's playing days. My bat has the characteristics of Pro Model bats. Cleat marks, ball marks and green bat rack marks. I'm sure there are plenty of bats that are authenticated as Pro Model that don't have all of the necessary "characteristics" but because they are in the players ordering records they are pro model. I find it hard to believe that every bat that is authenticated as pro model has provenance and characteristics of that player. Again I know there's no way of knowing if this was game used by the player but I don't think it should be considered a Index bat when there is a chance he did order/ use it.

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by eastonfalcon19

... Index bat.
... Pro Model bats.
... Pro Stock.

Adding "game used" to that list, would somebody be so kind as to educate a guy who doesn't collect bats as to the differences between the types?

And, feel free to add any that I have missed, I'm just curious.

Thanx,
Doug


PS - while I don't collect bats, I do have one. From a player with a career slash line of 1.000 / 1.000 / 2.000

[AstroJake09]

I'm curious as to how much it costs to have PSA authenticate a bat? Does it differ by player and era or is it a flat fee?

[rand1com]

It is a graduated scale based on the value of the bat. The pricing starts around $75 or so for common players from the modern era. I got a couple of Gil Hodges bats, a 1953 World Series and a 1951 All Star authenticated and graded a year or so ago and the fee was $350 each and he is not in the Hall. It can get very expensive for high value HOFers.

[rlevy]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

Adding "game used" to that list, would somebody be so kind as to educate a guy who doesn't collect bats as to the differences between the types?

And, feel free to add any that I have missed, I'm just curious.

Thanx,
Doug


PS - while I don't collect bats, I do have one. From a player with a career slash line of 1.000 / 1.000 / 2.000

Doug, very cool bat of Roy Gleason, a member of the 1963 World Champ Dodgers. I'm sure a lot of Dodger collectors would jump thru hoops for that one in order to complete their 1963 set.

Regarding the MEARS vs PSA question, PSA is certainly the one that auction houses prefer. I've consigned bats that have letters from both, and the auction house uses the PSA letter in their listing and doesn't even list the one from MEARS, even if the letter grade is higher.