Rocky Colavito bat.....get signed or not?

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by Kzoo

Billy.....I understand where you're coming from with investing that amount for his signature and a future turnaround in value.

I thought about it for a few days, then decided to send it out.

I'm a big Tiger fan with fond memories of the old stadium in the 80's, my Mother always mentioned 'Rocky Colavito' first when going to games in Detroit in the early 60's, and I didn't want to regret missing this chance someday down the road after his passing.

Thanks again for your thoughts and I was a bit torn, but I feel good about my decision. I'll post results hopefully within a week when it returns!

Good decision. When I'm bidding on things at auction, I try to fast forward a couple years and ask myself, will I regret not winning this, or will I regret putting hobby money here instead of keeping my powder dry for the next item I'll chase. Usually, I decide to try to win, because I seldom have buyers' remorse, but often have regrets when I miss out.

In your case, there will be a time, in the not too distant future unfortunately, when it will be too late to get Rocky to sign anything. I'd spend the $170 (plus postage) to avoid kicking yourself later.

One other thought. K55 is a pro stock model for Colavito if I'm not mistaken, meaning, if the bat doesn't have his use characteristics evident, it may not have been ordered by, or used, by him. By getting it signed though, it does personalize it to Rocky, since you now have proof he, at minimum, held it in his hands when he signed it.

[Kzoo]

Originally Posted by Mark17

One other thought. K55 is a pro stock model for Colavito if I'm not mistaken, meaning, if the bat doesn't have his use characteristics evident, it may not have been ordered by, or used, by him. By getting it signed though, it does personalize it to Rocky, since you now have proof he, at minimum, held it in his hands when he signed it.

Thanks for the further thoughts guys.

Mark, I had this same feeling in my opening post. I don't know for sure if he actually used it because I don't have access to the H&B shipping records for non HOF players. I know the stamping dates it to his rookie era where he might have been trying out different models, so maybe or not?

[bat_master]

Matt, what's the length on the Colavito? I'd be shocked if he had pro stock bats out there that early in his career.

[Kzoo]

Originally Posted by bat_master

Matt, what's the length on the Colavito? I'd be shocked if he had pro stock bats out there that early in his career.

34.5", 32 oz.

[UnVme7]

One thing I would be hesitant on would be the thru the mail part. If this was an actual signing and you were ok with the risk of being a so so auto from his age, and the difficulties signing a bat, I'd say go for it. But a lot can happen when trying thru the mail. Could get lost, smudged, wrong color, wrong pen, etc etc.

Let us know how it goes if you decide to try it.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by UnVme7

One thing I would be hesitant on would be the thru the mail part. If this was an actual signing and you were ok with the risk of being a so so auto from his age, and the difficulties signing a bat, I'd say go for it. But a lot can happen when trying thru the mail. Could get lost, smudged, wrong color, wrong pen, etc etc.

Let us know how it goes if you decide to try it.

Generally speaking, I'm in agreement with these thoughts.

If there's one silver lining here, it's that the fellow who handles Colavito's mail (I want to say it's his son in-law) is very responsive and careful from all accounts I've seen. No personal experience with him, but for $175, I'm sure he'll be happy to follow all instructions/requests. Just send him a detailed email of what you want done (and obviously send your own proper packing materials and marker). It definitely wouldn't hurt to forward a mock-up of how and where it should be signed for good measure.

[Kzoo]

Originally Posted by UnVme7

Let us know how it goes if you decide to try it.

It's already been shipped out, return tracking shows it was scanned in this morning and is expected back this Thursday, so we'll see what the results are. I sent a new black sharpie, as I don't like the look of faded blue sharpie on bats long term.

[Kzoo]

Bat was delivered today before lunch. He signed it with my provided black sharpie and overall, I'm happy with the results. I knew it wouldn't be a perfect '10' signature due to his age, so I set lower expectations and was actually expecting a much shakier signature. The sharpie bled into the grain in a few spots unfortunately, but I'm still glad it's signed.