Jay Buhner Bat Question

[marinersbaseballfan21]

When did Jay start putting BONE on the knob of his bats? I have seen some of his early bats that had Buhner on them and some with his #, but I'm looking at one on ebay that the guy says he got from Buhner when he was in the minors. It has Bone on the knob, and some tarred tape on the handle. What do you guys think?

[tym]

I dont know when he started, but I do have a rookie bat from 1990 that he had put it on. Very few of his bats that I have seen have his number on the knob. Hope that helps.
Cheers,
Ty

[marinersbaseballfan21]

OK thanks!

[mariner_gamers]

I have several Buhner bats some going back to his days in the minors. All that display typical Buhner use have Bone on the knob. Jay's auto changed dramatically twice during his career. It started as Jay C Buhner with a standard cursive style J and B, then Jay Buhner with a swooping J and the beginning of the fish hook B and finally he moved to the common Jay Buhner with the fish hook J and B. There are some sublte nuances in between but those are the major differences I have examples of.

I have 1 LVS signed Jay C Buhner from the 83-86 label period and 2 signed Jay C Buhner from the 87-89 period all with BONE on the knob. This leads me to believe he had done it most of his pro career. When I first met Jay in late 1988 he was already signing Jay Buhner with the swooping J, fish hook B and no middle initial.

Jay definitely settled in by late 1989 or early 1990. Most of his gamers from then on are natural finish Big Sticks with tape on the knob and coats of tar. I have seen a legit Louisville from the 91-97 period but they are very rare. If you get a chance to get a Buhner bat signed in person have him sign it "Keep Swinging" or "Tight Lines and Buck Wishes" he tends to give a better signature if you ask for either of those two.

Finally to answer your original question the bat looked legit enough for me to bid on it. Down the road folks may shy away from it because it is not his model but there is no mistaking his early sig. and he will not/cannot sign that way anymore......yes, I have asked if he would and got a big smile and his current sig.

Thanks!
Davis

[joelsabi]

there was a nice buhner minor league hr bat that went for around $40 this morning. thats a good example.

[mariner_gamers]

Yup, that is the bat in question and it is going to join some family members next week!!

[joelsabi]

Yup, that is the bat in question and it is going to join some family members next week!!


yeah i cant imagine a better minor bat of his. from when he was a minor league yankee prospect. he personalized it and that the only thing i saw that might not be good for some people.


does the personalized inscription bother you?

[marinersbaseballfan21]

Thanks for the help Davis!! Also, I would love to see some pics of your mariners bats if you have some. I started collecting game used bats two years ago, and now I'm up to 20 (13 mariners). If your looking to sell or trade any of your mariners bats I'd always love a heads up.

Thanks!!

[mariner_gamers]

yeah i cant imagine a better minor bat of his. from when he was a minor league yankee prospect. he personalized it and that the only thing i saw that might not be good for some people.


does the personalized inscription bother you?

Personalizations have never bothered me on smaller ticket items. I suppose if it was a Griffey I might have an issue but for an early Buhner its fine. A little rubbing alcohol will take care of it down the road if needed.......

[joelsabi]

if i was a buhner collector that would have been the bat for me to get started. there was this one guy awhile back who sold a grip of buhner stuff and i was surprised how cheap his stuffs goes for. buhner is definitely underappreciated and underrated.

[mariner_gamers]

if i was a buhner collector that would have been the bat for me to get started. there was this one guy awhile back who sold a grip of buhner stuff and i was surprised how cheap his stuffs goes for. buhner is definitely underappreciated and underrated.

Yeah, he is one of the few low average power hitters who hit much better with men on base. He could hit .250-.260 but drive in well over 100 RBI's. In 1995 he had 123 hits and 121 RBI. Now RBI are a measure of how well those in front of you get on but you still gotta knock'em in!!

I purchased about 80% of that collection a few months ago. It was the best month my collection has ever seen!

[joelsabi]

Yeah, he is one of the few low average power hitters who hit much better with men on base. He could hit .250-.260 but drive in well over 100 RBI's. In 1995 he had 123 hits and 121 RBI. Now RBI are a measure of how well those in front of you get on but you still gotta knock'em in!!

I purchased about 80% of that collection a few months ago. It was the best month my collection has ever seen!

what do you have of arod in your collection? i saw some photos but the shelf it was on wasnt fully shown on the photo. got to expect a nice arod bat somewhere too.

[mariner_gamers]

what do you have of arod in your collection? i saw some photos but the shelf it was on wasnt fully shown on the photo. got to expect a nice arod bat somewhere too.

I have a 1999 game used bat and a 1995 game used hat. I have never been a big fan of Arod's* and when his bats went crazy I sold 5 of them and built my Mustang. I also have about 15 auto's from early in his career on various items. I just unloaded some baseballs on eBay a couple months ago.

*Disclaimer-This does not mean I do not believe he is one of the greatest of all-time I am just a bigger Griffey, Edgar, Buhner fan.

[joelsabi]

Yeah, he is one of the few low average power hitters who hit much better with men on base. He could hit .250-.260 but drive in well over 100 RBI's. In 1995 he had 123 hits and 121 RBI. Now RBI are a measure of how well those in front of you get on but you still gotta knock'em in!!

I purchased about 80% of that collection a few months ago. It was the best month my collection has ever seen!

another guy who comes to mind is gorman thomas. buhner too had a gun for an arm.

i read an article that its probably tougher to get a good baseball card collection of a player like buhner and thomas than it would be to collect someone like arod just because gorman thomas and buhner stuff just dont come up for sale so often and some dealers wont even carry their cards since they are not bonafide stars. lot of dealers dont carry semistars cards. too much of a hassle carrying around the stuff to shows.

[mariner_gamers]

another guy who comes to mind is gorman thomas. buhner too had a gun for an arm.

i read an article that its probably tougher to get a good baseball card collection of a player like buhner and thomas than it would be to collect someone like arod just because gorman thomas and buhner stuff just dont come up for sale so often and some dealers wont even carry their cards since they are not bonafide stars. lot of dealers dont carry semistars cards. too much of a hassle carrying around the stuff to shows.

I have always felt that way about bat collecting. Right now I could find 4-5 Arod's or Griffey's to add to my collection. Since they are so abundant it takes the thrill of the hunt away. Try finding a Leroy Stanton from 77-79 or an Al Chambers from the 80's. Back in the late 70's/early 80's few collected bats and the Mariners were the joke of the league. At least I can say most old Mariners bats are inexpensive. I cannot image trying a run of the Yanks, Sox etc.....