Whacked out value?.....or not...

[suicide_squeeze]

This is a little auction phenomenon that can happen when two collectors have their hearts set on an item they simply can't live without....also known as "a consigners dream".

Here is a beautiful bat, an Eddie Murray 1977 rookie bat, complete with original tape job, number on the knob in Eddie's hand, matches factory records, and comes with an Orioles assistant clubhouse manager's letter for provenance....on Orioles letterhead stationary no less.

A nice bat, huh?

But what would you value it at?

$5,000.00? Pricey, huh?

How about $7,000.00 No way, right? Well, maybe with a couple of big shots who just want it.


How about $10,000. Now, we're crossing foolish, right?

This bat just sold in Heritage Auctions for..... $13,000.00

When you add in the buyers premium....... $15,535.00 :eek:

That's a chunk of change for a bat from a recent star player.

[joelsabi]

maybe its the same dude who bought his 500th HR baseball for half a million.

how do you see the bidding history on this auction house?

[suicide_squeeze]

maybe its the same dude who bought his 500th HR baseball for half a million.

how do you see the bidding history on this auction house?

You don't. It was a live floor auction.

I was on the phone. This is one of the bats I wanted to bid on, so I reserved a phone line to bid on it. But out of the shoot, it was $7,000, so I just sat on the phone in amazement as it climbed higher....when it hit $11,000, I was laughing in amazement with the guy on the phone. I was shocked it went for what it did.

All I know is I'm going to the Tri-Star show this weekend in San Francisco, and I'm bringing pictures of the bat. Eddie Murray will be signing there. He played AAA in Rochester, New York, with my cousin, so I have a good excuse to get up front and chat with him. I'm going to tell him about his rookie bat, and ask if he was aware of what it went for.

Then I'm going to ask him the $64,000 question.

"Is it really one of your rookie bats with your tape job on it?"

[suicide_squeeze]

On the other side of the coin....how about this "value"?...

Sold for $90,000.......$107,550.00 with juice.....

Consigned directly by the son of umpire Doug Harvey, Sandy Koufax's 1966 glove.....his last season....

[xpress34]

Consigned directly by the son of umpire Doug Harvey, Sandy Koufax's 1966 glove.....his last season....

WoW!!! :eek:

Koufax used a Rocky Colovito Personal Model?

and Consigned by the son of 'God' no less... :p

[FastLane80]

What's going on with Eddie Murray? When did he all of a sudden become popular again? Here's another one http://www.greyflannelauctions.com/LotDetail3.aspx?lotid=21071

[sforaker]

I too was shocked and amazed at the Murray bat in Heritage going for over $15K. Is there any way that the buyer recoups his investment when he eventually sells? I will be interested to hear suicide squeeze's summary of his interactions with Murray at the upcoming TriStar show re: this bat.

As suicide squeeze pointed out, the Foxx bat also went for a very healthy price in Heritage (over $35K). These two sales raise the larger question of whether the bat market is healthier than the economy. Further, can the bat market defy the economy? Thoughts?

[suicide_squeeze]

I too was shocked and amazed at the Murray bat in Heritage going for over $15K. Is there any way that the buyer recoups his investment when he eventually sells? I will be interested to hear suicide squeeze's summary of his interactions with Murray at the upcoming TriStar show re: this bat.

As suicide squeeze pointed out, the Foxx bat also went for a very healthy price in Heritage (over $35K). These two sales raise the larger question of whether the bat market is healthier than the economy. Further, can the bat market defy the economy? Thoughts?

I can only answer that by saying if I wasn't so strapped right now, I'd have run that Foxx bat up a lot higher.....some pieces are just priceless, and that bat IMO was a keeper...a museum piece. Well worth the $35,000.00

The Murray bat........wow. I just don't know about that one.

I think the guy who won that, if he turns around to sell it, takes a heavy hit. But you just NEVER know? And if Murray says it's definately his from his rookie year (I'm sure he'll be able to tell by the tape job and the style LS and color), then it's probably worth every penny.

Remember, he is one of only three (well, four, if you count Palmeiro.....:mad: ) players to have 3K hits, and 500 homers.....so he matters in a big way. An uncracked rookie bat from a guy like that......a guy who played the game right.....maybe he is finally starting to see value come to his items by collectors who appreciate his career, where he never realized it before because of all the "easy-money stats" from the steroid era.

Just a thought....

[sforaker]

I don't know, suicide, I think that Murray could give a written blood oath that the bat was his rookie bat and the bat would still have difficulty reselling for $15K+.

Also, while I agree that the Foxx was nice, I'm not sure it is a $35K museum piece (particualrly in this economy). It was not sidewritten or vault marked. Thus, you also have to place a lot of faith on Jimmy Spence's opinion that the shipping label was in Foxx's hand. Also, there is a question as to why it would have been returned to the factory when Foxx never again ordered a bat of that length.

Regardless of how you view the strength of these two bats, you still have the larger question of whether these two sales are indicators of a strong bat market in a weak economy.

[suicide_squeeze]

I don't know, suicide, I think that Murray could give a written blood oath that the bat was his rookie bat and the bat would still have difficulty reselling for $15K+.

Also, while I agree that the Foxx was nice, I'm not sure it is a $35K museum piece (particualrly in this economy). It was not sidewritten or vault marked. Thus, you also have to place a lot of faith on Jimmy Spence's opinion that the shipping label was in Foxx's hand. Also, there is a question as to why it would have been returned to the factory when Foxx never again ordered a bat of that length.

Regardless of how you view the strength of these two bats, you still have the larger question of whether these two sales are indicators of a strong bat market in a weak economy.

I tend to agree with you on both accounts. I have a real hard time believing the Eddie Murray bat could duplicate that feat. And the Foxx bat, a beauty to behold....I mean what logical conclusion could one come to for having the bat shipped back to the factory, if not for duplication?

My assumption is that the label was a reliable replacement to the sidewriting, maybe at a time in history when the grease notations were just starting to be replaced with other forms of displaying the players preferences?

Probably a topic for another thread...and a question for BMH? But yes, there is one hell of a healthy bat market fot the upper eschelon pieces. it appears.

[ndevlin]

I tend to agree with you on both accounts. I have a real hard time believing the Eddie Murray bat could duplicate that feat. And the Foxx bat, a beauty to behold....I mean what logical conclusion could one come to for having the bat shipped back to the factory, if not for duplication?

My assumption is that the label was a reliable replacement to the sidewriting, maybe at a time in history when the grease notations were just starting to be replaced with other forms of displaying the players preferences?

Probably a topic for another thread...and a question for BMH? But yes, there is one hell of a healthy bat market fot the upper eschelon pieces. it appears.


Wait a second.....what?


How could the shipping label replace the sidewriting? Thats all it is, the shipping label.

[suicide_squeeze]

Wait a second.....what?


How could the shipping label replace the sidewriting? Thats all it is, the shipping label.

Nate,

Typical sidewriting just has the players name and date on it...with maybe some other notation depicting who knows what....they differed.

By 1939, and I am speculating, maybe the sidewriting was winding down, and there had been discussions between the player and Mr. Morrow at the factory....so he was expecting the bat and knew what to do once it was received. Who knows...?

I just can't figure out in my mind why any player would ship a bat back to the factory if it wasn't for reproduction. Of course it's possible it was in fact for another reason.....I just can't come up with a resonable guess.

Further more, sidewriting was a practice that really was the norm during the early years, the 00's, 10's, 20's, and 30's. But by 1939.....was it still the norm? I do not know the answer to that question.

BMH....if you are reading this, do you have any insight regarding that Foxx bat sold in Heritage?....OR to the sidewriting practices (as to when they stopped being the normal way of marking a bat ear-marked for duplication?). Maybe this would be a good topic to ask Brian on a new thread?

I would love to know the answer, so I'll just throw it out here first...

Anyone?

[suicide_squeeze]

I had a bit of spare time, so I googled "side writing on bats".

The side writing was typically used prior to model numbers bats which started to appear in the mid 40's. So prior to that period, the bats are referred to as being from the "pre-model era".

That is how the factory kept records of who wanted what on bats that were from that "pre model" era.

I guess it could be possible that Jimmie Foxx had a special bat he prefered, and even though it hadn't been given a model number, the factory could have known it by who used it in his particular case.

Foxx bats typically were tapered all the way through to the barrel end before ending in a rounded off fashion, a trait not common for most bats (they would tend to max out in diameter somewhere on the barrel and keep the same size for a few inches until the end....the Foxx bat tends to increase in diameter all the way to the end). I have found over my years of collecting I am able to identify a few bats from it's sillouette alone, even from accross the room: A Hornsby, a DiMaggio, a Foxx, a Clemente, a Frank Robinson....to name a few.

Anyway.....like I said, it's all speculation. I will suffice it to say whoever bid on and won this bat was probably under the assumption this particular Foxx bat was sent back for reproduction, based on the "Mr. Henry Morrow" on the label. That's what I assumed.....maybe it's off base, what do you think Nate?