Pine Tar on a bat Barrel??

[skinsfan0521]

Hi,

I'm not a baseball collector at all really, but I just got this bat in and there's a LOT of pine tar on the back side of the bat barrel. I didn't know that was allowed. I obviously knew it was allowed on the handle, but I thought there was a rule about how high it went? This was supposedly a GU bat in AA ball, so are their rules different than MLB?

I bought the bat from a dealer on eBay who claims to have gotten the bat in person and had it signed. It definitely shows really good game use (ink marks, spike marks, pine tar on the handle, cracked handle, etc), but I'm a little skeptical because of the pine tar on the barrel.

Anybody have any opinions?

Thanks a lot!!

-Brian

[skinsfan0521]

woah... sorry about the huge pics. I shrunk down the size so I could post them, but not the dimensions!

-Brian

[Capital-Sports]

Id say it probably got on there every time he stuck out.Some players carry the bat by the barrel after a strikeout so that would explain why it would end up there. Pine tar on handle = pine tar on batting gloves + strikeout walk to the dugout = pine tar on barrel.

[skinsfan0521]

Is that allowed though? I thought that there was some sort of a rule about where the pine tar can be on a bat? Is that not the case?

Thanks for the reply!

-Brian

[BMH]

Rich Thompson was in the factory last week, he was in with his team since they had a few games against the Louisville Bats. It was kind of funny since I remembered the name from here.

[skinsfan0521]

haha That's cool. I don't know him personally, but I have friends that do and they say that he's a really cool guy. He went to my H.S. (which is the only reason that I collect his stuff), but was a few years ahead of me.

BTW, completely OT, but I visited family in Louisville last year and we went on the factory tour and I've gotta say it was really cool. It's awesome to walk through the same factory floor that produced so many thousands of bats for superstars and watch them being made. Plus, I even picked up one of the bat ends and have it in my "sports room" displayed w/the mini-bat.

Anyway, glad I could help ya out w/knowing a minor leaguer. haha

-Brian

[emann]

Is that allowed though? I thought that there was some sort of a rule about where the pine tar can be on a bat? Is that not the case?

If I remember it's like 14" from the knob... Maybe this was used in BP? It looks hammered, which is sometimes where that use comes in. Nice looking bat either way...

[skinsfan0521]

If I remember it's like 14" from the knob... Maybe this was used in BP? It looks hammered, which is sometimes where that use comes in. Nice looking bat either way...
Yeah, I was thinking that it may have been a BP bat. That's why I was trying to see if it was even legal for it to have been used in an actual game?

Even if it is a BP bat, that's fine, I'm just curious. I only paid $35 for it dlvd and it's auto'd and shows tons of use (BP or not), so it'll display nicely.

Anybody else have opinions/rules?

Thanks again!!

-Brian

[marinersbaseballfan21]

I think there is a rule but it must not be inforced. Last year Yuniesky Betancourt had tar on the barrel for a couple games. Maybe he was told to stop doing it.

[cordovacollector]

Rule 1.10(b) of the Major League Baseball rule book, reads that "a bat may not be covered by such a substance more than 18 inches from the tip of the handle."

Ask George Brett if it is ever enforced. ;)

[skinsfan0521]

Rule 1.10(b) of the Major League Baseball rule book, reads that "a bat may not be covered by such a substance more than 18 inches from the tip of the handle."

Ask George Brett if it is ever enforced. ;)
hahaha True, he'll let ya know that it's only enforced when somebody complains about it though. :)

So, this could have been a game bat that he used for a long time and it got pine tar all over the back of the barrel... Could be like Capital-Sports said and he carried it that way. Or I was just thinking that it could be from him carrying it that way and maybe bunting a lot? I don't know much about his game, but I know that he's really fast and steals a lot of bases. So, maybe he bunts a lot and when he'd grab the bat he'd leave some tar behind.

Thanks everybody!

Anybody else have any comments/opinions?

-Brian

[joecoco]

I agree with you guys- Pine tar usually finds its way to the bat barrell unintentionally from the player's hands. I have this on a few of my Mientkiewicz gamers, such as the one below. Sort of filthy!

[cordovacollector]

I agree with you guys- Pine tar usually finds its way to the bat barrell unintentionally from the player's hands. I have this on a few of my Mientkiewicz gamers, such as the one below. Sort of filthy!

That is beautiful!!! Put me on the top of your list if you ever choose to sell it. Thanks!

[skinsfan0521]

I agree with you guys- Pine tar usually finds its way to the bat barrell unintentionally from the player's hands. I have this on a few of my Mientkiewicz gamers, such as the one below. Sort of filthy!
wow... that's a LOT more than my bat has on it, so I'd say that it's certainly plausible that mine was game used. haha WOW

-Brian

[joecoco]

Thanks for the nice comments. I had to wait a while to find one that I liked! Will do Helen. Happy collecting to all! - Joe