When did they start cupping bats/ Jay Buhner bat question

[marinersbaseballfan21]

I recently got this Jay Buhner game used bat and I'm trying to make sure it's authentic. It looks like Buhner used it to me, but the Rawlings logo doesn't line up with his name, and the cupped part looks wierd. It looks like the bat was chopped off on the end at an angle. Could this be one of the first cupped bats?

[mariner_gamers]

Was this just on eBay? Is the knob tapped and does it say "Bone" on the knob?

[marinersbaseballfan21]

The bat was just on ebay. No knob tape or BONE on knob but the guy I got it from said he got it from Jay at spring training '94. I'm thinking he used it and cracked it quickly before he put on tape or BONE.

[mariner_gamers]

The bat was just on ebay. No knob tape or BONE on knob but the guy I got it from said he got it from Jay at spring training '94. I'm thinking he used it and cracked it quickly before he put on tape or BONE.


I have Buhner's going back to his minor league Yankee days. They all have Bone on the knob. Players prep their bats before they use them it is an almost religious ritual especially with Jay and Jr. Of the 11 Buhner gamers I own everything from 1992 up has a taped knob and all 11 have Bone on the knob. I even have a Fungo he used and it is taped and has Bone all over it.

I inquired about this bat when it listed the first time and was not interested as soon as I was told Bone was not written on the bat and no tape job. Jay wrote Bone or had it printed on his shoes, hats, batting helmets, batting gloves, jackets, fielding gloves, jersey tags etc. It is definitely a Buhner issued bat, however, in my opinion it is not an example of typical gamer I would expect to see from Jay especially at that point of his career. Typical Buhner's from this era still fetch between $100-$150 and this closed well below that.

Just my 2 cents!! If you have any other questions or need a line on a typical nasty Buhner gamer let me know. They won't be cheap if my buddy still has them but they are outstanding examples of Buhner gamers. I purchased about 8 off him last year and could not be happier!

Take care!
Davis

[marinersbaseballfan21]

OK, thanks for the help. Send me an email about where I can find the nasty Buhner bats. marinersbaseballfan21@comcast.net

[mariner_gamers]

OK, thanks for the help. Send me an email about where I can find the nasty Buhner bats. marinersbaseballfan21@comcast.net


Let me get a hold of my buddy and see what he has. Bear with me he just bought a house and has 6 kids....yes, 6!! Sometimes he is tough to get a hold of!!

[marinersbaseballfan21]

OK thanks

[ndevlin]

I believe the first cupped bat was a 73-75 model.

[MarinersFan34]

I agree with Davis on this one, it just doesn't have the typical characteristics of a good Buhner bat. Again, I'm not saying one way or the other that Jay never used it but like Davis said, bats are usually prepped beforehand and then used so it should have at the very least "Bone" on the ends.

I remember this bat and after seeing the pictures, I didn't bid either. If it had his nickname and tape this bat easily sells for $125-175 or more. It sold so cheap because of the lack of his normal characteristics.

As for the cupped end. Looking at the photos, I would say that it has been slammed on the ground a number of times fairly hard, which weakens the wood on the cupped end and it curls inward.


Davis, please let me know as well about any Buhner items avail. Thanks!

jeremy_421@yahoo.com