Pics of the Pujols bat

[Soonerfan65]

Here are pics of the bat in question; I apologize if this doesn't work out all that great as i'm not used to posting pics.

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[Soonerfan65]

Sorry for the large pics but here are some more

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[Soonerfan65]

Sorry for the blurry pics not sure what I did wrong; i'm not good at posting pics as you can tell

[spartanservitto]

Two things, the mid section tar and red bat rack streaks. Here is a 2002 legit
Pujols I own, light tar mid and also red bat rack marks on the bat indicating the clubhouse rack's red paint.

[rj_lucas]

As Tony said, two characteristics to look for in an early Pujols bat are light tar in the center section of the barrel, extending into the logo (grip area should be totally clean), and markings from the red bat racks at Busch II. Photos of a 2001 bat below.

Pujols is a label up hitter, so contact marks should be confined to the left side of the barrel (i.e. left of the logo as you're facing it with the bat pointed at the ceiling). The majority of contact marks in a Pujols game bat will be concentrated in the sweet spot area. His bats typically exhibit light use. Bats with heavier use and/or a wider spread of contact marks are generally BP bats.

Contact marks on the right side of the barrel are a dead giveaway that the bat was either used by another player, or another player in addition to Pujols.

Two things that jump out at me from your photos are the number '32' written below the number '5' in the first photo and what appear to be contact marks on the right side of the barrel in the third photo.

The Cardinals had two players with the number 32 on their roster in 2003. When reliever Dustin Hermanson went to the Giants, backup catcher Chris Widger switched to number 32.

Given the documented donation of these bats to Cards catcher Mike Matheny, it makes me wonder if Matheny didn't, in turn, give some bats to fellow catcher Widger. That's complete speculation on my part however.

We'll never know for sure, but knowing how obsessive Albert is about his bats, it seems unlikely he would have used a bat already used by another player (i.e. the 5 is written on top of the 32). It's surprising that the presence of the 32 is not noted on the PSA letter.

[spartanservitto]

Man I love that '01 bat!!! Perfect.

[onlyalbert]

One thing I might add is that you rarely see the tail of the 5 on the knob curve all the way back up like that. Usually it extends way out to the left with, at most, a slight curve back up.

[rj_lucas]

One thing I might add is that you rarely see the tail of the 5 on the knob curve all the way back up like that. Usually it extends way out to the left with, at most, a slight curve back up.

Agreed, this is a very consistent trait in the early bats, which Albert numbered in his own hand. The photos below illustrate what Jason is describing. The first photo is from the 2001, the montage is from Jeff Scott's website.

[Soonerfan65]

One thing I might add is that you rarely see the tail of the 5 on the knob curve all the way back up like that. Usually it extends way out to the left with, at most, a slight curve back up.


Yeah I see what you are saying and it's the same style of 5 on both the knob and the barrel end.

[PAC]

Yeah I see what you are saying and it's the same style of 5 on both the knob and the barrel end.

LOL no it's not.

Your bat is fake. F-A-K-E fake. Stop trying to act like it's not.

Get a refund and then burn the bat. Because if you try to sell it, I guarantee you every member of this forum will be on you like flies on poop.

[Soonerfan65]

LOL no it's not.

Your bat is fake. F-A-K-E fake. Stop trying to act like it's not.

Get a refund and then burn the bat. Because if you try to sell it, I guarantee you every member of this forum will be on you like flies on poop.

Hey i'm talking about the bat I have in my possession, not comparing it to the bats on Birdbats page; the 5's on both the knob and the barrel end are the same and are not like the ones that Jeff shows as examples. I am not trying to act like anything just trying to figure out why the hell Taube(who is supposed to be one of the leading authenticators in the hobby) would write a letter on this bat; wouldn't you think he should know all this stuff about the Pujols X-bats?

[Soonerfan65]

And just for the record I do not plan on trying to sell this bat cause I would not in good conscience be able to do that; more than likely I will send it back to the seller because he has offered me a refund for what he paid for the bat.

[rj_lucas]

Hey i'm talking about the bat I have in my possession, not comparing it to the bats on Birdbats page; the 5's on both the knob and the barrel end are the same and are not like the ones that Jeff shows as examples. I am not trying to act like anything just trying to figure out why the hell Taube(who is supposed to be one of the leading authenticators in the hobby) would write a letter on this bat; wouldn't you think he should know all this stuff about the Pujols X-bats?

I believe you. If I were in your position I'd be trying to gather as much information as I could too.

Kudos to the seller for doing the right thing and offering the refund. I think you would be wise to take him up on the offer.

If you decide to follow up with PSA, I would be curious to know why the 32 on the knob was not noted on the letter. Aside from the other points we've already covered, that would seem to be a glaring omission.

Best of luck with it and please let us know how it turns out.

[yankees506]

I dont think the 32 is a uniform number if i remember correctly xbats would put the weight on thr bat meaning its a 32oz bat not a uni number.

[Soonerfan65]

Just a follow up that I sent the auction pics to Jeff Scott last night and he basically picked them apart as far as the usage characteristics; bat will be going back to the person I got it from by the end of the week. Thanks all for your opinions. John

[spartanservitto]

I actually think it looks like a David Wright #5 in his handwriting.

[rj_lucas]

I dont think the 32 is a uniform number if i remember correctly xbats would put the weight on thr bat meaning its a 32oz bat not a uni number.

The weight of the bat is 33.6 ounces, so that wouldn't make sense. It's weight could have changed as the wood aged but it would have gotten lighter, not heavier.


Just a follow up that I sent the auction pics to Jeff Scott last night and he basically picked them apart as far as the usage characteristics; bat will be going back to the person I got it from by the end of the week. Thanks all for your opinions. John

Good call. The guy who you're returning the bat to should ask PSA to pay for shipping the bat back to them so they can revise their letter. We can argue all day about whether PSA should have known this info, but if they say they didn't know it how can we prove otherwise?

The point is, they know it now, and have a chance to correct their mistake. If they refuse to do so, then we have a bigger problem than just a simple mistake.

Regardless of your line of work, if there was a mistake out there with your name attached to it, wouldn't you want to see it corrected? If it were me, I would be grateful for the opportunity to do so.

[yankees506]

The weight of the bat is 33.6 ounces, so that wouldn't make sense. It's weight could have changed as the wood aged but it would have gotten lighter, not heavier.



I guess before you state something does not make sense just look up a comparison:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Robinson-Cano-Game-Used-X-Bat-Baseball-Bat-New-York-Yankees-/380737772707?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58a5bd5ca3

same 32 on the barrel end, nobody swings a 32inch bat so it has to be the weight, not uniform number as i stated.

[Soonerfan65]

Taube did say the 32 would pertain to the weight of the bat, not any player number.

[Dach0sen0ne]

Can you post a pic of the PSA letter that has Taube's conclusion? I didn't see it in either thread.

[rj_lucas]

I guess before you state something does not make sense just look up a comparison:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Robinson-Cano-Game-Used-X-Bat-Baseball-Bat-New-York-Yankees-/380737772707?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58a5bd5ca3

same 32 on the barrel end, nobody swings a 32inch bat so it has to be the weight, not uniform number as i stated.

You misinterpreted my comment. It doesn't make sense because PSA lists the weight of the bat in their database as 33.6 (PSA cert 1B05063). Just seems odd that there's such a big discrepancy. Maybe just some sloppy data entry from PSA and the bat is actually 32 ounces. No idea. But I see where you're coming from with the Cano link, looks like a standard labeling process for X Bats.

The database also lists the model number (24) as the weight and the weight (33.6) as the model number, so sloppy data entry would not be hard to believe.

[Soonerfan65]

Trying to post the Taube LOA. Thanks.

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[Soonerfan65]

Sorry had to crop part of it to make it fit into the size allowed

[Soonerfan65]

Bat went back to Will at Heroes of Sports and he immediately refunded me what he paid for the bat, which was really the only good way to do it. He bought the bat in good faith from an auction back in April and it already came with the PSA LOA. I can't think Will enough for the professionalism in which he handled this. Thanks. John