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I've owned this bat for nearly 10 years. It is my favorite Gwynn bat as it shows tremendous use and has perfect Gwynn characterisitcs. I've never been able to photo match a single Gwynn bat I have owned and found it baffling that there were no photos of Tony swinging this bat as it was clearly used for weeks.
Ever since this Beckett magazine was released in August of 1991, I have been trying to track down the bat that Tony was holding as it is a great looking bat, probably one of my most desired Gwynn gamers. Turns out, I think I have owned the bat the entire time. Due to the taped handle, I never tried to match it to any of the bats I already owned.
The fact that Tony removed the tape would explain the noticeable contrast in tar consistency on the mid handle. Pretty amazing to find, what I believe to be, a match of the bat with and without the tape. The previous owner of the bat claimed that Tony was furious when he showed him the bat at a card show and Gwynn demanded to know how he obtained the bat.
I need to buy some high resolution copies of these images so I can blow them up but everything seems to line up. The only slight difference I have noticed is the "3" on the knob in "32 1/2" but I believe that might just be due to the angle of the photo.
I believe these photos were taken when the Pads broke camp in April of '91 as there are not many days/months when players would wear long sleeves in San Diego and this was McGriff's first year with the Padres. Tony went 9-23 in the first 5 games of the '91 season.
If you enjoy seeing some great photo matches, check out the "collector's corner" page on my website below.
Ever since this Beckett magazine was released in August of 1991, I have been trying to track down the bat that Tony was holding as it is a great looking bat, probably one of my most desired Gwynn gamers. Turns out, I think I have owned the bat the entire time. Due to the taped handle, I never tried to match it to any of the bats I already owned.
The fact that Tony removed the tape would explain the noticeable contrast in tar consistency on the mid handle. Pretty amazing to find, what I believe to be, a match of the bat with and without the tape. The previous owner of the bat claimed that Tony was furious when he showed him the bat at a card show and Gwynn demanded to know how he obtained the bat.
I need to buy some high resolution copies of these images so I can blow them up but everything seems to line up. The only slight difference I have noticed is the "3" on the knob in "32 1/2" but I believe that might just be due to the angle of the photo.
I believe these photos were taken when the Pads broke camp in April of '91 as there are not many days/months when players would wear long sleeves in San Diego and this was McGriff's first year with the Padres. Tony went 9-23 in the first 5 games of the '91 season.
If you enjoy seeing some great photo matches, check out the "collector's corner" page on my website below.
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