Question on interpretation of game used

[Vintagedeputy]

HI all,

I was looking at purchasing a bat that features good game used characteristics. It matches factory records perfectly and its a sweet bat. Here's my dilemma. The player had only 1 "at bat" during the 2 seasons that the bat could be from.

What are the chances that the bat is from that one at bat, making it "game used"? More than likely its a batting practice or spring training bat.

Do you still feel that its "game used" if the player didnt have enough at bats to possibly use it??

[MSpecht]

Here are the commonly available definitions of "Game Used" as the term applies to bats, in chronological order of publication:

From BATS-- Professional hillerich & Bradsby and Adirondack 1950-1994 published 1995 (page 6):

"The purest definition of the term game-used, as it pertains to professional player baseball bats is: A bat used by a roster player, during his Major League career, in a recorded plate appearance during a regular season game."

From MastroNet Reference and Price Guide for Collecting Game Used Baseball Bats published 2001 (page 48):

"A professional model bat that shows evidence of game use."

From A Complete Reference Guide -- Louisville Slugger Professional Player Bats published 2007 (page 221):

"A generic term denoting a bat that has evidence of player use characteristics."

It's that simple.... or is it?

The majority of confusion and disagreement is due to the fact that the vast majority of bats are not actually witnessed being used by a particular player during a particular game or at bat. The first definition of a game used bat above may be too narrow for some collectors. If a player used a bat only in batting practice, and it was never used in a game, the bat would still show use and could be refered to as a bat used by the player. If used only in spring training or exhibition games, some may not accept it as game used, however the visual inspection would be no different than as seen from a Major League game.

Minor League game use is professional use but falls outside of the strictest definition above. Most collectors accept All Star Game or World Series use as ML games, although not regular season. Post career "coaches bats" are generally considered outside of the category of game used.

The key is, as always, do your homework. Check all available records, and become familiar with individual player use characteristics of the players you are interested in. Study professional labeling and labeling periods, and define your own comfort level when considering 'degrees of probability," as many times that will be as close as you can come.

And don't forget... there are times when a player takes a previously unused bat from the rack, makes a plate appearance, is called out on three strikes (or walks on four pitches) and never uses that bat again....no hit marks, no ball marks, and a completely unused appearance on a game used bat. That's kind of like collecting "game used" rifles from the French Army--- Never fired and only dropped once."

Good Luck in future collecting.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com (Jackitout7@aol.com)

[Vintagedeputy]

Good info Mike as always! Thanks!

[island_style]

Mike,

Great point about a player using a new bat and getting a walk and striking out (or even getting hit by the pitch or swinging and missing on the third strike and reaching base) without ever making contact. For anyone familiar with grading companies, what if the player never used it again (for whatever reason) and the bat came with a team COA? Let's say the bat has all the proper characteristics (pine tar, handle/knob tape, numbering on the ends of the bat, etc.), what grade would it receive from a grading company?

On the other hand, do players generally use their bats before the games either in BP (save for the guys who use different brands in BP vs. the actual game like Piazza's Rawlings for BP and Mizuno's for gamers) or off a tee to determine which bats are gamers? These bats would most likely have some sort of use on them. Thanks.

Kind Regards,

Ron.

Rsamiano@aol.com

[MSpecht]

Hi Ron---

Good questions with no real definitive answers--- individual players have different tendencies, from basically grabbing a bat "off the rack" to intricate 'game preparation' before ever using it, and everything in between.

The determination comes down to what kind of use is an individual collector most comfortable with ?? Is there a point of diminishing returns where too much use (maybe) or too bad of a crack (probably) hurts the value of a bat, or at least how much a collector is willing to spend. The answer changes for different players.

In the mid 70's / early 80's there was a well known mid-west bat collector who had tremendous stuff, but who preferred his collection to look as "shiny new' as possible, to the extent that he would remove as much of the use off of a bat as possible --- that is probably not the direction you'd want to go today.

Good Luck

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com (Jackitout7@aol.com)