Game Used Jersey vs Bat Market??!!??!!

[kilroy20]

Can anyone tell me if there is a down market in game used jerseys right now? I was just looking at the prices on the jerseys in Lelands and other companies auctions. Game used bats look like they are doing better than jerseys. Even hard to get rare jerseys had low in prices compared to game used bats.

[skyking26]

Interesting question. I think in my mind jersey authentication is key to end price. Jerseys are open to so much "fakeability." You really have to know who you are buying from, and I think people are very caustious these days to these facts. Endless threads have been posted here about Lampson and other guys. I have certain people I trust when buying jerseys. Other issues are display, etc.

I think bats are a little easier to authenticate with hands on records these days. Easy to display, etc.

Just my 2 cents...RK

[bigjimsguitars]

Maybe some companies are more forthright with their shipping records for bats....

Yes, provenance is the key to anything Game Used and that includes bats as well.

I will say that bats (at least for me) have been much easier to photo-match that Jerseys.

Real Game Used/Worn Jerseys are definitely rarer that Game Used Bats (as a generalization) and typically will set you back more bones.

I love both as there is something about the aesthetics of a Game Worn Jersey do to it's size and presence. However, Game Used Bats are the players tools of the trade and are hand picked by the player and not just something handed to them by the team, here wear this!

Both have found cherished places in my humble collection.

[indyred]

I like bats better than jerseys for MLB stuff. Bats can show tons of use, pine tar, ball/cleat marks ect. Most baseball jerseys just don't show much use at all. I like the character each player gives bats. How they put on pine tar or tape them, number them ect. Bats also have a nice variety in brands and colors.

[godwulf]

Previous posters have covered it pretty well, I believe - relative ease of authentication, relative availability and affordability, and all the rest. Bats were my first (and remain my strongest) Baseball-related collecting love.

Most of the jerseys I buy these days are from minor league prospects and minor league (often coach's) jerseys of former MLB players whose careers I've continued to follow, which almost always come with a team LOA, and in most cases would not be worth anyone's time or trouble to fake anyway.

I often see players grow nostalgic when asked to sign one of their old bats - Damon Berryhill, who managed one of the Fall League teams this year, called over one of his coaches to talk about the old Cooper I brought out to have him sign for me a couple of weeks ago - but I seldom see a player get excited about seeing one of his old jerseys. [Insert your own Barry Bonds joke here]

[bigjimsguitars]

Previous posters have covered it pretty well, I believe - relative ease of authentication, relative availability and affordability, and all the rest. Bats were my first (and remain my strongest) Baseball-related collecting love.

Most of the jerseys I buy these days are from minor league prospects and minor league (often coach's) jerseys of former MLB players whose careers I've continued to follow, which almost always come with a team LOA, and in most cases would not be worth anyone's time or trouble to fake anyway.

I often see players grow nostalgic when asked to sign one of their old bats - Damon Berryhill, who managed one of the Fall League teams this year, called over one of his coaches to talk about the old Cooper I brought out to have him sign for me a couple of weeks ago - but I seldom see a player get excited about seeing one of his old jerseys. [Insert your own Barry Bonds joke here]

Exactly, i.e. players and their bats...I still can remember to this day the llok an Lenny Harris's face when I handed him one of his rookie bats to sign and he started swinging it and looking at it and then with a big smile on his face, this one had some hits left in it! Great Sig on it to say the least.

Almost the same experience with Dave Hanson who personalized the sig on one of his rookie bats and in fact gave me one of his hammered batting gloves which is just unheard of if you know "The Shark"!

Then there was the Canseco bat that Jose said was stolen...he gave it back to me, but never did sign it.

Players definately will remember their Bat's, Gloves, Cleats and such as it's the tools of their trade more so than Jersey's...not to say that Jersey's are less important and many a player relishes their own jersey's and they are a centerpiece to my collection.

[bigjimsguitars]

Just wanted to post a thumbs up as I'm not sure why the op thumbed down their own thread?

[godwulf]

I still can remember to this day the llok an Lenny Harris's face when I handed him one of his rookie bats to sign and he started swinging it and looking at it and then with a big smile on his face...

I got exactly the same reaction from Steve Finley, when I brought him one of his old Coopers, from his early days in Baltimore, to sign.

Speaking of Lenny Harris, I would really like to catch him at a signing sometime, as I've got a few of his bats that need to be auto'ed - a LS and two Eastons from his stint with the DBacks, LS's from the Rockies, Reds and Mets, and an old Cooper that may be from his Dodger days, I'm not sure.

[Chris78]

Personally, if I am going to spend several hundred dollars on something I would rather buy 1 jersey over 1 bat. This is due to the rarity of a jersey. However, bats are normally cheaper so you can buy more bats for the same cost of a jersey. Obviously, it is also easier for a player to give you a bat so that may drive up the demand as well.

I prefer jerseys over bats when spending any large amounts of money, but I have also bought bats as well. Minor League jerseys that are priced right are some of my favorite types of jerseys to buy (especially players that made it to the majors, or coaches that played in the majors).

[godwulf]

Minor League jerseys that are priced right are some of my favorite types of jerseys to buy (especially players that made it to the majors, or coaches that played in the majors).

Me, too, absolutely. Amazing what you can find, checking out the minor and independent league team websites toward the end of the season. Many of the teams have post-season sales or auctions to benefit either the team itself or charity, and well-known names do pop up with some regularity.