What's The Deal With BATS?

[frikativ54]

I know this might be dumb, but as a fairly young collector (23 yrs old), I have to ask: what's it with people's fanatical obsession with bats? It seems like collectors on GUU love their bats above all else - above jerseys, cleats, batting gloves, and helmets.

What attracts people to bats in the first place? I mean, I like my bats, but some guys on here have 15-20 bats per player. Doesn't that get real old after a while? I mean, I like them but one or two per player is enough for me.

Please lend me your insights. I would be curious to here why you collect what you do. This is not meant as an attack; I am just trying to understand people's love of bats better. Personally, I would rather have a game used jersey, cleats, or a helmet over a bat.

[kylehess10]

Good question. In my opinion, I think it's probably the look of the bat. For example: Think about Alfonso Soriano bats....they always show a tremendous amount of pine tar in the center of the bat, giving it a real nice look to it. Also, think about SAM bats, those are pretty popular among collectors, and it's simply because of the look of it. I personally love the look of Marucci's and bats that are broken in half.

[zookerman182]

I love collecting bats the most because they are all so different and there are so many styles. The better story behind the bat the better. Plus some players really take pride in thier bats and i think its cool to own something latter on that the player really depended on at one point in time.

[island_style]

I like bats, but I also collect jerseys, helmets, pants, etc.

Hitters make a living with their bats. They shave the handles, put pine tar on them, tape the handles, weigh them, etc. It's great to have a bat after a player went through his routine of prepping it for game use. Especially if it's of a player that you collect.

I do have several (7-10 each) bats of the players that I collect. To me, I would collect all of their bats if I had the chance. They may have used different models during various stages of their careers.

Uncracked bats are nice, but cracked bats have more appeal to me. If I could afford one, I'd love to have a Bo Jackson bat that he snapped in half over his leg.

Just my $.02.

Kind Regards,

Ron.

Rsamiano@aol.com

[shoremen44]

I collect really only Bats... I have a couple of Jersey, and Helmets, but I have a much larger bat collection.

The draw for me is the uniqueness of every single bat. Growing up my favorite player when I was in Baltimore was Mickey Tettleton. He was by no means a superstar, but I loved the way he played and my very first bat was given to me by him... I since have collected 14 of his bats, and everyone is different.

Painters use brushes, world leaders use pens... Hitters use bats. In baseball bats are the begining and end for me. You'll see hitters use other players bats to get out of a streak or for some other issue of luck... and alot of players cherish bats... Jerseys and hats are given to a player and everyone looks the same on the field, a bat is personal.

I think the question should be Why anything but Bats?

[Jags Fan Dan]

As someone who just started collecting a few bats about a month or two ago, I feel compelled to respond, because I had similar questions when I first came onto this forum. Here is why I have started to collect bats:

1. Price. I can get bats of players I like for well under $50, sometimes for just over $20 shipped.

2. Selection. I wanted a Dion James bat. He is a common player from the late 80's early 90's. I found a bat of his quickly. If I wanted a jersey or some other form of game used memorabilia, I think I would have been searching for years. There is such a wide selection of bats out there, it is easier to find the guy you are looking for than it would be for other types of memorabilia.

3. Variety. I love the different styles and brands of bats, I love the use they show (for me, the more beaten up and cracked they are, the better!) I love the customizations made by the players (shaved, taped, tarred handles, etc.).

4. Authenticity. Fortunately, game used bats cannot really be faked. With a little bit of research, you can quickly verify if a player used a certain type of bat and what it should look like. The bats that the players use are not something that can be readily bought by Joe Public and made to look like something it is not. The worst that can happen is someone can take a bat that was issued to the player but never used and add "use", but for the guys I am after, it would not be worth the time or trouble.

5. Wood. The patterns and colors of wood make it very eye appealing, and there is something cool (to me at least) about something as basic as a wooden bat still having so much relevance in such a technologically advanced world. Things have changed, but one thing that has stayed constant is wooden baseball bats.

Just my thoughts.

[BULBUS]

Most players customize their bats and that makes them so desireable. And because of these customizations, bats can be proven to be used by a certain player. Jersesy are tough to prove that the player actually wore them in games. Plus bats are esier to display if you dont have a huge room with a lot of wall space.

[Birdbats]

I enjoy bats because they're so "personal" -- meaning every player gets the same jersey, same cap, same jacket, etc. But the type of bat selected by a player is a very personal choice. They get to choose the length, weight, barrel thickness, handle thickness, knob shape, cupped or no cup, color and so on. So, when you pick up a 36" U1 model, you know how a Clemente bat felt. Same with an R43 (Ruth), A99 (Aaron), S2 (Mays), K55 (Mantle). Beyond that, they shaved them, grooved them, rubbed them with bones and bottles and tobacco juice, put on tape, wrote things on the knob, stored them in humidors and piles of dung (really). Guys could play without uniforms. Once, they even played without gloves (still do on the 16" softball fields around Chicago). But bats are necessary to the game, and each player has his own preferences about how that bat should look and feel. To me, the bat says "baseball."

[skyking26]

These are all very good responses. I feel the same way, and of course I will add that players use many bats per season so they can be had more easily and thusly far less expensively. Helmets usually last with a player many years, jerseys annually, gloves many years - and consequently if you can find legit examples of the latter you will pay pay pay pay pay...

[AWA85]

I agree, in some of the common players I have collected of the Reds it would be hard to fake or not worth the time and effort for the prices some of these bats go for. Something about having a piece of the game that each player had to have.

Just like everyone else, the more use and tar the better. I have recently been trying to stay away from black bats beacuse I feel they do not show their true use as much. I love my blonde Adam Dunn bat because it shows, ball marks, pine tar, dirt and everything else, while Black Dunn bat is pounded but just doesn't show that use to the eye without staring it down.

I would like a jersey of each home, away or alternate of past years and maybe one home and one away helmet, but due to price and space I can't limit my bat numbers at all.