Hi David --

Good question...

Back in the early days of bat collecting (early-to-mid 1970's) most of the info about bats was basically a trade of verbal information between the few baseball hobbyists who actually collected bats. While everyone had the best of intentions, it was awhile before collectors tuned in to even the most basic information -- labeling periods, professional models vs. store models, etc. Eventually, as bats began to have some value, a need arose for some definitive information --- when you were actually going to spend $100 for a bat, you wanted to make sure it was "real."

Major League batboys were always considered the most reliable source of "real" bats and information--- when you made a big score from a batboy, it was as good as it got.

Anyway, a general overview of the times and a very informal history of bat collecting can be found in a blog I posted in the Experts Corner back in November, 2005.

Back to your question....Obtaining information from H & B in those days was pretty much hit or miss. Rex Bradley was usually generous with his time and was a useful resource to many collectors asking specific questions...also Bill Williams. Finally, in 1996 when H & B "opened the records" to a few people (following the publiation of the book BATS, and the tireless efforts primarily of Vince Malta and Bill Riddell), additional information became available to many collectors. In more recent years, Karen DeVoto from H & B always took the time to help.

It is true that the specific records available are weighted toward older players, and here's why. In 1994, when publishing the book BATS, we wanted to include information on every Hall of Famer and the most visible retired star players that had played from 1950 to the present, primarily because that is who people were collecting. The records we obtained two years later were the records of everyone listed in the Players' Charts section of the book (Hall of Famers and Retired Stars), plus the pre 1950 Hall of Famers, as we planned to publish an updated edition in 1997. At the time, we knew that we couldn't include any active players in the proposed 1997 edition unless we paid some money to the MLBPA, and we knew we didn't want to do that. So we basically just got some records of about 30 or so active players who were "sure Hall of Famers" (Barry Bonds, Tony Gwynn, Albert Belle, Robbie Alomar --- well, you can't always be on target) knowing people would be interested in that information as well. Unfortunately, the 1997 updated edition of BATS never materialized. A few years later, in 2001, Dave Bushing and Dan Knoll published The MastroNet Guide.

At that point, several of the people who had gained access to the records found them to be valuable resources in authenticating professional model bats, however the factory records were still not readily accessible to the vast majority of collectors. Individual collectors, however, using personal contacts within H & B, did manage to obtain some updated records of active players periodically. Jim Caravello has been particularly successful at obtaining Yankee records..... I keep waiting for him to be asked about those 1974 Horace Clarke K55's.

Things pretty much stayed that way until the launching of Game Used Universe. Vince Malta agreed to market his upcoming 2006 book on the site, and also provide complete Hall of Famer factory records for listing on the site. Others, such as Jim Caravello and myself, agreed to answer collector's questions based on specific H & B factory records. Also, a forum was established that allowed a wealth of information from veteran collectors, such as Jeff Scott and others who contribute regularly to the site, to be exchanged.

My personal opinion is that Game Used Universe offers the best resource for detailed information on game used professional model bats. As far as obtaining information from Hillerich & Bradsby, there is no reason not to try. You never know when you are going to be connected to the right person who is willing to take some time to help out. They also have a contact form on the Louisville Slugger Museum website that allows the submission of questions about Louisville Slugger bats.

Good Luck.

Mike

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