Pujols Rookie Bat Steal?

[Jags Fan Dan]

One quick guess would be because it was cracked and repaired. I think that would put alot of people off.

[Birdbats]

I received a few e-mails about that bat... told everyone I didn't see any obvious red flags from the photos. It's hard to judge black bats from photos, in terms of where the ball marks are, the pine tar pattern, etc... but I didn't see anything that screamed "stay away." The only thing that bothered me a little was the lack of a knob sticker (the red maple leaf in a white circle that is typical on Sam Bats). Makes me wonder if another number was written on that sticker before it was removed (as Albert often gave bats to other players). I have no way of knowing, but it was the one thing that gave me pause. It's possible the buyer got one helluva steal. I'm not sure why other buyers avoided this one, but nobody who contacted me mentioned the repair. A few did mention they couldn't find any photos (on Getty or elsewhere) of Albert using a black Sam Bat in 2001. I didn't track his bat use back then, so I wasn't able to fill in the gaps between the known photos.

[nomah!]

Thanks for your thoughts Jeff

[byergo]

$750 for a cracked/repaired bat of a modern player who is still cranking out bats by the dozens, dramatically overhyped, and whose off the chart numbers are very likely chemically enhanced is not a hell of a bargain by any stretch of the imagination. Just to set the record straight.

Looks like a fully realized price to me.

[bigtruck260]

still cranking out bats by the dozens, dramatically overhyped, and whose off the chart numbers are very likely chemically enhanced

As most Cardinals guys know - Albert is not liberal with his bats...nor does he sell them to dealers like most superstars do. A legit Pujols bat is rare indeed, and the market price reflects that. According to a Pujols bat (Jeff will kill me) expert - the price was most likely low because of the lack of a knob sticker. It is nice to know that Birdbats is used as a resource for these things.

As far as the chemically enhanced stuff...

You have proof? Mitchell didn't.

It is not dramatic overhyping when a player has a "down year" and still hits .330 with 32/103/99. If Albert plays to his potential and suffers through his many injuries, he will be a HOF candidate.

Now - just to be fair Byergo, I agree that the bats of modern players are simply ridiculous (see Jeter)...Dealers are pricing things based on those projected numbers. If Albert blows his elbow out and never hits 20 homers again...some poor "investors" will be SOL...but in STL, at least - there is a demand for his stuff - and $800 for a Pujols bat is a steal if it is indeed a legit piece.

Dave

[BMH]

I have received two bats from Albert w/o the knob sticker and several more from other players with the sticker missing. The sticker is there to hide the hole left from the turning procedure SAM uses.

[bigtruck260]

I have received two bats from Albert w/o the knob sticker and several more from other players with the sticker missing. The sticker is there to hide the hole left from the turning procedure SAM uses.

I learn something new here every day.

Thanks Brian. When Jeff is not 100% about something, it usually means that something like that is kind of rare...so that's nice to know.