Offered on ebay is a Ryan Braun bat from the 2008 season, offered as game used.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I have no prior experience with the seller and the seller offered limited response to my questions. So, as a collector of Braun bats, I offer the following observations as to why I am not likely to be a bidder.

1) The bat still has remnants of the sticker on the knob. This is unlike any game bat I have seen.

2) The seller indicates the bat was received directly from Braun at a game in San Diego on 8/13/08. Seller would not confirm if the bat was given directly to him by Braun, or given to a third party by Braun. Either way, from my experience bats that Braun has given away personally - either at a game or for a charity - Braun will autograph them, and if he knows the person, personalize the autograph. A good example of this is the LVS bat that was in a GUU auction.

3) From the seller's reply to me, he indicated that the bat is from a batch made on July 24, 2008, which is a red flag. Numerous bats from this date have been offered for sale, and these bats have always been "issued" or have been bats with no use characteristcs that were offered as game used. Most common were the dozens and dozens of bats Mikita sold as issued bats, mostly with autographs, but others without have been out there as well. I think the forum's Skube was offering one, zanebats had one. Anyhow, point here is that of the literally dozens of bats from this date that are out there, this is the first one to show alleged game use.

Just my observations as to why I would be wary of the bat.

Matt