Bernie Williams rookie bat

[kcrhino]

A friend of mine (no really) obtained a Bernie Williams bat when he was still playing for the Columbus Clippers and he inquired about selling it. It was obtained from the Clippers Bat Boy when they played the Buffalo Bisons in 1990 or so (I believe).
Can you tell me what I should look for and if possible, a reasonable value?

[JimCaravello]

Although we do not have Bernie's records, I have personally handled a few from that time era and seen others in auctions over the years.

Bernie favored T141 model bats early in his career. He did not have an endorsement contract with Lousiville Slugger. His bats around 1990 will either have "BERNIE WILLIAMS" in block letters or "WILLIAMS" in block letters branded into the barrel. He may also have used other models, but have only seen T141 models in the market.

He favored unfinished models - that were in the 34.5" range and weighed around 32 ounces. He may have used bats as short as 34" around this time frame. One of the problems if the bat just has "WILLIAMS" on the barrel is that Gerald Williams was also in the Yankees farm system at the time and many of Gerald's early bats just had "WILLIAMS" on the barrel. Gerald favored P72 model bats from memory......just something to look out for. I believe Gerald used 34" bats and nothing longer than that.....

Bernie liked tar - used tape at times for grip - and many of his heavily used bats have ball marks on both sides of the barrel from this era. The bat may or may not have a cupped end.

Bernie would sometimes put BW on his knobs, as well as his uniform number. I have also seen legitimate Bernie bats with nothing on the knob.

When you get the bat, if you would like to send me pics to review, I would be more than happy to look at them for you. You can e-mail me at jcaravello@nc.rr.com

If any Forum members have Bernie bats in their collection that are different or have seen others in the market that they can comment on - please post that info here. Thanks, Jim

[metsbats]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=300065730079

Here's a 1991 Williams Yankees Model C271 bat on ebay. Has BW on the knob so it may be a Bernie Williams. Perhaps Bernie used C271 at some point but this is the first one i've ever seen.

David

[metsbats]

Here' s Gerald Williams C271 Yankees bat. Perhaps this auction C271 williams is a 1992 Gerald?

David

[kcrhino]

Thanks Jim. I'll try and get some photo's in a week or so.
Dennis

[Kid4hof03]

Jim is right on with his comments on Bernie's early bats. I've probably owned 6-10 from that era and like Jim I've handled others and seen them in auctions. These bats used to be fairly common, say from 95-98, lately they have been much more scarce.

From my experience, the majority of Bernie's early bats have BW on the knob, I did handle one that had 25 on the knob (his number at Columbus). Not that it's impossible but I've never seen a model other than the T141. I've also only seen one black model, I'm sure there are a few others, majority are natural.

Abe

[JimCaravello]

Abe - thanks for the follow up post!! If anyone knows Bernie bats - it's Abe!!! Jim

[Kid4hof03]

Dennis,
I did want to mention that I do have interest in the bat. If your friend wants to sell you can let me know at abekulynych@aol.com.

Take Care,
Abe

[kcrhino]

As promised, here are the photo's of the Bernie Williams rookie era bat....
What do you guys think?

[Yankwood]

I think that might be Gerald Williams.