David Ortiz bat on Ebay.Need help.

[jon_8_us]

Here is an excerpt from a David Ortiz Rawlings maple on ebay:

Title:

2006 David Ortiz Game Used Rawlings Bat Boston Red Sox

From his franchise record HR year!54 Home Runs in 2006!


Here is the questionable part:
The knob of the bat features Ortiz's # 34 in the proper handwriting as found on all of Papi's bats. The knob features the factory marks including the number M456B and 75405. Don't miss your chance to own a peice of Boston Red Sox history

My questions are doesn't an 05 at the end of the manufacturer stamp on a Rawlings bat mean this is a 05 bat?Also do many players use bats from previous seasons?I figured this must be debated cause right now there is a huge difference in price of an 05 next to an 06.Thanks
jon

[jon_8_us]

here is the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=190038627909

[thomecollector]

Jon,
You may be able to find out by going to their website gameusedbat.com .
I was just checking it, and I noticed a similar Ortiz. It appears to have the same coding. Hope this helps. Roger

[sportscentury]

My questions are doesn't an 05 at the end of the manufacturer stamp on a Rawlings bat mean this is a 05 bat?

Yes.

Also do many players use bats from previous seasons?

This is not at all uncommon. It is more likely to see a holdover bat used early in the next season (as opposed to later in the season). Papi could easily have used 05 bats in 06. However, you will always wonder about it and I'm sure that most of Papi's 05 bats were used in 05, not 06. Also, when you go to resell it, good luck convincing others that the bat was definitely used in 06, rather than 05. Bottom line, though, is that bats are sometimes held over. Rickey Henderson used some of his 2002 Boston Red Sox bats when he was came back to the majors (Dodgers) in 2003 from the independent minor league Newark Bears.

Reid

[MSpecht]

Here is the info on Rawlings knob stamping:

Each year the company includes the model number, batch number, and year code on the knob of the professional model bats that are shipped. The batch code, which is of interest on this bat, reflects the order numbers assigned by Rawlings. For example, if the Cardinals placed the year 2005's first order with Rawlings -- and requested 12 bats each for four different players -- all 48 bats would have the 001 batch number., and the 05 year code. The next order, say two dozen bats for a couple of players on the Angels, would all be stamped with the 002 batch number and the o5 year code. During most years, according to Rawlings, the batch numbers reach into the 800s or 900s. This research appears on Jeff Scott's www.BirdBats.com website, where additional interesting information appears in the Mark McGwire game used bats blog.

That being said, the code on this bat indicates that it was the 754th order manufactured and shipped in 2005. Using Rawlings' statement above, it was likely that the batch was shipped during the latter part of the 2005 season, possibly during the last two months, but that is only a guess. In this case, although it is entirely possible that a late season 2005 bat would be carried over into early 2006, additional provenance is the key, and would need to be compelling for an authenticator to take the step from 2005 into 2006.

Reid's points in his previous post are well taken. Good Luck.
.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com

[jon_8_us]

Mike thank you.I appreciate your time to let us know about this.Also i have emailed you regarding your services as an authenticator and never heard back.Would like to send you a few of my bats.Can you email me at jon_8_us@yahoo.com with the info.Thanks
jon

[sportscentury]

Mike thank you.I appreciate your time to let us know about this.Also i have emailed you regarding your services as an authenticator and never heard back.Would like to send you a few of my bats.Can you email me at jon_8_us@yahoo.com with the info.Thanks
jon

Jon,

You're welcome.

Reid

[MSpecht]

Hi Jon--

Sorry but I don't remember your email regerding authentications......I respond to those pretty quickly. Will contact you at the email address you posted with all relevant information. Thanks.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com

[nate]

On a similar note, I received an Ortiz game bat directly from him/bat rack that has a 543 batch number. It was the last week of the 2004 season and easily could have been carried over to 2005.

I agree that it would be tough to prove an 05 produced bat that is used in 06. You could try photo matching it to early games in 06.

Good luck,

Nate