Rawlings Bat Knobs - The Batch Code

[metsbats]

1. The highest batch number I have in my collection is on a 1999 Armando Benitez gamer which is batch 872.

2. Yes. Towards the end of 1986 and into the 1986 post season for WS bats only Rawlings switched to the 1987 center brands. All the 1986 bats have batch codes in the high 300s

3. Rawlings didn't put batch codes or year digits on post season or AsG game bats. They put under the model number either player initials, year , event and year (ex WS 00). Truthfully I don't know what they do past 2009 and nowadays with the new stampings on the knobs.

4. I don't feel there is a valuation difference and one should judge a bat by player use characteristics and amount of use regardless of batch code.

David

[41Evans84]

Really whether the batch code shows the bat was produced during or before spring training is irrelevant. Just because a bat was ordered early in the year doesn't mean it wasn't used later in the season. I've seen multiple times where a player used bats dated from previous seasons a year or 2 years (or more) later. And these were some pretty big names too. For some reason PSA frowns on that and gives a lesser grade which I will never understand why..... Bats get ordered and put in the equipment room and subsequent orders come in and everything gets mixed together. Miguel Cabrera was using 2014 bats during the first part of the 2015 season, so it happens all the time.