Broken bat-MLB Authenticated

[legaleagle92481]

Did a search but did not find these specific questions answered.

I am looking at a bat that has been MLB Authenticated and has been broken in 2 pieces. It has been wrapped in white tape. Here are the questions:

1. Do I remove the white tape and try to repair the bat?
2. Should I just leave it as it is?
3. Do I mess up the authentication if I try to repair it?

I am afraid that once I unwrap the tape, I might be surprised at what I find. It could be that the bat doesn't "join" very well and the tape is all that is holding it together. It might even be missing pieces.

Thanks for opinions
Paul

Paul,

As a former collector of GU bats here is my opinion.

1. Don't remove the tape and try to repair it. It is not easy to repair a bat and alot of repair jobs are terrible and the bats would have looked better broken then how they came out. Plus like you say you don't know what is under there.

2. Leave it as it is.

3. You won't ruin the autentication as long as you don't remove the MLB hologram but if you sell it the buyer will look it up in the database and see that it was cracked and you will have to explain the repair.

[Tunis]

Guys,
Thanks for all of the great input. If I have the opportunity to have it autographed, should I? or does that raise questions down the line if I try to sell it? as it was not part of the MLB Authentication.
Paul

[Tunis]

Received my bat from Kruk yesterday. It is a game-used bat that was broken in the 11th inning on September 10, 2010 by Jose Lopez. I have followed his career since the minor leagues. Even though he had a poor season this year (almost everybody on the Mariners did), I think he is still young enough to become a good player for another team.

After weighing all of my options, I decided to unwrap the tape to see what was under it. I was pleasantly surprised that the bat was missing only very small, small fragments. Splinters, really. One thing that was cool was there were green markings inside the breakage from when the barrel landed on the turf. The bat was pretty easily put back together. The taping left no marks on the pine tar.

I took plenty of pictures during the process, so i can show the before, during, and after shots.

I have repaired bats before so I had a nice wood glue, two adjustable wood clamps and some knowledge to work with.

After the bat has dried, I will take the "after" shots to post.

Thanks to all for their opinions. This site is incredible with the wealth of knowledge that the members bring to the table.

Paul