Can you please post pics of your Mattingly bats?

[nomarmauerfan]

I, like so many others, am attempting to collect Mattingly items. I've just recently begun collecting game-used stuff of my favorite players growing up (Larry Bowa - have a bat, Mattingly - nothing) and of my favorite players now (Mauer-have, Nomar - want Red Sox bat, Reyes - coming this week, Wright - nothing). I would LOVE to see legit Mattingly bats and pounded Nomar bats. Thanks so much for helping a newbie. And thanks for such a helpful site.

Mike

[BULBUS]

Mike,

Here is some great info and pics from Jim Caravello:

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/blog/post.php?topic=185



I will try and post pics of my Mattingly gamer tonight.

[nomarmauerfan]

Bulbus,
Thanks for the tip. And, yes, please post pics when you have a chance.

Mike

[cjclong]

There is a Mattingly bat on John Taubes site at gameusedbats.com under classic collectibles.

[BULBUS]

Here are some pics of my Mattingly gamer:

6942

6943

6944

6945

[nomarmauerfan]

Bulbus,
That bat is awesome!!! Do you have a close reference to the year it was used? I'm looking for a late-in-his career bat (probably a black LS). Again, thanks for sharing and great bat!!!

Mike

[nomarmauerfan]

cjclong,
Thanks. Yeah, I saw that bat. Nice bat, but WAY outta my league. Great bat though. It would be very cool to own one from that early in his career. Do either of you (or anyone else for that matter) know how much his 93-95 bats go for? Thanks so much for the help and keep the pics coming.

Mike

[BULBUS]

mike,

my bat is from 86 or 87. there is a bat on ebay right now that is from later in his career (91-95). it looks legit, but it is personalized to "jose". the openning bid is 1200. it will be hard to find a legit mattingly gamer for less than that.

chris

[cards-bats]

Be careful of the bats from the last year or two in his career.
When Mattingly retired, he gave his leftover non-used bats to Gus Doerner sports in Evansville, IN (Donnie B's hometown) to put up for sale to the general public. I remember going into one of the stores that had several racks full of his game model bats for sale. I think they were 40-50 dollars each. I collect Cardinals bats, so I never bought one. I regret not buying 30 of them now!

[nomarmauerfan]

Yeah, a story along those lines is like this...when I lived in NY in the 80's, I went to the East Coast National baseball card show in White Plains. A gentleman by the name of Prentice Montgomery was there representing Don Mattingly. He had some great items..bats, gloves, etc. He stated that I could fly out to Evansville and meet Don at Mattingly 23's in the off-season and purchase one of his bats and have Don sign it for me right there. After begging and pleading with my parents (I was 15 or 16 at the time), they determined it wouldn't work for me to go. So, not only did I not get to meet my idol (finally got his autograph last year after 22 years!!!), I also could've had a bat. Also, why didn't I buy that glove....ugggh!!!

Mike

[BULBUS]

I mentioned earlier about the Mattingly bat on Ebay. The bats listed by the seller are from Alvaro Espinozas personal collection and this Mattingly bat was used by Alvaro in 1991. I concluded this when the seller told me that there is a 20 in marker on the knob. Espinoza wore #20 in 1991 for the Yanks. This bat was not used by Mattingly. Here is the link to the bat:

http://cgi.ebay.com/DON-MATTINGLY-SIGNED-MODEL-MLB-GAME-USED-BAT_W0QQitemZ330179716603QQihZ014QQcategoryZ27261Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[nomarmauerfan]

Thanks for the tip. I was seriously debating that bat (and the end of my life through my wife's hands!!!:) ). But, now, I will wait. Bulbus...what did you pay for your Mattingly bat and how much do you see them going for? Thanks again very much. I'm thrilled to know that I can come here and check something out before buying. Thanks again and have a good day.

Mike

[BULBUS]

hey mike,

no problem. always ask questions and do your homework. there are only a couple of pictures on the auction listing, but i could see something was written on the knob of the bat, so i asked. as for my bat, i got a real steal a couple of years ago. it was on ebay, i made an offer and the seller sold it to me for 800. today, at auction, legit mattingly gamers can go for 2000+.

chris