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admin
11-18-2005, 02:47 AM
Barry Bonds,Young Bat?

August 18 2005 at 1:42 PM dowdow5 (barneeza@yahoo.com) (Login dowdow5 (http://www.network54.com/Profile/dowdow5))

Does anybody know if Barry Bonds ever used a Young Bat?I have seen several of these bats.if so do you know the year or years he used them.Any help would be deeply apreciated.



AuthorReply

Reid (rgf2@hotmail.com)
(Login sportscentury (http://www.network54.com/Profile/sportscentury))
Re: Barry Bonds,Young Bat?

August 18 2005, 2:31 PM
DowDow,

When Young Co. bats were first introduced to the market, I believe Barry did try a few out. I can't remember specifically, but I seem to recall a few of these (several years back now) that were hammered and came from good sources. I do believe he used them at one time. However, you should be careful with Young Co. bats as they were also sold to the public. I learned this the hard way as a major bat dealer sold me some as "game used" and I found out later that they showed little to no use because the bats in question were not even sold to the players or their respective teams.

Reid


Christopher Boyd (ccboyd@houston.rr.com)
(Login eGameUsed (http://www.network54.com/Profile/eGameUsed))
Re: Barry Bonds,Young Bat?

August 18 2005, 2:55 PM
Christopher Young was set up at a Houston Tri-Star show some time ago. He was telling people he had actual bats that he made tons of for players. They were IDENTICAL in every way to the bats he sent the players as freebies. I remember he had a ton of Braves players including Maddux. He also was selling Cal Ripken and Barry Bonds. Crazy! I would avoid a Young bat like the plague unless it is a common player or the player gave it to you himself.

Chris Boyd
http://www.eGameUsed.com (http://www.egameused.com/)
713-385-1155
ccboyd@houston.rr.com


Den (Calrima@aol.com)
(Login Calrima (http://www.network54.com/Profile/Calrima))
Re: Barry Bonds,Young Bat?

August 18 2005, 3:22 PM
Friends,

As Posted here before me, YOUNG bats have a very bad rep as they were sold to the public with the exact player name and specs. Knowing Collectors will NOT Purchase them!

I was offered a Bonds bat from the YOUNG company directly, for a very reasonable price, however after learning about the company selling PRO bats to anyone with CASH, I passed and thank god, I did.

Den


Andrew (info@allstarsplus.com)
(Login allstarsplus (http://www.network54.com/Profile/allstarsplus))
Young Bats

August 18 2005, 4:39 PM
Barry did use Young bats in the 90's. We were at a Chantilly Virginia CSA Show and Young had a display there selling among other players bats a Bonds bat. I would never buy a "game used" Young bat from then on!


Reid (rgf2@hotmail.com)
(Login sportscentury (http://www.network54.com/Profile/sportscentury))
Re: Barry Bonds,Young Bat?

August 19 2005, 10:07 PM
http://cgi.ebay.com/Barry-Bonds-Game-used-Baseball-Bat_W0QQitemZ5229257474 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Barry-Bonds-Game-used-Baseball-Bat_W0QQitemZ5229257474)

This is a perfect example of what I was referring to in my post above. Read the entire description and you will understand better what I getting at. Caveat emptor.

Reid


Ken (earlywynnfan5@hotmail.com)
(Login earlywynnfan (http://www.network54.com/Profile/earlywynnfan))
Re: Barry Bonds,Young Bat?

November 17 2005, 11:38 AM
I have a poster of Barry holding a Young bat, so they at least made it into his hands!

JimCaravello
11-18-2005, 11:51 AM
I live in North Carolina and I have been to several Memorabilia Shows over the years in NC where the folks from Young have attended and set up a booth to sell mint bats and game used bats. Before Barry went on his HR barrage in the mid 90's, I saw several legitimate Bonds game used bats that they were selling - bats that Barry used and sent back for specification tweaking.....now, I don't know if they were game used or if they were used in batting practice. I can tell you that the bats I saw had definitive use - with ball marks, seam marks, rack marks, etc. I had a chance to buy those bats for $125 and passed - not too bright, was I???

What does this mean? I believe Barry used Young bats, but I would be very careful in buying one, as other Forum Members have indicated - you could buy the same exact bat directly from Young. Once again - you need to do homework, such as where did the bat come from - what source - what kind of use does it show? Are the ball marks on the right side of the barrel, etc?

This is a topic I will be focusing on in my next blog on Game Used Forum - some tips for collecting game used bats which will focus on things you need to look at as a collector when buying a game used bat.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at jcaravello@nc.rr.com. Thanks and good luck! Jim Caravello

wllump52
11-18-2005, 09:03 PM
Getty Images has a number of pictures of Bonds using Young Bat Co. bats-- the dates are from spring training in March of 1998

Image Numbers are -- 265231, 265233, 275485, 275477

Steve Smith

2OnBase
11-25-2005, 12:52 AM
In reply to the question at hand and the various responses received, I have a photo match of Bonds using a Young bat in a game that cannot date past 1997. Although not an expert on Barry Bonds, he clearly used these & other non-Louisville Slugger & non-Sam bats for some time in the mid to late 90's while with the Giants. I also have in my possession one of the game bats depicted by Jim and others, sold to me by Chris Young that was supposedly returned by Bonds for "tweaking". Although I understand the conflict that many collectors have with Young selling these bats to the public, I have no issues owning nor originally purchasing this bat. It matches records of length and weight he has used, and comes directly from the company that made the bats for Bonds, with a perfect photo match of the bat's labeling in my possession.

Could Young have made game (professional model) bats to be sold specifically for public consumption that were identical to those made for the ballplayers. The answer is, yes. There are identified examples of this with Louisville Sluggers for example. So again, I understand the reasons some may have with avoiding ownership of these bats, yet it does not mean that real game used or game ready examples are non-existent (the facts prove just the opposite).

Last, I do believe provenance is important, but are we not placing an over-emphasis on this issue as well with examples of tampered documents and pieces used for practice listed as "game used" by some player(s) themselves? Does it not become a "he said, she said" thing? I strongly believe in Jim's characterization that has been stated by others that have built this hobby like Bushing, Malta, Taube, Knoll, & Kinnunen. You must take each item on its own and measure that item's traits against your own personal bias for authenticity when items reside in the "gray areas" of what has been defined as game-used.

Rod