2004 Arod Lvs M9 Gu Bat

[flex114]

I have not seen another blonde AROD M9 bat anywhere since I obtained this bat in late 2004. The person I bought it from said it was directly obtained from Mario from Alex's marketing group - MVP Management company. I know LVS first released the M9 bats to major leaguers in late 2004. What is particularly interesting about the M9 label is that it is not the normal oval circular sticker. This one seems to be an intricate outline sticker, which was probably not as durable.

Also, I know AROD usually uses a black C271L, C271, or a p72 in games, and I have seen him use blonde G174 bats in batting practice. Back in 2004, I know he used a blonde Old Hickory bat for the first half of the season. I can't find any photo matches on Getty Images for this bat. The model is one i've never seen before - R228. The handle is very similar to a c271 or g174 model that he likes. It is 33.5 inches in length.

This bat shows good use, multiple ball and cleat marks, mota stick/pint tar on handle, and is authenticated with Arod's old mgmt company (AROD.com?), and has the hologram sticker affixed to it. The new company is basically the same people, but they changed their name after the public relations snafu from a few years ago. Here are some pics of the bat. There are quite a few because I wanted to show the details as best I can.

I can't post this on the shipping records forum (this is also my first posting ever), so I am posting it here. I hope someone can confirm this for me. Any help would be appreciated.

http://x65.xanga.com/639f1462c6337192947379/b148756561.jpg
http://x00.xanga.com/934c8a7370c34192947449/b148756620.jpg
http://x23.xanga.com/b0ac836a70135192947416/b148756592.jpg
http://xd2.xanga.com/68fc666571032192947500/b148756665.jpg
http://xaa.xanga.com/fe0f127371634192947476/b148756643.jpg
http://xe7.xanga.com/800f176108337192947527/b148756689.jpg
http://xfd.xanga.com/b1fc8a6a72334192947592/b148756746.jpg
http://x68.xanga.com/abdc8562c9534192947556/b148756714.jpg
http://xf6.xanga.com/9b1c976669735192947363/b148756551.jpg
http://x80.xanga.com/9faf136159634192947574/b148756729.jpg

[Sheffield11]

This bat is authenticated with Arod's old mgmt company (AROD.com?), and has the hologram sticker affixed to it. The new company is basically the same people, but they changed their name after the public relations snafu from a few years ago.

This is not true at all, Arod's old company that used the AROD hologram was ESM. They where in control of all of those holograms, which makes me scared for your bat. MVP is run by Mario who used to work for ESM but left to start a more honest business, there is huge difference between MVP and ESM. The autograph on your bat does look authentic to me but usually arod adds the game used inscription (sometimes on bats that arent even game used), so this also worries me. I am a huge yankees fan i dont miss many games throughout the years and i can only remember arod using a blonde old hickory bat in an actual game. He didnt quite use them for half the season but he did use them for a little while. I am curious to what other people have to say but these are my opinions.

[BMH]

The R228 is a Arod model bat. I can't remember the exact combination but we made it for him. As for the sticker we first used a true "decal" that had to be dipped in a solution then placed on the bat. There are two reasons we switched to a sticker; first, the solution we used would mar the finish of the bat when applied to the surface. Second, it was a very slow process and we needed a faster way of applying the center brand.

Now take this with a grain of salt, but I always thought the clear bats we made for Arod were for BP and he used the Black ones for games? I could be wrong...

[flex114]

Brian, Thanks so much for the confirmation! Honestly, I don't really mind that this was a BP bat, I'm just glad that it wasn't made in someone's tool shed. Regardless, this is a super rare bat, whether it's game used or BP, it is an early prototype of the M9, and a beautiful one at that.

Can you tell me how many of these were made for him? And were these only ordered in 2004? Thanks Brian!

[BMH]

I can't pinpoint exactly when we did the prototyping for the M9 but it was for only a week or so. If I had to guess we're talking maybe twelve bats with that type of decal on it.

[flex114]

Brian, just to clarify, are you syaing that there were only 12 M9 bats made with this prototype decal in existence, or 12 M9 bats with this decal that was sent to AROD in 2004?

Does anyone else have any of these prototype M9 decal bats in their possession?

http://x65.xanga.com/639f1462c633719...b148756561.jpg

More pics are available on the links in the first email.

[flex114]

sorry, here is the link:

http://x65.xanga.com/639f1462c6337192947379/b148756561.jpg

[Sheffield11]

I would highly suggest that you send this bat to John Taube, i really doubt that arod actually used it, i got someone who knows arod very well to look at the bat and they are in doubt of its authenticity.