Leland's 1969 Hank Aaron bat I don't think so....

[Mark17]

I'm wondering what's going on with this one:

http://www.lelands.com/Auction.aspx/AuctionDetailed/51467/November-2009-Catalog/Sports/Baseball-Equipment/Lot10~1969-Hank-Aaron-Strikeout-Game-Used-Bat/page1

The description says:
"One of the true rarities, a bat of a major player which can be tied to a specific at bat. This bat was obtained from Luis Peraza who pitched to Hank Aaron and struck him out. On the second strike Aaron cracked this bat and got another one from the dugout and received his third strike and a K from Peraza. After the game Peraza approached friend Orlando Cepeda and teammate of Aaron’s and asked if he could have the bat. Aaron agreed but comically lamented that he had to not only be struck out but had to give him his bat as well. Louisville Slugger A99 is cracked with nice use. 35”. Fantastic LOA in great detail; from Luis Peraza."

Well, Peraza's career consisted of 8 games in 1969. But can anyone tell me what's wrong with this bat?

I thought the people at Leland's were pretty sharp and would've caught this rather obvious inconsistency.

[W_EISENHUTH]

'73-'75 era?

[Mark17]

yup. How in the world did they miss that?

[hiflyer56]

Wow :eek: .... Is it even a true Aaron gamer?

[Mark17]

I called Leland's and they courteously returned my call and confirmed the bat is a 1973-75 model. So I said, "Well, that blows your entire story of provenance, because that pitcher's career began and ended in 1969." He said he'd make note of it on the auction listing (bids are over $1500 now.)

I'll be very curious to see how they handle this. In my opinion, the listing is completely compromised, the bat clearly is not what it is described as being, and the item should simply be withdrawn. It still amazes me they didn't catch this sooner, because I've always held Leland's in high regard.

[cmw2ward]

Mark17,

Thanks for the tip! I was thinking of bidding, but not now!

Best,
Tim

[ironmanfan]

Lelands is a quality outfit; I'm confident they'll do what is right

[Vintagedeputy]

Well, there is some truth to the story.

On May 25, 1969, Peraza faced the Bravos in his only appearance against them. The box score from the inning where he faced the Hammer says that he pitched to Aaron in the bottom of the 6th, struck him out and Felix Millan was caught stealing for a double play.

[bigtruck260]

I wonder sometimes about players than milk one incident for eternity...

I see Mike Torrez at autgraph shows signing photos of Bucky Dent and things along those lines.

Maybe it's just a case of a pitcher trying to cash in on his one gleaning moment as a MLB player...or pawning off something in his home to a gullible person who would believe in something like this.

Silly. They still have it up.

[ironmanfan]

I wonder sometimes about players than milk one incident for eternity...

I see Mike Torrez at autgraph shows signing photos of Bucky Dent and things along those lines.

Maybe it's just a case of a pitcher trying to cash in on his one gleaning moment as a MLB player...or pawning off something in his home to a gullible person who would believe in something like this.

Silly. They still have it up.

While a great accomplishment, Don Larsen has been milking that no-hitter/perfect game for over 50 years.......Two years earlier, he went 3-21 with the Orioles

[griffeyfan]

Nice catch Mark17. Many thanks to you as I was about to put some hard earned money towards this one. Lelands just withdrew the auction.

[Mark17]

Thanks. Now, here's my confession; I DID bid on it myself before I spotted the problem.

I'd love to know what the whole story is. Did Peraza find a 73-75 Aaron bat somewhere and then write a bogus letter of provenance? Or did the story actually happen exactly as described, and somewhere along the line the bat was switched?

In any case, Leland's should've noticed the inconsistency immediately, but mistakes can happen. Bottom line is, they ended up doing the right thing, so in my mind their integrity is still 100% intact.

[legaleagle92481]

No shock this is not the first time something from a former player is not legit, auction houses relax when they get stuff like that and they should not.. Remember the late Al G. the Dodgers outfielder who made that famous catch on Joe Dimaggio in the World Series that time and how he auctioned off the "glove" but then later claimed he still had the glove? That is just one example off the top of my head.

[sox83cubs84]

Recalling anothe story like Legaleagle's, Shotgun Shuba consigned three Brooklyn jerseys to MEARS for auction. MEARS rejected one...a 1955 World Series jersey that Shuba's son acknowledged was purchased from a dealer, not kept all those years by Shotgun.

Dave M.
Chicago area