Why do certain Detroit Tigers bats knobs have the dots on them?

[rdeversole]

I've recently noticed a few Detroit Tiger bats have some sort of number system on their knob. I saw a Gary Sheffield mothers day bat with ..1 and I just saw another bat that had .1, what do the dots represent? Any help is appreciated.

[Manram]

I believe the dots and slashes are there to tell if the bat is a BP bat or one the player uses in the game. I could be wrong though

[spartakid]

Yes, this is correct. Perhaps a Tigers expert can tell use exactly which is which.

[metsbats]

Tim Lee in an article in SCD stated that during the 80's and 90's Tigers equipment manager Jim Schmakel labeled bat knobs with the weight of the bats using a series of slashes under the players number. One slash meant 1 ounce over 30 ounces, two slashes meant 2 ounces over 30, three slashes meant 3 ounces over 30 ounces, and so on. He would designate half ounces by placing a line going thru the slashes.

[tigerdale]

yes, each vertical slash is an ounce over 30...a horizontal slash (thru the vertical slashes) is a half ounce up from how many vertical slashes. The dots are tenths of an ounce. If the dots are to the left...you subtract. If the dots are to the right of the slashes, you add. For example, if you had ll... that would be 32.3 ounces. Or ..1 would be 30.8 ounces.

[mbrieve]

Has anybody pinpointed what year Jim Schmakel started marking Tiger bats in this manner? The earliest Tigers bats I own are from 1991 and they have the markings. Just wanting to add to my knowledge.

[mbrieve]

I had some time today and decided to take pictures of all my Tigers bats knobs. The top row of bats have no extra markings beyond uni # (these were all from the early-90s and had the weight identified by the manufacturer), the middle row of bats have markings and are from the 90s, and the bottom row of bats have markings and are from the 2000's.

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee92/mbriev16/tigersknobs.jpg

[tigerdale]

great picture of the tiger bat knobs...I know Jim S was there for the 84 series, I think he started in 79 or 80...somewhere in there. It looks like maybe his marking evolved...I know the dots seem to be more recent..maybe as the players bat started to be even more precide to tenths of ounces rather than half ounces. If you want, send me your number 1, 3's & number 23 bats...I'll look at them closer :)

[mbrieve]

This photo goes well with this discussion:

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee92/mbriev16/284179_10-1.jpg
DETROIT TIGERS INFIELDER ALAN TRAMMELL IN THE DUGOUT DURING THE TIGERS VERSUS OAKLAND A'S GAME AT THE OAKLAND COLISEUM IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA. (1989)