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View Full Version : Holes in a game used bat



dwolfe12345
03-18-2011, 09:33 AM
I recently purchased a game used bat that has really weird holes in it. It has 3 small holes about the size of a pinhead in it. It has one about half way up the barrell, one towards the top of the barrell, and one in the top of the bat. Has anyone ever seen this before? Could this be a display model or maybe one used by the factory to get specs on? It is very strange though. I dont have a ton of experience with game used bats but I have never run across this. I will post pictures of it tonight when I can edit them down to fit as an attachment.

MLB_Authentic
03-18-2011, 09:38 AM
Without seeing pictures, the only thing I can think of is that they checked the moisture content of the wood. They normally do that to the billet before it is turned into a bat and not after it is actually a bat though. Would love to see pics and I might be able to give you a better idea.

LastingsMilledge85
03-18-2011, 10:06 AM
You must have David Wright's bat. Whenever his numbers drop he always blames the bats, and that they have holes in them. :rolleyes:

dwolfe12345
03-18-2011, 11:29 AM
Would a billet have the players name and team on it?

MLB_Authentic
03-18-2011, 11:32 AM
No, it wouldnt, thats why I am saying that the idea of them testing after it is already been made is a little strange. Unless it was part of the maple bat study that MLB did and the checked moisture content then.

Just an FYI, the billet is the piece of wood that the bat is made out of. Usually 36 inches long and 3 inches in diameter.

dwolfe12345
03-18-2011, 11:36 AM
Yeah after I posted that I looked up a billet. It would be hard to hit with one of those. haha I will post pictures of the bat tonight so the experts can weigh in because I am way above my pay grade on this one. I have heard of the MLB studies you are talking about. The Braves are selling a Brian McCann bat right now that they say was part of the study. The bat I have is a Vladdy bat.

dwolfe12345
03-18-2011, 11:48 AM
My wife was kind enough to take a few pics on her cellphone and send them to me.

MLB_Authentic
03-18-2011, 11:51 AM
Those don't appear to be holes from moisture testing. Maybe someone made those holes to mount it on a wall or something? I am really not sure. Sorry I couldnt be of more help.

mbrieve
03-18-2011, 12:05 PM
Those don't appear to be holes from moisture testing. Maybe someone made those holes to mount it on a wall or something? I am really not sure. Sorry I couldnt be of more help.
this is what i am thinking.

godwulf
03-18-2011, 12:12 PM
Okay, now explain this one. :rolleyes:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1dc02b3127ccefc3b3e0b48bc00000030O32EbsmzVu0ZA9 vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D3/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1dc02b3127ccefc3a7045e9a900000030O02EbsmzVu0ZA9 vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1dc02b3127ccefc3b28ae481200000030O02EbsmzVu0ZA9 vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

This bat came straight from the team - probably a Spring Training bat - via the Team Shop.

dwolfe12345
03-18-2011, 12:14 PM
I got a smoking deal on the bat. I got it for 170 shipped w/ a pair of Gary Sheffield batting gloves which is a steal of a deal. I just am a little dissapointed that it has the holes in it. I am not a huge Vlad fan, I was just buying it to flip it but it may be hard now with the holes in it. It does have some nice usage on, I just wish I had known it had been possibly displayed.

dwolfe12345
03-18-2011, 04:01 PM
Guys you not believe this but I believe customs did the damage to my bat. After emailing the guy I bought it from, he threw a fit when he heard about the holes. He said customs did the same thing to a bat he sold a few months back. I got on the internet and found a few similar stories. I guess customs think they have the right to damage my items. I guess they thought the bat housed illegal items. I contacted DHL and they said if I have before and after pics I can file a claim.

dwolfe12345
03-18-2011, 05:23 PM
Here is a picture of the bat 1 day prior to shipping.

therealaxis
03-18-2011, 05:50 PM
That is absolutely absurd!!!!!Isn't that what X ray Machines are for,what makes them think they can just drill in to peoples property??Has anyone else experienced this?

Gocong57
03-18-2011, 08:28 PM
That's crazy stuff. No accountablity either, it seems.

dwolfe12345
03-18-2011, 08:33 PM
More examples of damage. That is a needle to air up a basketball I placed inside of the holes. Just so everyones knows the package did have a sticker on it that says it was put through an x-ray machine. Why they felt the need to drill into my item I will never know. I just know I am not a happy camper about the damage to my uncracked Vladdy bat.

dwolfe12345
03-18-2011, 08:37 PM
Interesting story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1179071/Customs-officers-drill-holes-cricket-bats-sent-Pakistan--check-explosives.html

1929tudor
03-18-2011, 08:55 PM
godwulf, if the bat handle is cracked which it looks like it is i would almost bet there are screws under the plugs which the plugs might be wood or putty of some sort.

godwulf
03-20-2011, 10:17 AM
godwulf, if the bat handle is cracked which it looks like it is i would almost bet there are screws under the plugs which the plugs might be wood or putty of some sort.

That actually makes sense, in that the "plugs" do correspond to where the crack is. What I can't figure out is why anyone would go to all the trouble of drilling some very precise holes, placing screws in, and then filling the holes with whatever it is, on a bat like this. I mean, this is not the '30s, when guys were known to "repair" a bat by hammering a few nails into it; bats are not that expensive or scarce these days. Whoever did - whatever this is - had to be with the team, since I got the bat from the team, through the team shop. Weird.

Bat racks
03-23-2011, 08:18 PM
Those are patches from a bad repair made by someone who probably put screws in it & then patched w/ plugs. No touch up or blending done.

dwolfe12345
03-23-2011, 08:24 PM
The bat was never cracked. In the pictures before I bought the item there were no holes. The holes were made during transit.