Baseball Promotions, Baseball Miscellaneous

[Birdbats]

Mike and Jim,

How should we interpret notations on bat records that show the customer as "Baseball Promotions" or "Baseball Miscellaneous"? I've always assumed these are simply promotional bats. However, I recently was told that "Baseball Promotions" could be legit game bats that were either sent directly to a player's agent (instead of the team) or hand-delivered by an H&B rep.

There's an Ozzie Smith bat on eBay currently that matches only one order on his records -- and those were sent to "Baseball Promotions."

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Assuming the use characteristics are not inconistent with Ozzie, would you consider this a possible gamer or dismiss it as a promo bat?

Thanks!

Jeff
http://www.birdbats.com

[JimCaravello]

Hi Jeff - Mike may have some different views, but here are my views........

As I have always talked about - it is possible that an order titled under Baseball Promotions and or Baseball Miscellaneous could be an order that actually made it into the player's hands for use in the "Bigs". For my money though, I am not comfortable owning a bat that is strictly traced to one of these orders, even if the use is comensurate with typical game use. The only way I would be comfortable with a piece like this is if it had some great provenance ( obtained from player after game, from batboy, etc. ). The answer to your question is yes - its possible, but for my personal collection, I need a lot more than just a few ball marks on an uncracked bat.

Mike - any additional thoughts?

Any other Forum members have thoughts??

Jim

[MSpecht]

Hi Jeff--

First, here is a little history for newer forum members:

The ability to see shipments of individual player's signature model bats that were sent to places other than to the player himself or his team, located in one central place, did not occur until 1981 wh en H & B computerized the factory shipping records. From that point forward, each entry references, among other things, an invoice number and, very specifically, a destination for each shipment. Much consideration was given as to how to interpret that information when deciding how to make the information available to collectors, such as can be found in the individual player's bat charts on the Game Used Universe website, or as will be found in Vince Malta's upcoming book, due out in November.

That being said, the decision was ultimately made that if a bat was sent to the player, the player's team, Baseball Miscellaneous, or Baseball Promotions, it is presumed to be intended for a player's professional use IF the order of bats contains a specific model, length, and weight on the invoiced order. Bats shipped with no specific reference to weight, or referenced by "Any" for the model number, and shipped to the player's team, Baseball Miscellaneous, Baseball Promotions, a sportings goods store or a promotional company are presumed NOT to be intended for the player's use and are not shown in the individual player's chart.

I agree with Jim in that, when reviewing player's charts as they appear in the GUU library or in the upcoming book, be aware of those bats with a "m" (Baseball Miscellaneous) or a "p" (Baseball Promotions) designation ... a closer look into the provenance and individual player characteristics will add to your comfort level with that bat.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com

[Nnunnari]

Hi,
just curious if the Ozzie Smith bat that is currently on ebay which was shipped to baseball promotions was ordered with a specific model, length, and weight?
thanks,
Nick

[MSpecht]

Hi Nick--

Yes, an order was shipped to Baseball Promotions on 8/11/89 consisting of 6 bats, model B349 -- 35 inches and 32 ounces with Flame Treated/Burned Finish. I believe this is the order that Jeff was referencing.

Good Luck.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com

[Nnunnari]

thanks Mike, I appreciate your time and info