I don't understand why Mears and Taube both minus points for signs of use when grading bats. They'll minus points for cracks and deadwood. Huh? I thought that point of grading was to prove it was actually used in games and not just an issued bat? A crack is great proof. Deadwood is proof that the bat had quite a bit of use due to the ball constantly hitting the same spot on the bat. So, why get points taken away for that? It sounds like a bat that is pretty (basically issued) with a little use, would actually grade better than a bat with more real use with cracks, deadwood, tape residue, stains, etc. I don't want a pretty bat when I buy a gamer. I want a bat that was USED by the player. It doesn't bother me as much when they take away points for missing pieces, but even missing pieces can be proof of use too. Shouldn't the bat with more use be more valuable than a bat that was maybe used? Confused.
G. Todd