I’ve never posted here before, and I would be thrilled if you guys could take a moment to give me your opinion on a game used bat related question.

I recently read Joe Orlando’s article “The Five Most Frequently Asked Questions About Professional Model Game Used Bats”. In the article Mr. Orlando addresses the topic of players using other players bats. He states that use was typically limited to a brief period, and that if a player liked the bat they would typically order a bat for themselves matching the original bat’s specifications.

Having said that, there is an order in Charlie Gehringer’s bat ordering records showing that he ordered bats for himself based off of a Babe Herman model bat which was returned to the Louisville Sugger factory in 1937. Charlie Gehringer and Babe Herman were teammates on the Detroit Tigers in 1937, and my assumption based on this information is that Gehringer likely used Herman’s bat at some point while they were teammates, Gehringer presumably liked the bat, and knew that Herman had sent the bat in question back to the factory after it eventually became cracked from use. Subsequently Gehringer ordered Bats for himself as a result.

I happen to own the Babe Herman bat off of which Gehringer ordered his own copies. The bat is factory side written, and the writing on the bat is still clear and legible. It bears the date of return (matching the notation in Gehringer’s ordering record), player name (Babe Herman), and team information (Detroit American League).

Based on all of this information, would it be reasonable to think that the Babe Herman bat I own was used (although briefly) by his teammate Charlie Gehringer, thus resulting in Gehringer ordering his own copies?