Nails in Bats

[REDS1999]

I Would Like Opinions On Game Used Bats From The Teens And 20's Which Have Bat Boy Nails. I Realize During These Time Periods It Was A Custom To Repair Bats With Nails Until They Could Not Be Used Any Longer. Is There A Significant Detraction Of A Bat Which Has A Few Nails Versus One That Has Greater Than 50 Or So Nails That Were Placed On The Back Side Of The Barrel For Grain Separation Problems? I Am Not Talking About Full Size Nails But The Small Tacks That Repaired Bats Usually Show. It Would Be Appreciated If Opinions On This Topic Could Be Shared.

Thanks,
Greg

[yankeepirate]

Nails in Bats

In my collection are a number of bats from the old days in which nails were inserted to fix cracks and splitting. I have always wondered whether the players were allowed to continue to use such bats once they had nails inserted, or whether the bats were then used only for BP or were sent back to the factory to be duplicated.

I have become more interested in this question since finding the following info online:
"...Al Rosen used small nails to keep the grain from splitting in the barrel of his bat. When discovered, the bat was ruled illegal by umpire Charley Berry."

If you have any knowledge about the use of bats with nails inserted, please let me know. Thanks. You also can reach me at goldstein@goldlaw.com, as I often forget to check for responses on this forum.

-Howard G.

[cohibasmoker]

Re: Nails in Bats

In my collection are a number of bats from the old days in which nails were inserted to fix cracks and splitting. I have always wondered whether the players were allowed to continue to use such bats once they had nails inserted, or whether the bats were then used only for BP or were sent back to the factory to be duplicated.

I have become more interested in this question since finding the following info online:
"...Al Rosen used small nails to keep the grain from splitting in the barrel of his bat. When discovered, the bat was ruled illegal by umpire Charley Berry."

If you have any knowledge about the use of bats with nails inserted, please let me know. Thanks. You also can reach me at goldstein@goldlaw.com, as I often forget to check for responses on this forum.

-Howard G.

Here's a possibility. Back in the day, a Phillies bat-boy lived around the corner from us and he would occasionally bring home caps and some cracked bats. Since we were City kids and having ZERO money, if the bats weren't too badly cracked, we put nails in them and continued to use them until they were totally unusable and we then simply trashed them - Imagine Callison, Gonzalez and Allen bats simply thrown into the trash - oh well.

Just a thought,

Jim

[karamaxjoe]

Re: Nails in Bats

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the story is players during the turn of the century used to have bat boys insert nails into their cracked bats in order to keep using them. At some point MLB outlawed the process since a shattered bat with nails flying at a pitcher could be a little scary.

[tcfor3]

Re: Nails in Bats

Instead of nails, most players in the early part of the 20th century used Victrola needles from Victrola record players to repair cracks and/or splits in bats.

The needles were thin, long and very strong to make repairs that allowed a bat to be used again and again. When pounded into a bat with a hammer, the end where the hammer hit would flatten out slightly to keep the needle in the bat without having a large metal head that a nail might have.

I have seen a bat from the 1915-1920 era with more than 20 victrola needles ponded into it to keep the barrel grains from splitting.

[nealdevelopment@yahoo.com]

Re: Nails in Bats

When did this world start using glue?