April 5th Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/6/2013
Before the 1985 season, with Ty Cobb’s career hits record within his reach, Pete Rose ordered thirty special black Mizuno bats. Not being as quick as he used to, Pete specified this new batch of bats be made slightly lighter than usual in order to shorten up his motion. Each of the 34” long, 31.6oz bats were specially marked in white: “PR 4192” in recognition of Pete’s quest for Cobb’s record. All through the 1985 season Rose used these particular bats and the Reds July 4th weekend series at Veterans Stadium against the Phillies was no different. New Jersey photographer Bob Bartosz was at those games and one of his shots of Pete waiting his turn to bat made the cover of the September 1985 issue of Beckett Baseball Card Monthly magazine.
In the late 1980’s Pete sold a large portion of his personal collection and this bat found its way to collector Bill Schubert. While the PR 4192 bat was definitely from Pete’s record-breaking season, there was no way to prove he actually used it in an actual game. That is, until Schubert happened across a copy of the September 1985 Beckett Baseball Card Monthly. Right there on the cover was Bob Bartosz’s photograph of Pete Rose in the on-deck circle with bat in hand, taken in Philadelphia over the July 4th weekend. It wasn’t just any PR 4192 bat Pete had resting on his shoulder waiting to bat, it was the same PR 4192 that Schubert had purchased . Looking closely, the unique scuffs, wood grain, brown tape and white painted “14” on the knob all matched. This was the same bat. Schubert sent it off to John Taube at PSA/DNA who agreed, issuing a letter of authenticity declaring it a genuine 1985 Pete Rose game used bat. Urged on by a fellow collector, Schubert decided to investigate a long-unsubstantiated rumor - in 1985 Pete Rose had corked his bats. Looking closer at the top of the barrel where a second number “14” had been uncharacteristically painted in white, Schubert discovered a circular patch of wood. An X-ray of the bat put all the rumors to rest - a hole 6” long and the diameter of a nickel filled with a foreign substance. Although Pete always denied the rumors of using corked bats, there in black and white was proof - this game used Pete Rose bat was corked. This is the only PR4192 in existence that unequivocally proves Pete used a corked bat during his 1985 chase of Ty Cobb's hit record.
This Mizuno PR 4192 shows heavy use with cleat marks, many ball marks and stitch imprints. The slightly cracked handle is uniquely taped with 5 rings of adhesive and then a larger 4 1/2” ring of the same material above it. Light pine tar coats the handle. As usual with Rose’s bats, the knob is marked in white paint with his number “14”. The top of the barrel is also marked in the same manner with a second “14, something which he did to only a handful of his bats. PSA/DNA has graded this historical bat GU-10. This bat comes with the letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA, the actual X-ray showing the hole and foreign matter and a copy of the September 1985 Beckett Baseball Card Monthly clearly showing Pete holding this same bat. Pete has signed the cover in silver ink: “Pete Rose Veterans Stadium 7/4/85 - 7/7/85”. Multiple images and LOAs available at goldinauctions.com.