As the Cincinnati Reds road trip swung north to Montreal in May of 1985, Pete Rose was less than 50 hits from baseball immortality - surpassing Ty Cobb's record of 4,191 career hits. Now 44, Rose's sweet swing wasn't as whip-fast as it used to be, and 1985 saw his pre-season bat order from Mizuno fulfilled with 31.6 ounce bats, lighter than his previous 32 and 33 ounce orders. As the elusive record came with his grasp, the Japanese bat manufacturer added a special "PR 4192" graphic to Rose's bats to commemorate the achievement.

     This extraordinary bat has been "customized" in a wholey unofficial way as well - a 6-inch hole has been bored in the barrel and a substance, presumably cork, has been injected into the void. Although the bat has the remains of a ring of tape on the barrel signifying its use in batting practice, PSA/DNA surmises that the corked barrel “introduces the likely game use of the bat by Rose. In our opinion the bat was used by Rose and then retired for batting practice”.

     The bat comes from Rene Longpre, the general manager of the Montreal hotel Pete lived in while he played with the Expos. Longpre became the slugger’s driver during his time in the city and when Rose returned to Montreal in mid-May, 1985, he again acted as his driver. After a two-hit game against the Expos, Rose presented his friend with one of his custom 4192 Mizuno Black Bats and a batting glove. The bat remained in Longpre’s possession until this past year. The Mizuno PR4192 bat shows outstanding use with a repaired handle crack. Several ball marks with stitch impressions can be seen along with cleat imprints. The upper handle has been taped to enhance the grip and a 1” piece has been removed. A light coat of pine tar has been applied to the handle. The barrel end has been drilled and filled with what appears to be cork. PSA/DNA has X-rayed the bat and a copy of the print and a cd confirming this filling accompanies the bat. The bat comes with a full GU 8 LOA from PSA/DNA (1B06789) for the game use.

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