This offered bat was there at the very beginning of Tony Gwynn’s Hall of Fame career. Louisville Slugger records show that Gwynn ordered this bat on July 15, 1982 when he was a member of the Triple-A Hawaiian Islanders. Gwynn was tearing up the Pacific Coast League at the time, batting .328 when San Diego called him up to The Show. Gwynn made his big-league debut only four days later on July 19th where he picked up his first two career Major League hits, and this bat was among the very first he used in the Majors. As you would expect from a young slugger trying to prove himself, Gwynn’s Louisville Slugger K55 model bat shows outstanding use with a slight handle crack. Gwynn’s number “19” is hand written on both ends of the bat, with the number on the knob drawn over another notation in red, possibly a minor league reference. PSA/DNA have stated in their LOA that this is the earliest Tony Gwynn bat they have ever authenticated. An impossibly scarce bat attributed to Tony Gwynn’s first days in the major leagues. This bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B16155) for the game use and has been graded a near-perfect GU 9.5. Additionally, there is a LOA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication for the signature.

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