As the 1985 season dawned, Pete Rose stood on the threshold of baseball immortality. For over two decades, Rose played the game like a throwback from an earlier era, sliding head-first, running out every ball and doing anything and everything to eke out another win for his team. Along the way he won the Rookie of the Year Award, NL MVP Award, a trio of Batting Crowns, lead his team to three World Championships and was named the World Series MVP. All the while he recorded a steady number of hits that now had him poised to surpass Ty Cobb as the all-time career hit king.

As Rose prepared to take the field on Opening Day, 1985, he was sitting on 4097 career hits, just 95 more needed to beat Cobb’s magic number. As he had averaged 186 hits a season so far in his career, it was a lock that he would reach that milestone at some point in the upcoming season. And in typical Pete Rose style, his performance on Opening Day belayed any doubts that he was going to meet that challenge with gusto. Facing the Expos at Riverfront Stadium, Rose was a one-man wrecking crew, going 2-for-3 that included double and 3 RBI in Cincinnati’s 4-1 win. This is the bat Rose used to open the book on the 1985 season that saw him usurping the title of the All-Time Hit King from Ty Cobb. The Mizuno PR-4192 model bat shows great game use. The handle has been cracked and subsequently secured with a ring of adhesive tape. In the typical Pete Rose fashion, portions of the finish on the barrel and handle have been sanded. There are several ball marks that are present on the barrel and there are cleat imprints and abrasions from contact with the ground and other equipment throughout.

Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the bat is the fact that it was later discovered to be corked. This was done to preserve the length and width of the bat while lightening the weight by drilling out the center and filling it with cork. Many players are known to have done this throughout the history of the game, but it was, and remains, against the rules if a player is caught. While it is not known how many times Rose went to bat with an illegal corked bat, this corked model was definitively used on Opening Day 1985 by the future Hit King as Pete has signed the barrel of this bat in bold silver marker, inscribing, “4/8/85 OPENING DAY GAME USED BAT.” A terrific gamer from one of the true greats of the game, that packs a little something more than your average game used bat. This bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B18539) for the game use and has been given the highest possible grade of GU 10 and a LOAs from Pete Rose and Arnie Metz for the signature and game use.

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