Willie Mays went into 1969 as the game's greatest active slugger as he approached 600 career home runs, second to only Babe Ruth. Mays would get the 13 home runs in the 1969 season he needed to reach the 600 home run milestone. Despite battling injuries in the 1969 season, Mays still managed to hit a solid .291 in 117 games at the age of 38. Mays ended the 1960’s by being named the Sporting News “Player of the Decade”. The next few seasons he tapered off gradually and in 1972 made his return trip to the city his career began - New York - when he was traded to the Mets. This great bat exhibits the kind of great game use you want to see from the game's greatest living slugger in the autumn of his career. 

To find a heavily used, attractive Willie Mays bat with a perfect combination of heavy pine tar, multiple ball marks and cleat imprints is a near impossible task. For those searching for such a 'perfect' Mays game used bat, your search is over! This Willie Mays' Hillerich & Bradsby S2 shows evidence of outstanding use. Repeated hits off this bat has resulted in some checking on the back barrel, which has been repaired with glue. Many ball marks and stitch impressions can be seen on the barrel, as well as cleat imprints and green bat rack paint streaks. A heavy coat of pine tar is evident on the handle and it appears the barrel has been coated with high gloss urethane. The presence of pine tar on this bat is significant as the Giants' slugger only began using the substance from the mid-1960's on. The model number "S2" is stamped in the knob end, over which Mays has written his number "24" in black. If you need one game used bat from Mays' later years, this is the one you want. Its condition demonstrates the right combination of ball marks from Mays' explosive power and distinctive characteristics only employed by the Hall of Famer during the end of his great career. This bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B07780) who have graded this bat a perfect GU 10.

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