Collecting Game-used: No MLB sticker? No problem ... Part IV

This month's Collecting Game-used item a gamer for sure, but I can't put it in the player's hands to prove it. That's actually way more common than you might think today even if we live in a world of holographic authentication stickers on nearly everything.

After going 3-for-3 for exact photo matches within this series, this one is still a solid hit -- it's a fully prepped and lightly used gamer. What do I mean? If you haven't followed this series, from time to time I grab game-used baseball bats for the retired player I collect, Nick Swisher, and I've been able to photo-match nearly all of them. Here's last time, here's part two and here's the first one. They are all bats that cost me less than this Sam Bat ... but I had to have it.

Why? Because it's a deluxe brand -- it's one that cost me more compared to others -- but it was worth it ... and it turns out this bat might be a lot rarer than others I own.

Keep reading to see the details this time.

THE BASICS ...
Game-used bat (not MLB Authenticated): 2013 Nick Swisher Sam Bat Maple 2K1 Rideau Crusher
Watch it in action: Nothing photo-matched this time ...

The match-ups: Nothing photo-matched this time.
The result: Nothing photo-matched this time.

What's Buzz-worthy: The codes hand-written on the top of each Sam Bat are helpful for authentication purposes. It looks like it was ordered/made on Jan. 30, 2013, so that's a starting point for trying to photo-match. (The 34s are ounces and inches and 2K1 matches the model noted in the barrel.) The 13221 is the only number I couldn't figure out but I asked the Sam Bat social media person about it and it turns out that's their order number. "It is definitely an authentic bat," they previously told me when I landed this and just this morning I was told that this bat was among just 12 Swisher ordered with these specs. So ... it's a pretty unique piece compared to many bats in his career. (At this point, after adding this one, I have something from nearly every bat-maker he used in his career ... and he tried a lot of them with a lot of color combos and sizes.)

The bat has a red "33" sticker on the knob atop its Made in Canada sticker and that reinforces (along with the ordering timeframe) that this was a bat used for his first year in Cleveland. Meanwhile, the only photos I could find on Getty Images' publicly available database of preview images were in early 2012 when he was with the New York Yankees and used a different color of Rideau Crusher (see gallery). Overall, there are few images of him using Sam Bats -- definitely a lot more using other companies' models -- and that also reinforces the rarity here. To further authenticate it, it's got his trademark handle taping and some grime on that, while the handle and barrel are very clean compared to my other gamers where they can be absolutely demolished and caked in grime. This bat has a thicker finish to it and is solid and uncracked -- the only marks that are visible are some ink transfers in one spot on the meaty spot of the barrel and then some light light ball seam indentations across the barrel -- all indicating this was a bat not used for long. (That also explains why I can't find photos.) It being signed also indicates it could have been given away or perhaps provided for an event, which might be why it's a cleaner bat. There's no doubt in my mind this is a premium gamer -- Sam Bats are a bit pricey compared to other brands for both players and often for game-used collectors -- it just wasn't used for long.

>> See all past Collecting Game-used stories from Buzz here

--

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy baseball cards on BlowoutCards.com

Click for a closer look at each of these images.