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42,000$ Mel Ott GU Bat Stolen at National Booth

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I got an email from this gu bat site
and i figured i would pass it along encase
anyone found it ;)

It recently sold at the Hunt Auction live
event at the AS Game for 42k. Mel Ott died in 1956
and his stuff is considered the hardest to find for GU set
collectors of the 500 HR club. John Taube is one of the leading authenticators for PSA/DNA.
He specializes in authenticating GU bats. he has a booth at many shows in the tri state area with his main office in Margate NJ.My 98 & 99 GU Mac Bats were authenticated by him and his teamat PSA/DNA. i also am on his email list for when he comes across new inventory.

Here is the email:


I received a phone call this morning from John Taube. He alerted me that a 1930s H&B Mel Ott game used bat was stolen from their booth at the national yesterday. The bat that was stolen is the bat that was recently sold through Hunt Auctions at the MLB All Star Game event.


http://huntauctions.com/live/imageviewer.cfm?auction_num=37&lot_num=268&lot_qual


If you see the bat for sale either in person or online please alert John Taube either by email ([email protected]) or by calling his office (609-487-8003). You can also contact me by email ([email protected]) or by phone (715-279-1242



If anyone is well versed in terms off acountability issues,
is his booth responsible for reimbursing the owner
who paid 42,000$ for the bat?
 
Last edited:

Messier2

New member
Aug 10, 2008
6,091
0
Man, that's crazy. I was there yesterday and they had their own security team and a bunch of people in suits (executives from the company) on hand. I don't think it was easy at all to "walk away" with a bat.

Or, was this overnight or of-hours sometime?
 

sportscardtheory

Active member
Aug 16, 2008
8,461
2
Buffalo, New York
Why steal something you could probably NEVER sell without getting caught. I'm pretty sure there isn't a European or South American black market clamoring for game used baseball memorabilia.
 

HPC

New member
Aug 12, 2008
6,709
0
Phoenix, AZ
I'd say inside job.

I'd hope a major piece like that would be locked in a heavy safe at night and not just left in a display case where a rogue employee could've taken it
 
Either it was a diehard 500 club collector who
has no intention of selling it or maybe it was a young
kid who just wanted to steal something. Or someone who
is stealing it to sell on the black market.

im curious to know who is going to be held responsible for
reimbursing the owner. Somewhere in North America is one
pissed off collector. I was thinking about bringing a bat to have
to his booth tomorrow when i go, not that im worried it would happen again,
but it goes to show that when you place your stuff in others
possesion, the worst can happen. The sad part about this is
whoever stole it were assuming is not going to advertise it. Its pretty much
like losing a needle in a haystack. A 42,000 needle that is unreplaceable.
 

Pastretta

New member
Aug 27, 2008
2,143
0
Arizona
People like to buy so many different things on the black market that I wouldn't be surprised if ends up there with around a 10k price tag.

I'm looking into my magical ball btw ;)

It'll show up and the person will get charged with grand larceny(I believe)
What a plan this robber had....
 

moxacaine

Active member
Administrator
Aug 7, 2008
17,349
2
Fredericksburg, VA
the owner of the bat posted on game used universe.

"Guys:

That was my bat. Obviously I am very upset about it and am doing everything possible, including notifying auction houses and dealers. John Taube has filed a police report. Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.

Scott Foraker
[email protected]"
 

matfanofold

Active member
Aug 10, 2008
7,645
1
Honestly, I find a piece like at a well guarded and manned national booth, very unlikely that is was "stolen" as in someone came by, took the bat and walked off. My gut instincts here, and are purely speculative, is that it was misplaced by the handlers and no one is taking the blame so lets just cry "stolen!"...
 

rehmus

Active member
Mar 10, 2010
1,243
0
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Honestly, I find a piece like at a well guarded and manned national booth, very unlikely that is was "stolen" as in someone came by, took the bat and walked off. My gut instincts here, and are purely speculative, is that it was misplaced by the handlers and no one is taking the blame so lets just cry "stolen!"...

i agree. not necessarily that this is what it was, but that it wasnt necessarily stolen.

that aside: there's supposedly a pretty big underground market for 1 of a kind art... so by extension it's theoretically possible someone could flip it... but i doubt it.
 

nyc3

Active member
Aug 20, 2008
5,305
0
At least we know it was not JO sports, according the US court system they make their own game used items. :D
 

mlbsalltimegreats

New member
Aug 7, 2008
6,772
3
42,000 for a Mel Ott Bat :eek: This is why I do not collect full pieces of players I collect and why I buy Tiny Bat pieces on cardboard instead. So for anyone who ask next time, this is why!
 
i know the owner scott foraker,
he was mentioned in a beckett article along
with taube and how scott collects big money bats.
He contacted me a few years ago about wanting to purchase
my 98 and HR mac bats.

It sucks for anyone for that to have happen. His collection
is pretty insane as it includes mantle, ruth, cobb and iron horse bats.

hope he gets it back.
 

predatorkj

Active member
Aug 7, 2008
11,871
2
Yeah, a lot of you hit this on the head with this being a pretty un-fencable item. Even on the black market I don't see it getting the kind of money it originally got.
 

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