There are few topics as of late within the “bat collecting” community that draw the passionate responses as that of the Team Index Bat (TIB). By and large my collecting and writing interests have focused on uniforms because, well…I just like them more than bats. For this past year I have taken a look at bats not really based on a collecting preference, but rather to examine much about what has been previously said and thought about them through the filter of why are the various opinions held on any number of topics.
My article last year titled “What Do We Really Know About Baseball Bats?” came about as a result of listening to various collectors offer their opinions on how much weight a bat should gain or lose over time. Like most issues on bats, I have no personal or professional baggage in the form of previously written works or evaluations that I feel compelled to support in one way or another. To put people’s minds to rest, I don’t see myself offering opinions on bats nor entering the market as a dealer of them so I am not trying to establish any theory to support the sale of any items. Back to the topic at hand,… TIB’s.
As I wrote briefly last year:
TEAM INDEX BATS: We know and accept as a fact based on production information that teams ordered bats in various weights, lengths, and player models. We also know as a fact that in a number of instances, these varied from the individual orders that players placed and are recorded in their player records. This is where the facts end and opinions begin. These opinions range from:
A. The players themselves whose names appear on the bat never used team index bats.
B. The players themselves whose names appear on the bat did use team index bats.
C. The players themselves whose names appear on the bat may have used team index bats.
I have heard various individuals debate the merits of these and attribution or not to a specific player. What I have yet to see is a non-player specific basis or argument offered to support why they may have been used. At best, I have seen people pick apart a player’s order sheet and say he ordered some like it based on a combination of model, weight, and length. As an intelligence officer, I find these arguments lacking as they only point to a causal relationship between items an individual player level. In my line of work, we are compelled to examine the environment and offer justifications one way or another outside of these indicators. This is done in developing things along the lines of profiles. The idea is that a commander can see the same intelligence reports as his intelligence offer and have a completely different read on the information. The facts in this case are the various entries listed in both individual player files and those of team orders. The issue is what do they really mean or what do they tell us?
In looking at this topic, I decided to develop a profile for a “Team Index Bat” user. One that is not player specific, but based on indicators that may support a player’s decision to use bats not recorded in their own player inventory sheets. I did this largely based on the “counter argument” of that a player only wanted to use what he ordered because of their personal selectivity of what they took to the plate. This led me to look at players whose personal records might indicate:
1. Consistent pattern for multiple orders of bats in a given year that varied along the lines of models, weights, and lengths. To me this indicates a player who might be more willing to experiment or use other bats other than simply the ones he ordered.
2. Players whose individual order sheets indicate a low number of bats ordered and or extended periods of when bats orders were placed. While this may also be an indicator of a player using another manufacturer such as Adirondack or that they just didn’t go through many bats, I felt this was part of a potential profile as it indicates the possible use of another means (TIBs) of meeting their lumber needs.
3. Anecdotal evidence supporting a “less than meticulous” approach to the game and individual preparation for the contests.
I am not suggesting that this template or profile will end the TIB debate one way or another. I am suggesting that it offers a basis to evaluate the likelihood that a particular player may be more or less likely a candidate to have used TIBs. I think this is the more rational approach than simply looking at the player records and team orders without any qualifiers as I feel Team Index Orders lend themselves to supporting either argument for or against specific player use. For Example:
St Louis Cardinals Team Index Orders Show:
2-9-61: Ruth, R43, 35”, 33oz, A20
2-9-61: J. Foxx, F3, 34”, 31oz, A20
COMMENT: Clearly the Cardinals were not ordering bats for Babe Ruth or Jimmy Foxx in 1961.
2-5-47: “See order to training camp. All Players to get last models used. A 156”
COMMENT: This seems to be the essence of a team order in that the team took the responsibility to see that all players at least had something on hand for spring training that they has used in the past.
The Pittsburgh Pirates Team Index Orders Show:
4-15-48: Lefty O’ Doul, 01
COMMENT: Clearly the Pirates were not ordering bats for Lefty O’Doul.
The Brooklyn Dodgers Team Index Orders Show:
1-10-45: Hornsby H117: Stamp Brooklyn and H on Knob, A 96.
COMMENT: Hornsby was neither a coach nor manager for the Dodgers.
9-26-52: Pitchers for World Series (1 ea)
Carl Erskine K55, 35”, 34oz
Clyde King K55, 35”, 34oz
Clem Labine K55, 35”, 34oz
Joe Landrum H117, 35”, 34oz
Ken Lehman, K55, 35”, 34oz
Billy Loes H117, 35”, 34oz
Ray Moore H117, 35”, 34oz
Preacher Roe K55, 35”, 34oz
John Rutherford, S2 34”, 32oz
Ben Wade, K55, 35”, 34oz
COMMENT: At times in team index orders, you will see orders simply listed as pitchers bats, this order is for one bat each, by a named player and includes three models. The Dodgers show similar orders for World Series bats for their pitchers broken down like this for 1953 as well. Based on the specificity and limited quantities involved, I feel it very reasonable to assume that these bats were in fact ordered for use by these players.
The Cincinnati Reds Team Index Orders Show:
8-16-44: Joe DiMaggio, D29, 35”, 34 oz, A6
In some cases within these orders you can find named players of prominence that played on the respective team during the time of the order in which the quantities range from 2-4 bats to over 100. Other times you will find entries for “All Players” or some other form of descriptive grouping. My point in all of this is I don’t feel either of the camps of absolutes has much of a definitive argument to prove their point. This brings me back to my original idea of looking at a profile of those things that may make it a bit more likely or less likely that a player used an index bat.
The player I have selected to view against this profile was selected for a number of reasons. First, I wanted to find a player who’s “player sheet” had already been published as a matter of public record in order to ensure widest possible visibility. Secondly, I wanted to find a player that may fit the profile I described above. I could not be happier to find that the one who appears to fit the bill on both accounts is none other than Mickey Mantle. This is not because I have Mantle bats or really know anyone who does, but that because of his position of prominence I hope this will cause some discussion and debate.
Mantle’s “Bat Card” or a portion of it can be found on page 136 of Bob Hill’s “Crack of the Bat: The Louisville Slugger Story. The entries are clear and legible so that helps.
I will not recopy that information here as I think it is better for you to see it yourself. But how does Mantle fit the profile I described above?
“ Consistent pattern for multiple orders of bats in a given year that varied along the lines of models, weights, and lengths. To me this indicates a player who might be more willing to experiment or use other bats other than simply the ones he ordered.”
I have bolded a model the first time it shows up in this period to highlight Mantle is just not ordering the same two or three model bats each year. In this case we find eight (8) different models. When you combine variations within those by weight and length, the actual number is clearly much higher.
1951
Bats Ordered: 20
# of Models: 2 (L16, T61)
# of Lengths (2) with max variation between lengths 1”
# of Weights (2) with max variation between weights 1oz
1952
Bats Ordered: 41
# of Models: 3 (T61, M110, S2)
# of Lengths (3) with max variation between lengths 1”
# of Weights (4) with max variation between weights 2oz
1953
Bats Ordered: 22
# of Models: 2 (K55, S2)
# of Lengths (2) with max variation between lengths ½”
# of Weights (2) with max variation between weights 2oz
1954
Bats Ordered: 20
# of Models: 3 (M159, S2, M110)
# of Lengths (1) with max variation between lengths 0” as all are listed at 34 ½”
# of Weights (2) with max variation between weights 2oz
1955
Bats Ordered: 55
# of Models: 3 (M159, K55, M110)
# of Lengths (3) with max variation between lengths 1 ½”
# of Weights (5) with max variation between weights 5oz
1956
Bats Ordered: 25
# of Models: 3 (M110, S2, W148)
# of Lengths (2) with max variation between lengths ½”
# of Weights (3) with max variation between weights 2 oz
1957
Bats Ordered: 46
# of Models: 2 (M110, S2)
# of Lengths (2) with max variation between lengths ½”
# of Weights (3) with max variation between weights 2 oz
1958
Bats Ordered: 20
# of Models: 3 (S2, M110, T89)
# of Lengths (2) with max variation between lengths 1/2”
# of Weights (2) with max variation between weights 1oz
1959
Bats Ordered: 21
# of Models: 2 (T89, M110)
# of Lengths (1) with max variation between lengths all at 35”
# of Weights (2) with max variation between weights 2oz
1960
Bats Ordered: 30
# of Models: 3 (T89, M110, K55)
# of Lengths (3) with max variation between lengths 1 ½”
# of Weights (3) with max variation between weights 3 oz.
Players whose individual order sheets indicate a low number of bats ordered and or extended periods of when bats orders were placed.
SEE CHART FOR ORDERING FREQUENCY
In charting these orders, a couple interesting things begin to appear such as the number of bats ordered during the pre-season:
1952
18 of 41 or 43%
1955
15 of 55 or 27%
1956
12 of 25 or 48%
1957
12 of 46 or 26 %
1958
12 of 20 or 60%
1959
9 of 21 or 43%
1960
12 of 24 or 50%
If you look at the 1954 season and subtract the All Star Bats ordered in July, only 6 bats were ordered prior to August of that season.
For years 1959 and 1960, there are no orders listed after May of those years. MEARS has evaluated two (2) separate 1959 Mantle Adirondack All Star Bats (Cert #s 301017 and 251123)
It should be mentioned that we know that not all of Mantle’s orders are recorded since we have seen 1960 World Series bats, but not recorded in his sheet. To see one of these 1960 Mickey Mantle World Series bats, all you need to do is examine page 167 of The World Series: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Fall Classic by Josh Leventhall. The image is very clear and the barrel stampings are very easy to read:
WORLD SERIES 1960
Mickey Mantle (signature)
Anecdotal evidence supporting a “less than meticulous” approach to the game and individual preparation for the contests.
“Mickey Mantle used lots of different H&B bats, but seldom used the one with his signature on it. Mantle would just pick up any bat that was handy.” Page 15 of America’s Bat: The History of Louisville Slugger-The Bats and the Players Who Used Them.
Mickey Mantle at the plate in Yankees Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles finishing a swing with what appears to be the player # 11 or #17 on the knob of the bat. Page 172 of One Hundred Years-The New York Yankees: The Official Retrospective.
In episode #3 of the 1960 TV Series Home Run Derby, Mickey Mantle faced Red Sox Slugger Jackie Jensen. After Mantle got off to a commanding lead early in the match, show’s host Mark Scott talks to Jensen about being behind. Jensen remarked to Scott “What’s making this worse is he’s using my bat.”
I also found it interesting that Mantle decided to order the T-89 model for the first time late in the 1958 season. He also ordered those for his World Series bats that year. He followed that up with an order for more T-89 in the spring of 1959. Did Mantle have late season success with someone else’s T-89? Mantle’s 1961 pre-season orders also reveal three not previously ordered models.
Also of interest was a team order from the Yankees:
9-24-59:
MM K55, 35” (weight unspecified) A4
YB R43, 34 ½” (weight unspecified) A4
G. McDougald K55, 34” (weight unspecified) A4
N. Siebern M110, 34” (weight unspecified) A4
Skowron S180, 34 ½” (weight unspecified) A4
Kubek L5, 35”, (weight unspecified) A4
These annotations are in addition to the one on that date listing:
“SEE INDEX ORDER A 24”
– Mantle had previously ordered K55’s in 35”, 35 ½” and 36”
– Gil McGougald had previously ordered K55’s in 35”. His personal orders also show an order on 3-14-58 for R43 35”, 34 ½ oz (Berra Auto) as well as 8-27-58 for R43 35”, 34 oz (McDougald Auto)
– Norm Siebern had previously ordered M110 at 34”but at 34 ½” and 35” earlier in 1959
– Moose Skowron had previously ordered S180s at 35” and 36”, but had order 34 ½” bats back in 1953.
Are the McDougald, Siebern, and Skowron orders of late season shorter bats?
– Tony Kubek had previously last ordered L5 at 35” back on 3-13-57. His L5 orders were for 34 ½” prior to this and including and order 7-8-59. After this Team Index Order, Kubek’s next personal order is for B211 at 35”. Is the Kubek order the precursor to a change to 35” inch bats that we see in his next personal order?
The Berra order deserves some attention all its own.
A look at Berra’s record for 1959 shows he last order bats on 8-12-59 and for model B211. Berra’s records show him ordering R43’s on any number of occasions, but never in a half inch. The “Berra” order is for a not previously ordered length of a common model.
The Yankee Team Index Order also shows an order for Berra:
8-6-47: Berra, R43 A12
Berra’s Personal card shows:
3-13-47:
R43 35”, 35oz A6
R43, 35”, 34oz A6
R43, 35”, 34/35 oz A12
8-6-47: (Date of Team Order Above)
R43, 35”, 34 oz A2 (New Auto)
Berra could hardly be considered a star for the Yankees in 1947 playing in just 83 games as both an outfielder and a catcher. Berra’s own account of the 1947 season is just as uneventful as told by him in The Men of Autum: The Oral History of the 1949-1953 World Champion New York Yankees by Dom Forker. Yet we have an order for him show up in their Team Index some almost three months since his last order of that uneventful year for a model he had previously been ordering. Any player could have ordered an R43 and there were likely those available to other Yankee players in 1947, so why another player’s demand for a Berra bat at this point in his career? As an aside, if you looking for a picture of a “BERRA” block name H&B bat, one I had not seen or heard of before, check out page 183 of The New York Yankees: An Illustrated History (Revised Edition) by Donald Honig. The photo is described as being from 1949.
Does any or all of this settle the debate on if any specific player can be definitively said to have or have not used Team Index Bats? Probably not in some eyes and not entirely in mine either. We know there are omissions from individual player records, players ordered other players bats.
To me, I feel that Team Index Bats provided the team with the ability to make orders for:
1. General, At-Large Team or Organizational Use.
2. Specific Specialized Team Use for items like Fungo’s, Weighted Bats, and Generic Pitchers Bats.
3. Special Events such as World Series and Old Timers Games.
4. Bulk specific orders to facilitate spring training.
5. And yes, possible individual player orders.
The purpose of this article is in the same vein as the other bat articles I have written in the past year. It has been designed to explore a topic of debate and offer a framework above that of “well that’s what I have always been told or thought.” Collectors are free to decided for themselves what they want to believe and why. I would only hope that any debate is framed on some presentation and interpretation of data and other evidence because that is all I have tried to do here.
For me, if I were considering adding a Team Index Bat of any player to add to my collection, I would evaluate him/the bat against the profile I developed along with any player specific characteristics the bat may or may not exhibit. Alas, this article is probably more for you than me because I just like uniforms better.
MEARS Auth, LLC