Heading into 2012, New York Yankees fans may have thought they’d already seen the best of their beloved Derek Jeter. The shortstop was about to turn 38 years old, and critics (a.k.a. haters) pointed to his seemingly limited range in the field and diminishing pop at the plate. What more could the Bleacher Creatures ask for as an encore from The Captain after he reach the coveted 3,000-hit plateau in 2011 with arguably the game of his life: 5-for-5 including a home run for hit No. 3,000. That performance seemed to light a fire within his #2 jersey as the man came out of the gates roping the ball in 2012, finishing the season atop the A.L. in hits (216) and fifth in batting average (.316) with 15 homers and 99 runs scored to win the Silver Slugger and make his 13th All-Star squad. Meanwhile, Derek's aging body was doing the opposite of breaking down; he played 159 games and led the Majors in plate appearances.
Presented here is a spectacular piece of hardware from Derek Jeter’s journey up the record books in 2012 – one of his Louisville Slugger game-used bats conclusively photo-matched to nine (yes, 9!) games from May 12th through May 21st in which he had nine hits to pass fellow Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn (3,141) and Robin Yount (3,142) and slide into the top 20. The extensive paperwork from Resolution Photomatching details each of the nine ResMatches and references a few other games as possible matches, which essentially credits double-digit games and hits to this museum-worthy lumber!
The black ash P72 professional model bat exhibits an incredible amount of use. The barrel is covered with ball marks, stitch impressions and cleat marks. A weighted batting donut impression is also present. The 34” and 32-oz. bat is stamped with these specs on the knob, along with a manufacturing date of “04/20/12.” The back barrel reveals the TPX and MLB logos engraved in silver. There is a significant coating of pine tar on the handle, which has an 8” crack. One of the two ball marks just below the label may have been the final blow to break this black beauty. Jeter has autographed the front barrel in 9/10 fine-point silver marker to the left of his facsimile bat insignia stamp.
This bat is easily the finest Jeter gamer we’ve had the privilege of listing at auction. He entered the 2012 season ranked 23rd on MLB’s career hit list, and by year’s end he had shot up to twelfth. The Yanks' hit king retired in 2014 with 3,465 knocks and currently sits sixth on MLB’s all-time list. A Steiner COA is affixed to the barrel, presumably for the autograph. Comes with a 9-page LOA from Resolution Photomatching.