Flipping Highly Coveted BBCOR Bats as Metaphor for Jed Hoyer’s Offseason Pursuits

Have you ever been totally certain a particular situation or decision was such a no-brainer that it had no option but to pan out or pay off, only to be sorely disappointed in short order? And I don’t even mean life-changing stuff, maybe it’s just a pretty mundane deal that makes a ton of sense in the moment before aging incredibly quickly. Like extending David Bote for five years and $15 million and watching him post 0.7 fWAR in that time, or trading for Michael Soroka and having him leave with an injury two innings into his first game.

Hell, it could even be kind of a Kyle Tucker situation. Let’s see if I can meander my way to a point here.

That’s kind of where I find myself right now, only it’s with a pair of bats I bought with the intent to flip them on the secondary market. Aaaaand that’s where I lost half of my readers. Some of you who’ve been here for a little while might recall a piece or two in which I got into bat culture, specifically among BBCOR (high school/college) weapons, and that market has continued to evolve along a similar trajectory to sneakers.

I’m speaking about drop culture, wherein a limited run of a particular style or colorway will be offered to the public for only a brief period. Whether it’s dumb luck or just being dumb, I’ve ended up with over 20 pairs of Air Jordans via the SNKRS app. I’ve never purchased with the intent of flipping, but that’s part of the appeal for some folks. Depending on the style, you’ll see them listed on eBay immediately for well over the sticker price.

Like I said, that’s never been my jam because I buy shoes for myself or my kids to actually wear. Same for bats…until a couple weeks ago. Combat MFG was a Canadian brand that rose to some measure of prominence in the late 2000s — which has me thinking of a recurring Conan O’Brien bit — before being acquired by Easton/Bauer in 2013. Bauer’s bankruptcy proceedings led to Combat’s closure three years later, but Rawlings purchased Easton in 2018 and revived the Combat brand.

It wasn’t until about a year ago, however, that they burst back onto the scene with the Spec A1 bats that immediately rose to the top of the Bat Bros’ BBCOR rankings. With their massive YouTube following, these guys — or really just founder Will Taylor — have massive sway in the market. I don’t think any other tastemakers even come close. In addition to their S-tier performance, Spec A1 bats’ popularity comes from their use of drops that typically feature three different colorways in a similar theme.

The Midnight Rodeo models were a bit hit, pun intended, and the latest round of Performance bats included the “Stang,” “Baja,” and “Gulf Racer” designs. The latter of which caught my eye immediately because it’s orange and light blue paint scheme exactly matches my son’s travel organization. You probably know by now where I’m headed with this, right? I was certain other parents and players would be salivating over these things, but I also knew the limited supply meant they’d have to resort to paying $500 on eBay.

So my genius idea was to buy the limit of two and hold a silent auction for only our organization, with a portion of any profit I made going to Indy RBI. The opening bid was my cost, so quite a bit less than elsewhere on the secondary market. Anyone wanna guess how many bids I got? If you said I had to end up listing both bats online, you’re right. One of them does actually have a bid already, but I may end up breaking even at best on it. Maybe both will end up getting more action once it gets closer to the deadline.

Okay, how in the hell does this relate to Jed Hoyer and the Cubs? Well, I see my little bat-flipping odyssey as very similar to what Hoyer just went through with Tucker. The Cubs took a big risk on a player they had strong reason to believe would only be there for one season, so they knew they had to make the most of it. For a while there, it seemed certain that he was going to be the superstar they’d coveted. But then things just went meh.

It was a gamble that seemed certain to pay off, until it didn’t for a number of different reasons. Tucker was like my Combat MFG Spec A1 Gulf Racer, a perfect fit that made too much sense not to go after. And yet, Hoyer now finds himself having to replace Tucker’s production, presumably without being willing or able to spend what it takes to attract a reasonable facsimile on the open market.

That could lead to any number of imperfect fits, which is where I get to the other wrinkle here. My initial thought was to purchase a 34-inch, 31-ounce model because that’s what my son would swing, but he prefers handles without traditional knobs and said he’d prefer not to use the Combat if I couldn’t sell it. So, since not many high schoolers swing 34s, I bought a 33/30 and a 32/29 (I’m shameless, so those are links to the eBay auctions). I feel like that makes my bats kind of like extending a qualifying offer to Tucker.

I’ll have little to show for my big purchase other than a very small profit at best, just like the Cubs will recoup some value in the form of a compensatory draft pick that might aid them in a few years. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, mind you; it’s just kind of meh and procedural. I’m also not saying Hoyer made the wrong decision, or that he shouldn’t keep taking risks like that.

In fact, I’d argue that he can and should continue taking those kinds of swings because the Cubs should have the financial means to spend through hiccups here and there. I’m by no means rich, but a small investment in a pair of bats isn’t going to break me. Maybe if I keep doing it and I end up with a small warehouse of unsold merch, yeah, but we’re doing okay for the time being.

Apologies to those who made it through this self-indulgent mess, but it’s not like the Cubs are doing anything worth covering. I mean, I almost posted the announcement about tickets for John Mulaney’s show at Wrigley next summer. In the meantime, we’ll keep counting down the days until the offseason is truly upon us.