sampson
Active Member
the contents of this guide are strictly my opinion which i base off what i have seen personally and on the board. so do not take it as 100% undeniable fact, but use this merely as a guide to help identify what you have or what you may be looking at purchasing. take this for what it is worth...
so im getting tired of seeing all these "what batch freak do i have?" threads and i have been asked several times to make a thread like this, so here it is. i thought i would post this and maybe it will help someone out and save me and the other knowledgeable freak guys the trouble of having to re-answer this same question over and over and over and over and over....
aj22 has a pretty good overview of the freak batches. click here to read his post. i use a modified and expanded version of that for my reference.
it should be know that this categorization i am providing here will NOT catch every single freak out there. anybody can put a smooth endcap on any freak and "call" it a first batch if they felt like it just to try to screw over a buyer. when im looking at freaks, if it doesnt fit into one of these categories perfectly i usually wont touch it. if it doesnt fit, it brings up a new set of questions for me. my categorizations only take into consideration a bat that is unaltered. once it has been altered, there is no way my guide can take that into account. my guide does not take into account an og freak that has been altered from its original configuration.
also, in my opinion, i DO NOT consider the 300xxxx freaks as first batches. this is a big debate on here. these are the reasons i considered while forming my opinion of the 300xxxx freaks, you have to draw your own conclusions:
key factors as to why i dont consider 300xxxx freaks first batches:
1. logo endcap - based off every one that i have ever seen, they should all have the logo endcap from miken. if they have a smooth endcap, its been changed for whatever reason.
2. manufacture date - the manufacture date of the 300xxxx freaks is after the confirmed 2nd batches had begun to be produced. check this thread out to see the data that has been gathered thus far: http://forums.softballfans.com/showthread.php?t=755270
3. s/n - if 300xxxx is really a first batch s/n, what happened to everything up until 327xxxx? if you notice in my s/n thread, there is a huge gap between the 300xxxx and 327xxxx but everything after 327xxxx is pretty much sequential on through the 4xxxxxx s/n's. whats up with that?
factors that people use to argue that they indeed are first batches:
1. s/n - some argue that since the 300xxxx s/n is on the bat, it is by default a first batch no matter what endcap it has or no matter what the manufacture date is. as i explained above, that doesnt really make sense especially since all the other og freak batches seem to have a logical order to them by both s/n and manufacture date.
see the pics below for a reference of some of the freak distinguishing items...
1st batch - model of the bat is MSF. 1st batch serial numbers are up to and including 332xxxx with smooth endcaps (no miken logo...a melted in "W" is ok as long as the miken logo is not present). from what i have seen, somewhere between 3320000-3330000 is where the transition happened from 1st batch to 2nd batch. there are some 332xxxx freaks that had smooth endcaps and some that had miken logo endcaps, i do not know an exact cutoff number or if there even is one. i would not consider a 332xxxx freak with a logo endcap to be a 1st batch. imo, a true 1st batch must have the an appropriate s/n and it must have a smooth endcap. the true 1st batches are endloaded and thats what the smooth endcap provides. 1st batches will not have "official softball" on the barrel.
2nd batch - model number on the bat is MSF. these have a serial number of somewhere in the 332xxxx's into the 4xxxxxx's (i do not know the s/n cutoff for 2nd batches). these will have the miken logo endcap, if it doesnt i would be very suspicious. it will not have "official softball" on the barrel underneath the "FREAK" decal.
3rd batch - model number on the bat is MSF. these have a serial number in the 4xxxxxx's. they will have the miken logo endcap, if it doesnt i would be very suspicious. it will have "official softball" on the barrel underneath the "FREAK" decal. the presence or lack of the "official softball" decal is the easiest way to distinguish between 2nd and 3rd batches.
Limited Edition (LE) - model number on the bat is MSFLE. this is a reissue of the og freak. the le's are balanced like the 2nd and 3rd batches of the og freaks. the serial numbers on them do not mean anything. they have the miken logo endcap and have "Limited Edition" and "official softball" on the barrel underneath the FREAK decal.
1ST BATCH - SMOOTH ENDCAP:
1ST BATCH - SMOOTH ENDCAP WITH A MELTED IN "W":
2ND AND 3RD BATCHES - LOGO ENDCAP:
2nd BATCH - NO "OFFICIAL SOFTBALL" ON THE BARREL UNDERNEATH THE "FREAK" DECAL (thanks for the pic hinzy):
3rd BATCH - SAYS "OFFICIAL SOFTBALL" UNDERNEATH THE "FREAK" DECAL (thanks for the pic hinzy):
LIMITED EDITION - MIKEN LOGO ENDCAP, LIMITED EDITION STAMP AND "OFFICIAL SOFTBALL" ON THE BARREL
so im getting tired of seeing all these "what batch freak do i have?" threads and i have been asked several times to make a thread like this, so here it is. i thought i would post this and maybe it will help someone out and save me and the other knowledgeable freak guys the trouble of having to re-answer this same question over and over and over and over and over....
aj22 has a pretty good overview of the freak batches. click here to read his post. i use a modified and expanded version of that for my reference.
it should be know that this categorization i am providing here will NOT catch every single freak out there. anybody can put a smooth endcap on any freak and "call" it a first batch if they felt like it just to try to screw over a buyer. when im looking at freaks, if it doesnt fit into one of these categories perfectly i usually wont touch it. if it doesnt fit, it brings up a new set of questions for me. my categorizations only take into consideration a bat that is unaltered. once it has been altered, there is no way my guide can take that into account. my guide does not take into account an og freak that has been altered from its original configuration.
also, in my opinion, i DO NOT consider the 300xxxx freaks as first batches. this is a big debate on here. these are the reasons i considered while forming my opinion of the 300xxxx freaks, you have to draw your own conclusions:
key factors as to why i dont consider 300xxxx freaks first batches:
1. logo endcap - based off every one that i have ever seen, they should all have the logo endcap from miken. if they have a smooth endcap, its been changed for whatever reason.
2. manufacture date - the manufacture date of the 300xxxx freaks is after the confirmed 2nd batches had begun to be produced. check this thread out to see the data that has been gathered thus far: http://forums.softballfans.com/showthread.php?t=755270
3. s/n - if 300xxxx is really a first batch s/n, what happened to everything up until 327xxxx? if you notice in my s/n thread, there is a huge gap between the 300xxxx and 327xxxx but everything after 327xxxx is pretty much sequential on through the 4xxxxxx s/n's. whats up with that?
factors that people use to argue that they indeed are first batches:
1. s/n - some argue that since the 300xxxx s/n is on the bat, it is by default a first batch no matter what endcap it has or no matter what the manufacture date is. as i explained above, that doesnt really make sense especially since all the other og freak batches seem to have a logical order to them by both s/n and manufacture date.
see the pics below for a reference of some of the freak distinguishing items...
1st batch - model of the bat is MSF. 1st batch serial numbers are up to and including 332xxxx with smooth endcaps (no miken logo...a melted in "W" is ok as long as the miken logo is not present). from what i have seen, somewhere between 3320000-3330000 is where the transition happened from 1st batch to 2nd batch. there are some 332xxxx freaks that had smooth endcaps and some that had miken logo endcaps, i do not know an exact cutoff number or if there even is one. i would not consider a 332xxxx freak with a logo endcap to be a 1st batch. imo, a true 1st batch must have the an appropriate s/n and it must have a smooth endcap. the true 1st batches are endloaded and thats what the smooth endcap provides. 1st batches will not have "official softball" on the barrel.
2nd batch - model number on the bat is MSF. these have a serial number of somewhere in the 332xxxx's into the 4xxxxxx's (i do not know the s/n cutoff for 2nd batches). these will have the miken logo endcap, if it doesnt i would be very suspicious. it will not have "official softball" on the barrel underneath the "FREAK" decal.
3rd batch - model number on the bat is MSF. these have a serial number in the 4xxxxxx's. they will have the miken logo endcap, if it doesnt i would be very suspicious. it will have "official softball" on the barrel underneath the "FREAK" decal. the presence or lack of the "official softball" decal is the easiest way to distinguish between 2nd and 3rd batches.
Limited Edition (LE) - model number on the bat is MSFLE. this is a reissue of the og freak. the le's are balanced like the 2nd and 3rd batches of the og freaks. the serial numbers on them do not mean anything. they have the miken logo endcap and have "Limited Edition" and "official softball" on the barrel underneath the FREAK decal.
1ST BATCH - SMOOTH ENDCAP:
1ST BATCH - SMOOTH ENDCAP WITH A MELTED IN "W":
2ND AND 3RD BATCHES - LOGO ENDCAP:
2nd BATCH - NO "OFFICIAL SOFTBALL" ON THE BARREL UNDERNEATH THE "FREAK" DECAL (thanks for the pic hinzy):
3rd BATCH - SAYS "OFFICIAL SOFTBALL" UNDERNEATH THE "FREAK" DECAL (thanks for the pic hinzy):
LIMITED EDITION - MIKEN LOGO ENDCAP, LIMITED EDITION STAMP AND "OFFICIAL SOFTBALL" ON THE BARREL
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