PSA BatFacts™

Rocky Colavito was one of the most feared sluggers in the American League during the late-1950s and 1960s, putting up monster numbers as a member of teams like the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers. As a result, his bats are highly-coveted. Sometimes Colavito would order his bats "turned", which means that the sweet spot of the hitting surface would be located more towards the back of the barrel than the side. This was a rare practice and one that fellow All-Star Yogi Berra employed occasionally as well. Colavito was not known for using heavy amounts of pine tar or preparing his handles with tape.

The knobs of Colavito gamers feature two different styles of markings. Some feature Colavito's uniform number and others feature "Rocky" in distinctive print. Keep in mind that Colavito's uniform number changed several times during his career. He wore "38", "6" and "21" (Indians), "7" (Tigers and Kansas City A's), "18" (Chicago White Sox), "29" (New York Yankees) and "16" (Los Angeles Dodgers).

Rocco Domenico “Rocky” Colavito, Jr. (August 10, 1933-) is the first outfielder in American League history to play a complete season with a 1.000 fielding percentage and is the fifth player in the AL to have 11 consecutive seasons with 20 or more home runs. Rocky played five years in the minors before joining the Cleveland Indians on a full-time basis in 1955. Colavito made an immediate impact on the Indians lineup hitting .276 with 89 hits including 21 home runs in his rookie campaign finishing second to Luis Aparicio in American League Rookie of the Year voting. In 1958, Rocky homered 41 times, leading the league in slugging percentage and followed that season with a league leading 42 home runs in 1959. He also led the league in games played twice and once in plate appearances, home runs and RBI. Colavito played right field for 14 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Cleveland Indians (1955-1959, 1965-1967), the Detroit Tigers (1960-1963), the Kansas City Athletics (1964), the Chicago White Sox (1967), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1968) and the New York Yankees (1968). He was a six-time All-Star and finished in the top ten in American League Most Valuable Player voting four times, being considered six times. After making a couple stops around the AL in Detroit and Kansas City, Colavito returned to Cleveland for his best year as he had 170 hits, 25 doubles, 21 home runs and a league leading 108 RBI. Rocky is one of 15 players in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game when he homered four times against the Baltimore Orioles in 1959. Rocky Colavito finished his career with 1,730 hits including 283 doubles and 374 home runs, scored 971 runs, drove in 1,159 RBI and batted .266 in 14 seasons. He added a .980 fielding percentage with 3,323 putouts in 3,516 chances.