When it comes to baseball auctions, the name Babe Ruth stands out. The legendary baseball player has his name attached to some very lucrative items that have been a part of his career.
The latest, a Babe-used bat with a record $1.85 million sale at auction.
The previous record also belongs to The Great Bambino. A bat of his that sold privately for $1.68 million last August.
The bat, of course, is a rare find, but just as rare is photographic evidence of the bat’s usage from the Hall of Famer.
According to ESPN, the “Polo Grounds” bat was purchased at auction in February 2018 by collector Justin Cornett for $400,800. The bat was matched to a 1921 Babe Ruth photo thanks to PSA/DNA photo expert Henry Yee.
The bat increased in value a great deal since, obviously.
Babe Ruth's bat sold for a record $1.85M at @HuntAuctions.
Ruth used that bat in 1921, when he had 59 HRs and 168 RBI 🤯 pic.twitter.com/nltHKi9oWf
— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) April 5, 2023
“I am very familiar with the ‘Polo Grounds’ Babe Ruth bat, bringing it into the hobby 30 years ago,” John Taube of PSA Pro Bat Services said in a statement provided by Hunt Auctions. “The rich brown patina and the Ruth characteristics that were present, then and now, establish the bat as one of the premier Babe Ruth game-used bats in any collection, public or private.”
Babe’s cards also have sold for top dollar.
A 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #53 card graded PSA 9 card sold for more than $4.2 million, which was a record for that specific card. The original owner, Dr. Thomas Newman, purchased the card for $20,000 in the mid-1990s.
Babe Ruth leaves behind a legacy that is bigger than seven World Series championships and a batting/ERA title.
He became an icon in the sport and a reference to the game we still use today.
