Babe Ruth 'Notch' bat sells for $86,250
One of four known Babe Ruth home run "Notch" bats hit the auction block recently and set a new price record. With a final bid of $86,250, this bat set a new auction standard for Ruth game-used bats in an auction that captured $2,537,000 in total bids. The Ruth example, which exhibited 11 home run notches, sold for roughly $20,000 more than the only other Ruth notch bat to surface at auction (that bat had 8 notches and sold a couple of years ago). The only other notch bats known to exist reside in museums, one in the Baseball Hall of Fame in New York and the other in the Louisville Slugger Bat Museum. Here's a look at some of the auction highlights from the big sale.
| ** Item ** | Price Realized | | --- | --- | | Dr. James Naismith scrapbook | $24,020 | | 1972 Mercury Morris Miami Dolphins Super Bowl Ring | $21,047 | | 1972 World Champion Miami Dolphins signed photo | $5,175 | | Eagles logo from turf at Veteran's Stadium | $9,803 | | 1973 Ed Kranepool National League Championship Ring | $12,650 | | Tris Speaker signed baseball | $6,111 | | 1955 Brooklyn Dodger team signed baseball | $3,363 | | 1960 Pittsburgh Pirate team signed baseball | $3,061 | | Derek Jeter's first game ball signed by Jeter | $6,957 | | Pedro Martinez 300th strikeout ball from 1997 | $8,728 | | Ebbets Field Double Seats | $8,222 | | Polo Grounds Double Figural Seats | $12,014 | | Forbes Filed Triple Seats | $11,048 | | 1996 Dick Williams N.Y. Yankee World Championship Ring | $45,540 | | 1927-31 Babe Ruth game-used 11 home run notch bat | $86,250 | | 1946 Mel Ott N.Y. Giants game-used uniform | $45,223 | | 1946 Ted Williams game-used bat | $20,338 | | 1976 Hank Aaron game-used cap from 755th home run game | $7,871 | | 1959 Eddie Mathews Milwaukee Braves game-used road jersey | $20,872 | | 1976 Ernie Banks game-used Chicago Cubs coaches jersey | $6,578 | | 1999 Mark McGwire game-used cap from record game (50HR's) | $5,094 | | 1933 Joe DiMaggio Rookie Autographed Seals jersey | $46,000 | | 1950-60 Yogi Berra game-used/autographed H&B bat | $8,337 | | 1961 Mickey Mantle All-Star Adirondack bat | $18,400 | | Mid-1970's Thurman Munson jacket | $12,882 | | 1983 Don Mattingly game-used home rookie jersey | $9,604 | | 1999-2000 Derek Jeter game-used bat | $3,162 | | 1985-86 Pete Rose game-used/autographed Mizuno "ATHL" bat | $2,646 | | 1950-60 Ralph Kiner game-used/autographed H&B bat | $4,600 | | 1969-72 Willie Mays game-used H&B bat | $9,171 | | 1961-67 Hank Aaron game-used Adirondack bat | $6,957 | | 1999 Alex Rodriguez game-used/autographed home run #22 bat | $3,329 | | 1976 Brooks Robinson game-used/autographed Bicentennial bat | $3,523 | | Mid-1950's Jackie Robinson game-worn Dodger jacket | $25,466 | | 1938 Babe Ruth game-used Brooklyn Dodger coaches uniform | $45,919 | | 1963 Sandy Koufax L.A. Dodgers game-used jersey | $46,000 | | 1968 Willie Stargell game-used/autographed Pirates jersey | $8,625 | | 1964 Ken Boyer game-used St. Louis Cardinals jersey | $11,480 | | 1991 Ryne Sandberg game-used/autographed Cubs jersey | $4,539 | | 1999 Sammy Sosa game-used Cubs home jersey | $5,060 | | 1984 Nolan Ryan game-used Houston Astros jersey | $7,396 | | 1973 Hank Aaron game-used/autographed Braves jersey | $19,607 | | Circa 1918 Jim Thorpe game-used New York Giants baseball jersey | $59,655 | | 1967 Juan Marichal game-used San Francisco Giants jersey | $8,140 | | 1971 Carlton Fisk game-used/autographed Boston rookie jersey | $9,487 | | 1996 Roger Clemens game-used jersey and spikes | $9,949 | | Cal Ripken Jr. game-used baseball mitt | $10,422 | | Late-1970's Nolan Ryan game-used/autographed Angels jersey | $10,350 | | Lou Gehrig autographed photo | $11,197 | | 1967-68 Bobby Orr game-used Boston Bruins jersey | $44,820 | | 1991-92 Wayne Gretzky game-used L.A. Kings jersey | $12,952 | | 1971 Wilt Chamberlain game-used/autographed Lakers jersey | $22,411 | | 1972-73 Walt Frazier game-used New York Knicks jersey | $9,614 | | 1998-99 Shaquille O'Neal game-used Lakers uniform | $13,444 | | 1952 George Mikan game-used/autographed All-Star jersey | $37,041 | | 1960 Bill Russell game-used All-Star uniform | $29,532 | | 1973 Bill Walton game-used UCLA jersey | $13,915 | | Late-1990's Dan Marino game-used helmet | $6,957 | | Mid-1980's Joe Montana game-used helmet | $7,096 | | 2000 Randy Moss game-used helmet | $7,132 | | 1985 Walter Payton game-used Chicago Bears jersey | $11,827 | | 1995 Brett Favre game-used Packers jersey | $7,475 | | 1994 John Elway game-used Broncos jersey | $9,300 | | 2000 Edgerrin James game-used Colts jersey | $9,949 | | 1994 Troy Aikman game-used/autographed Cowboys jersey | $8,625 |
Unique Comiskey Signed Baseball Breaks $20,000 in $1.3 Million Gutierrez Auction
Usually, when a single signed baseball reaches $15,000 or higher, you expect the autograph to come from a major name like Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig. Recently, at Mike Gutierrez's all-autograph auction, a Charles Comiskey single signed Official American League baseball sold for $21,300. According to Gutierrez, it is the only known single signed baseball of this legendary Chicago owner. With that in mind, the bidding became fierce even though the reserve was a mere $2,500. Here's a look at some of the highlights from the sale that featured $1.3 million in total bids.
| ** Item ** | Price Realized | | --- | --- | | 1923 New York Yankee team signed baseball | $18,306 | | 1940 Cincinnati Reds team signed baseball | $7,678 | | 1961 New York Yankee team signed baseball | $12,501 | | 1969 New York Mets team signed baseball | $5,700 | | 1977 New York Yankee team signed baseball | $10,792 | | Jimmie Foxx autographed B&W HOF Plaque | $1,995 | | Bobby Jones autographed photo | $2,839 | | Babe Ruth signed "Babe Ruth Story" | $4,281 | | Jeff Morey autographed index card collection | $34,309 | | 1927 New York Yankee team signed baseball | $17,603 | | 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates team signed baseball from Clemente estate | $5,419 | | 1980 Philadelphia Phillies team signed baseball | $4,281 | | 2000 New York Yankee team signed baseball | $2,388 | | Charles Comiskey signed baseball (only known example) | $21,300 | | Ty Cobb autographed baseball circa 1959 | $13,905 | | Grover Cleveland Alexander autographed baseball circa 1933 | $7,399 | | Jackie Robinson signed baseball | $6,208 | | Mickey Mantle "Happy Hanukkah" autographed baseball | $1,903 | | Babe Ruth 1926 signed hospital document (to Christy Walsh) | $6,957 | | 1932 New York Yankee "Year to Remember" display | $7,054 | | Babe Ruth autographed 1932 underwear contract | $3,938 | | 1933 autographed World Series photo w/Ruth | $8,419 | | Lou Gehrig autographed 1938 wire photo | $9,292 | | 1961 New York Yankee "Year to Remember" display | $5,829 | | Negro League Greats signed replica jersey | $5,536 | | Roger Maris autographed replica bat | $4,281 | | Ty Cobb autographed B&W HOF Plaque | $2,304 | | Mark McGwire autographed limited edition 1987 bat | $1,995 | | 1922 Notre Dame team signed photo | $4,926 | | 1983 Michael Jordan game-used/autographed North Carolina shoes | $16,641 |
Big Mac Attacks in First At Bat
What's baseball without Mark McGwire?
It's still a great game, but with Big Mac, it's something special. The big slugger returned to the lineup yesterday with a bang, after undergoing weeks of rehab on his ailing knee. Big Mac went 2 for 3 with a homer in leading the Cardinals to victory.
This is great news for the hobby because baseball has been suffering a bit from the lack of star power in the headlines. Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey Jr., Mo Vaughn, and Nomar Garciaparra are just some of the names that are missing from lineups due to injuries. To complicate matters even further, many of the stars that are healthy are currently struggling. Players such as Johnny Damon, Rick Ankiel, and Cal Ripken Jr. are having a terrible time in 2001.
Luckily, we have had a few bright spots in 2001. Ichiro is on a torrid pace at the plate, Rickey Henderson continues to amaze at 42 years of age, and Barry Bonds is blasting baseballs into the water time and time again. In addition, for the purist, baseball has been very enjoyable to watch because of all the surprise teams and individual performances. If you were to tell me a few months ago, that the Seattle Mariners would be way out in front in the AL West and Luis Gonzalez would have over 20 homers at this point, I would have had you committed.
As we go into the final month or so of the first half, it will be interesting to see if some of the surprise teams and players can keep this up and if some of the stars can come on strong down the stretch. The lack of star power has hurt the appeal of football cards in recent times; let's hope the baseball season has a lot more surprises in store. With the return of Big Mac, at least we know some fans in the cheap seats will be receiving a few souvenirs.
Bobby Orr game-used Boston Bruins jersey bring $44,820
1977 New York Yankee team signed baseball sells for $10,972