It’s not the first Babe Ruth bat to come on the auction block. Several are in private collections. Not many, however, can date to the finest season during The Babe’s tenure with the Yankees. Heritage Auctions what has been identified as a 1927 Ruth game used bat at its upcoming auction in Baltimore.
Graded AU10 and authenticated by PSA/DNA, the bat will be on the block during the live portion of the company’s August 2 Platinum Night Signature Auction aimed at high end bidders.
The 35 1/4 inch, 40.5 ounce warclub was actually designed on a Lou Gehrig model. Factory records indicate it is the only hickory bat Ruth ordered of this size and weight during the 1927 season.
“After a thorough examination of this George ‘Babe’ Ruth professional model bat and its player use characteristics, it is our opinion that the bat is authentic, and was game used by Ruth during his historic 1927 season,” remarked authenticator John Taube. “The bat exhibits heavy use and possesses outstanding player use characteristics.”
In an era when homers weren’t very common, Ruth hit 60 for the ‘Murderer’s Row’ ’27 Yanks, cementing himself as a baseball icon who had no peer.
In authenticating the bat, Taube said is opinion was “based upon the outstanding use pattern on the left barrel and the presence of handle scoring and heavy barrel scoring, both of which are excellent Ruth characteristics.”
In 2004, the bat believed to have been used to hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium sold for over $1.26 million.
In 2009, Heritage sold a bat it says dated to Ruth’s 1918 Red Sox World Series season. It brought $537,750.
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