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Babe Ruth‘s legendary bat was sold for a record amount of $1.85 million during the private Hunts Auction announced Wednesday. This breaks the previous record that was held by another Ruth bat that sold for $1.68 million.
Historic Babe Ruth professional model bat once displayed at Polo Grounds sold for $1,850,000. The bat was assigned the highest grade (GU10) by @PSAcard in addition to being photo matched to 1921 season. World record price for any baseball bat! @Yankees @MLB pic.twitter.com/f5Frx3fVxS
— Hunt Auctions (@HuntAuctions) April 5, 2023
The Louisville Slugger
Ruth’s bat, “The Louisville Slugger,” was used over 100 years ago in the 1921 season. According to Hunt Auctions, this bat record is the “only known example that offers photographic corroboration.” Photo expert Henry Yee was able to match the bat to a photo of Ruth from 1921. This increased the value of the bat by a lot. In February 2018, Justin Cornett purchased Ruth’s bat at an auction for $400,800 through Heritage Auctions. However, there was not a photo match at the time.
The “Polo Grounds” bat is best known for the stadium that the New York Yankees played their 1922 home games in. This bat was given a perfect 10 rating from PSA/DNA Photo Authentication Services. According to a Hunt Auctions quote, “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 Ruth’s 1921 Season
The bat Ruth used in the 1921 season has a lot of meaning that comes with it. During the 1921 season and his second year with the Yankees, he received a single season record for 59 home runs and 168 RBIs. The Yankees made it to the World Series during that season but fell short to the Giants.
Ruth’s Polo Grounds bat was different than others because of its weight. His bat weighed 44.6 ounces, which is much heavier than any bat used today. In 2023, most MLB bats don’t come close to Ruth’s bat weight. The average bat today weighs around 32 ounces.
In an ESPN article, the president of Hunt Auctions, David Hunt said, “This baseball bat is as close to a work of art as the medium can allow.”
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