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A professional model bat used by the legendary Babe Ruth for the New York Yankees in 1921 has sold for $1,850,000. The bat was once displayed at Polo Grounds and was photo matched to the 1921 season. The selling price is a world record for any baseball bat, reports Hunt Auctions.
The historic price of the bat can be attributed to the lore still surrounding the name Babe Ruth. The Sultan of Swat played 22 seasons in the MLB from 1914 to 1935. In 1936, he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of the five inaugural members.
Ruth played for three teams in his career, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and one year with the Boston Braves. He was a star pitcher for the Red Sox, however his primary claim to fame is from his slugging outfielder days with the Yankees.
He won four out of his seven World Series rings with the Yankees, and achieved individual feats never-before-seen in Major League Baseball. In 1927, the Yankees won the World Series and Ruth had an historic season at the plate.
He hit 60 homers, and had an unbelievable 165 RBIs. He had a batting average of .356, and although OPS wasn't tracked then, he would have ended the campaign with a staggering OPS of 1.258.
Almost a century later, it is reasonable to see why his bat would sell for such a record price. It belonged to arguably the greatest hitter of all time, despite the gripe that pitching wasn't nearly the same caliber during Ruth's playing days. Regardless of who was pitching, no one can dispute the numbers of the legendary Babe Ruth.
