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Finer Things
Valuable Baseballs and Bats
By Jonathon Freeman-Anderson
Baseball memorabilia is the most sought after sport's trade by collectors and enthusiasts. Baseball cards are always heavy sellers, but historical baseballs and bats are worth the most. In fact, the most expensive sport's item ever sold is Mark McGwire's 70th homerun ball in 1998 for $3,005,000 to comic book and action figure legend, Todd MacFarlane. Bonds #756 homerun that he smashed over the fence in right center field at AT&T Park to beat Hank Aaron's homerun record sold at auction for $752,000 ($100,000 more than what Aaron's 755th went for in the mid-'90s).
Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Honus Wagner, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, and other great legends have consistent value that fluctuates every now and then, but generally, will steadily climb over time. The bat that Babe Ruth used to hit the first homerun at Yankee Stadium in 1923, sold for $1.265 million. Ruth's left-handed swing helped the Yankees decide to leave Polo Grounds for Yankee Stadium with a short right field fence, affectionately dubbed "the house that Ruth built." In 1920, the Yankees bought Ruth from the Boston Red Sox for an unprecedented $100,000. The fact that the bat Ruth used to indoctrinate the new Yankee Stadium should sell for twelve times what he was originally sold for proves the priceless nature of the phenomenon and legendary nature of the athlete, Babe Ruth, over his sport. No one can ever take away the Babe's feat as the first to hit a homerun in an all-star game in 1933. After the first sold out all-star game in Chicago's Comiskey Park, the game became an annual classic. The value of Babe's homerun ball shot up selling in 2006 for $805,000.
In July 1976, with about 75 games left in the season, no one could predict that Hank Aaron had hit his final home run ball. Milwaukee Brewers groundskeeper, Richard Arndt, retrieved the ball abandoned in the left field stands and was subsequently fired by the Brewers for not turning over the ball. Arndt sold the ball in 1999 for $650,000. Other noted unsigned homerun balls, Barry Bonds 73rd of 2001 season sold for $450,000. Mickey Mantle's 500th homerun sold for $144,000 in 1996. Ken Griffey Jr's 500th was given back to the player by a fan in 2004, and the same thing happened to Frank Thomas's 500th in 2007.
"Shoeless" Joe Jackson was banned from baseball for his alleged role gambling in the 1919 World Series, but his lifetime batting average of .356 maintains Jackson as one of baseball's greatest hitters of all time. Jackson's trademark dark-hued bat, nicknamed "Black Betty," sold in 2001 for $580,000 at auction.
Many items from 19th-century baseball including lithograph prints and posters, original team photographs, trophy balls, bats, gear, and sheet music for songs like, "The Home Run Quick Step" (1861), or "The Base Ball Polka" (1867) are highly sought after valuable items. The value of a signed baseball is judged on the condition of the ball and the quality of the signature. The type of baseball will also effect value with an official American league baseball from Babe Ruth's playing days being of the most value. A baseball in poor condition with a weak signature could sell in the $4,000 price range or less, and a minty baseball with a strong signature could sell in the $15,000 price range or more. A 1963 New York Yankees Team Signed Baseball with the key signatures: Berra, Mantle, Ford, Howard, and Maris is worth about $1, 000.-$1,500. Prices may also vary based on the amount of signatures, and key signatures acquired. A Honus Wagner single signed baseball is worth between $5, 000.-$6,000. A pristine signed Ruth ball could be worth $10,000-12,000. The highest price paid for a non-steroid related piece of baseball memorabilia is the famous "Gretzky T206 Honus Wagner" baseball card selling for $2.8 million in 2007.