Babe Ruth bat sells for record $1.85 MILLION as collector makes huge profit on equipment Yankees legend used at famed Polo Grounds
A bat used by Yankees legend Babe Ruth has sold for a whopping $1.85 million, Hunt Auctions announced Wednesday.
The bat was photographed matched to a game in the 1921 season, the company said, and is said to be the most expensive bat ever sold.
The piece of history, used by Ruth at the Yankees’ old stadium, the Polo Grounds, was bought for just $400,800 in February 2018 by a collector named Justin Cornett, according to ESPN.
In the end, the card got a photo match – as well as receiving the highest possible grade from PSA/DNA Photo Authentication Services – leading to the mammoth price it had just sold for at auction.
“I am very familiar with the ‘Polo Grounds’ Babe Ruth bat and brought it into the hobby 30 years ago,” PSA Pro Bat Services’ John Taube said in a statement to ESPN by Hunt Auctions.
Babe Ruth playing at the Polo Grounds for the New York Yankees in 1921
The bat was compared photographically to Ruth’s in 1921 at the Polo Grounds
Ruth had a storied career, playing both as a batter and a pitcher for 22 seasons
“The rich brown patina and the Ruth features present then and now make the bat one of the most important bats used by Babe Ruth in any collection, public or private.”
Sales of the “Polo Grounds” bat actually beat a previous record held by another Ruth bat, which was sold privately last year for $1.68 million by Heritage Auctions.
Auction history was also made in 2022, when a Michael Jordan Bulls jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold for a whopping $10.09 million at auction.
That figure made it the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever worn.
A seven-time World Series winner, Ruth was a star from both the mound and the plate, hitting 714 home runs (third all-time) and posting a 2.28 ERA in 163 games.