‘Home run king’ Babe Loose Bat sells for $2.4 billion

Hunt Auction announced that the bat used by Babe Ruth, the “home run king,” between 1920 and 1921 was sold through an agreement between individuals for $1.85 million (about 2.437 billion won), the highest price ever for a baseball bat.

The previous record was Ruth’s bat안전놀이터, which was sold privately for $1.68 million at Heritage Auction in August of last year.

Hunt Auction described the bat that set a new record as ‘the only case that can be proven with pictures’.

According to ESPN’s report on the 6th, the highest selling bat matches the one in a 1921 photo of Ruth swinging a bat at the Polo Grounds, where the New York Yankees played home games until 1922.

Collector Justin Cornette purchased the so-called ‘Polo Ground Bat’ at an auction for $408,000 (approximately 537 million won) through a heritage auction in February 2018. At the time, it was estimated that Ruth wrote the bat from September 1920 to March 1922 before the photo was read.

The value of the bat skyrocketed when professional sports authenticator (PSA)/DNA photo expert Henry Yee proved in 1921 that it matched the bat in Ruth’s photo.

Ruth set new single-season home run records (59) and career home run records (139) in 1921, among other things. The bat received a perfect score of 10 on the PSA/DNA photo verification service.

Ruth holds several records for the most expensive baseball memorabilia. The most expensive baseball souvenir is his baseball uniform ($5.64 million, 7.4 billion won) sold in the summer of 2019, and in November last year, the glove he used was sold for $1.53 million (2 billion won).

Ruth is the main character who led the transformation of baseball by bursting with long hits at a time when there were few home runs. His bat, which was a trade of strength, weighed 44.6 ounces (1.26 kg). Bats for major leaguers in 2023 typically weigh only 32 ounces (907 grams).