You might be able to buy the bat Babe Ruth used to call his shot
The bat used in possibly the most well-known home run of all-time might be up for sale. You can bid on the bat Babe Ruth may have used to hit his called shot home run. The bat has been put up for auction at Lelands.
The item is currently going for $100,000, but there are still 22 days left to enter bids. Given the history behind the piece of memorabilia, that figure should skyrocket in the coming days.
The only problem here is that the people involved aren’t 100 percent sure this is the actual called shot bat. There’s some evidence to suggest that’s the case, but it’s not totally confirmed.
According to Lelands, there are photos of Ruth from that period using a 1932 bat, which is the year of the bat Lelands has put up for auction. Not only that, but there’s an arrow carved into the bat on the part where it struck a ball. This was reportedly one of Ruth’s rituals. He would make that mark on bats that produced significant home runs.
In the event that this is not the called shot bat, well, you’re still getting a Babe Ruth bat that’s in excellent quality. It received a perfect 10 from an authentication group. That same group also believes it could be the called shot bat.
You likely already know the story by now, but Ruth reportedly called his own home run in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. With the score tied 4-4, Ruth pointed to center field during an at-bat, and then blasted a home run to give the New York Yankees the lead.
It’s been debated whether Ruth actually called his shot. Plenty of stories have emerged refuting that version of events, though it’s tough to prove any of them. The lack of proof makes it one of the game’s greatest urban legends. And even if it’s false … well … people want to believe.
That’s part of the reason why the bat is probably going for way more than $100,000 by the time the auction ends.
And if that’s too steep for you, Lelands also has the bat Tom Lawless used to smash a home run in Game 4 of the 1987 World Series. That bat was part of the greatest bat flip of all-time according to MLB Network. That bat flip is definitely worth watching, and makes Lawless’ bat a solid consolation prize if you can’t shell out Ruth money.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
