Babe Ruth 1918-1922 Yankees and Red Sox game-used bat sells for $156,000

A rare Babe Ruth bat used by the Bambino as he was transitioning from a pitcher to an outfielder recently sold for $156,000 at Robert Edward Auctions. The bat received 14 bids.

The Hillerich & Bradsby game-used signature-model bat dates from the 1918 to 1922 manufacturing period. The bat was used during the time he was making the transition from a pitcher to an outfielder with the Boston Red Sox and through his early years with the New York Yankees. During this five-year-span Ruth set records and helped save the game of baseball after the Black Sox scandal. The bat measures 36 inches in length and weighs a Ruthian 42.9 ounces.

Following the 1917 season, Red Sox manager Ed Barrow decided that as valuable as Ruth was on the mound, he was even more valuable to the club as a hitter. The next year, 1918, Ruth started only 19 games on the mound, which was half his total from the year before, and began to play more regularly in the outfield. Barrow’s decision proved to be the right one, as Ruth batted .300 with a league-leading 11 home runs and 61 RBI in just 95 games.

The following season Ruth fully emerged as the greatest power hitter in the game by hitting a then-record 29 home runs while delivering a league-leading 113 runs. Following that season, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth’s contract to the Yankees for over $400,000 in cash and credit, which was twice the amount previously paid for a player’s contract. Ruth broke his own record in his first season with New York, smacking an astonishing 54 home runs. The following season Ruth did the unthinkable and broke his previous record by hitting 59 home runs. He also led the Yankees to their first of three consecutive pennants, launching what would soon become the most successful sports franchise of all time.