10 Baseball Bats That Sold for More Than Most Cars
A chunk of wood could outprice a Ferrari—wild, right? When it’s the very bat Babe Ruth used to blast balls into the Bronx sky, collectors don’t blink at million-dollar bids. In some cases, these bats have sold for more than luxury cars. Let’s check out some of these sales below.
Cal Ripken Jr. – 2000 – $200K
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
By the time Cal Ripken Jr. cracked his 3Kth hit on April 15, 2000, he had already rewritten the definition of durability in baseball. This PSA GU 10 bat, used in that milestone moment, marked him as only the 24th player to reach the 3K-hit club.
Roberto Clemente – 1971 – $198K
Credit: flickr
Roberto Clemente’s 1971 game-used bat is a sacred ground for baseball lovers. With this exact Hillerich & Bradsby bat in hand, he powered the Pittsburgh Pirates to a World Series victory and walked away with MVP honors. It’s photo-matched, signed, and scored a flawless PSA/DNA GU 10, the best grade out there.
Joe DiMaggio – 1941 – $345,596
Credit: Wikipedia
Some records are meant to be broken—others throw up their feet and dare anyone to try. Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak in 1941 falls into the latter. He clocked 91 hits and batted .408 over that stretch. One of the bats believed to have helped him do it sold for $345,596 in 2004.
Joe DiMaggio – 1951 – $408K
Credit: Intelligent Collector
This bat was used during Joe DiMaggio’s final season with the Yankees and shared the dugout with a rookie named Mickey Mantle. At 36 inches and 35 ounces, the Hillerich & Bradsby D29L model took its swings during the end of an era. DiMaggio’s autograph was added later, and the PSA/DNA GU 7 rating helped pull in $408K at auction.
Babe Ruth – 1916–1918 – $600K
Credit: Wikipedia
Before he became the Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth was already swinging legends into motion. This block-lettered Hillerich & Bradsby was used during his Red Sox years, when his name hadn’t yet become a trademark. It was graded PSA/DNA GU 9.5 and traced back to a Philadelphia Athletics bat boy, before being sold for $600K in 2018.
Pete Rose – 1985 – $855K
Credit: X
When Pete Rose smacked his 4,191st hit at Wrigley Field, tying Ty Cobb’s long-standing record, this Mizuno PR4192 bat was in his hands. It was graded PSA/DNA GU 10 and sold for $855K. However, it turned out that the bat was corked.
Honus Wagner – 1912 – $900K
Credit: Wikipedia
Most bats tell a story—this one comes with a photograph to prove it. That single snapshot sealed its status as a one-of-a-kind gem. After being graded PSA/DNA GU 10, it hit the auction block in 2021, collectors didn’t hesitate—$900K later, it became one of the most celebrated bats in the game’s history.
Lou Gehrig – 1922–1923 – $1.025 Million
Credit: Wikipedia
Before the streaks, the speeches, and the statues, there was this bat. Lou Gehrig wielded it in the early 1920s as he carved his place in Yankees history. It’s got sidewriting dated April 22, 1925—his signature and the moment his legend took root.
Jackie Robinson – 1949 – $1.08 Million
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Jackie Robinson used this Hillerich & Bradsby S100 in the 1949 All-Star Game, the first to feature African American players. It’s one of only two bats made for him and had stayed in the Robinson family for over 70 years before finally hitting the auction block.
Ty Cobb – 1922 – $1.1 Million
Credit: Youtube
Players today simply don’t finesse a .401 batting average—but Ty Cobb did exactly that in 1922 with this 39-ounce club. It’s covered in scars—cleat marks, stitch smacks, green streaks, and a thick spiral of grip tape. It’s also backed by Cobb’s personal bat orders and photo-matched to a 1928 image.
Lou Gehrig – 1920s – $1.14 Million
Credit: Reddit
Long before Lou Gehrig was smashing records in pinstripes, he was hammering pitches with this 40-ounce beast during his Columbia days and minor league stint with the Hartford Senators. Dubbed “Bat Zero,” this bat is the prototype—literally. Gehrig sent it back to the factory in 1925 to model his future bats.
Babe Ruth – 1923 – $1.26 Million
Credit: Facebook
On opening day at Yankee Stadium in 1923, Babe Ruth sent a three-run shot soaring into history—and this was the bat he used to do it. It was later gifted to a teenage contest winner named Victor Orsatti and lived quietly for decades before being sold for $1.26 million in 2004.
Babe Ruth – 1918–1922 – $1.68 Million
Credit: Wikipedia
This 36-inch, 44.6-ounce monster of a bat helped launch Babe Ruth’s rise from Boston pitcher to Bronx bomber. It was used during his pivotal transition to the Yankees; it’s signed, game-used, and graded a perfect PSA/DNA GU 10. Ruth was rewriting the rules of power-hitting, and this bat was part of that revolution.
Babe Ruth – 1921 – $1.85 Million
Credit: Instagram
You’re looking at the bat that captured Babe Ruth in his prime—literally. This 44.6-ounce “Polo Grounds” slugger is the only one photo-matched to Ruth mid-swing in 1921, the season he crushed 59 homers and led the Yankees to their first pennant. It has a perfect GU 10 grade and that deep brown patina that collectors dream about.
Shoeless Joe Jackson – 1911 – $2.01 Million
Credit: Youtube
In 1911, Shoeless Joe Jackson stormed into the league with a .408 average while swinging this 35.5-inch, 40.1-ounce bat. The handwritten sidewriting shows that he sent it back as a model for future bats.