Babe Ruth bats are thought to be priceless, but it turns out there is a price people are willing to pay to get their hands on something once used by "The Bambino," and it is not cheap. On Saturday, the bat used when he hit his 500th home run was sold for over $1 million at an auction in Laguna Nigel, California, according to the Associated Press.
The buyer, who was not named by SCP auctions, now has quite the piece of baseball history.
Ruth's monumental 500th home run was hit on August 11, 1929 against the Cleveland Indians. He was playing for the New York Yankees at the time.
According to the auction site, the home run ball was hit out of League Park in Cleveland and landed on nearby Lexington Avenue. Ruth circled the bases, making history as the first player to ever hit that 500 home runs. Only 26 other players have hit 500 career home runs, with Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz joining the club most recently in 2015.
The bat was autographed by Ruth and the seven-time World Series champion then gave it to his friend, New York Mayor Jim Rice in the 1940s. The bat stayed with the Rice family for 75 years, according to the AP.
This is not the first piece of Ruth memorabilia to go up for auction or to sell for over $1 million. Back in 2004, the bat used when he hit his first home run at Yankee Stadium during the 1923 season went for almost $1.3 million.
