Famous Bat Sold for More Than Half a Million Dollars

A famous bat used in Major League Baseball’s 1988 World Series by Kirk Gibson of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been sold at auction for more than half a million dollars.

Gibson used the bat to hit a dramatic two-run home run in the ninth inning to beat the Oakland Athletics in the opening game of that series.

The winning bid was $575,912. That is the second-highest sale price ever for a baseball bat. Only Babe Ruth’s signed bat used for the first home run at Yankee Stadium sold for more. The Ruth bat fetched $1.265 million in 2004.

A father-son sports collectors duo from California bought the Gibson bat and four other artifacts Gibson was selling from his time with the Dodgers.

Gibson earned a place in baseball folklore with his winning home run. He was not expected to play in that World Series due to leg injuries and illness, but he came to the plate as a pinch hitter with two outs in the ninth inning and the Dodgers trailing 4-3.

After struggling to even walk to the plate, and facing famed Oakland Athletics closer Dennis Eckersley, Gibson hit a two-run homer that gave Los Angeles a 5-4 win. The Dodgers went on to win the World Series 4-1, with Gibson unable to make any further appearances.

The 53-year-old Gibson, who currently manages baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks, said some of the money raised in the auction will go to his charity foundation.

Gibson spend most of his playing career with the Detroit Tigers and said he is not yet ready to sell any of his Tigers memorabilia.

Some information in this story was provided by AP.