This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 6/10/2024.
During his 18-year career with the New York Yankees, Mickey Mantle became arguably the best hitting outfielder in Major League Baseball history and did it from both sides of the plate. A 20-time All-Star, Mantle won seven World Series’, was a three-time American League MVP, led the AL in home runs four times and earned the Triple Crown in 1956. Mantle has his No. 7 retired by the Yankees franchise, was named to the MLB All-Century Team and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 on the first ballot. 1964 was The Commerce Commet’s last great season, finishing second in MVP voting to Brooks Robinson but actually beating him in a few key statistical categories. He finished the season with a .303 batting average, 99 BB, .423 OBP, 35 HR and 111 RBI. An argument could be made that this is as important as any Mantle bat in existence. It is the only known Mantle gamer to be signed by both Mantle and Maris. This is a H&B signature model M110. Player number (7) is handwritten in vintage black marker but has faded significantly over time. The M110 stamp appears on the knob as well. Evidence of heavy game use, including: player customary application of pine tar, numerous ball marks, deeply embedded stitch marks, bat rack marks and grain swelling on the barrel. Mantle has boldly and crisply signed the side barrel, just below the sweet spot in black marker, in our opinion rating a 9. This signature dates from the early 1990s. Maris has also signed the bat, on the side barrel, in black marker, in our opinion rating a 6. The Maris signature dates to the early 1960s. This bat originally had a separate vintage Mantle signature as well, but this signature was so faded that a previous owner elected to go to the trouble of having Mantle sign the bat again, with a stronger signature, in the early 1990s. When this bat was purchased years ago by nationally recognized bat expert and PSA Authenticator, John Taube. Mr. Taube arranged to have the no longer present low-quality Mantle signature, along with remnants of other signatures, professionally removed. The proper professional cleaning of bats can allow for the removal of signatures or other writing, while having no impact on the game-use or finish, and causing no damage whatsoever. Factory records show shipments of this particular bat to Mantle only in 1964. Length: 35” and weight: 34oz. Manufacturer stampings are bold and clear. Accompanied by a letter from MEARS grading A10 and a letter from PSA/DNA grading 9.5. This bat is properly marked, presented to us as game-used and in our opinion shows excellent use. Graded PSA/DNA GU 9.5 and MEARS A10. Also accompanied by a PSA/DNA and JSA ALO letters for the autographs.