To start off this list of the most irreplaceable baseball memorabilia in the history of the sport, we’ll start out with Babe Ruth’s first Yankee Stadium home run bat. The Great Gambino hit his first homerun for the Yankees against his former team, the Boston Red Sox, who had previously traded him to the rival Yankees, shocking the whole baseball community. The bat began to gain so much popularity and worth due to the fact Yankee fans thought of it as a superstition and was thought to be impossible to break. This infamous bat auctioned off for nearly 1.3 million in 2004.
One of the most valuable and respected collection items is The Jackie Robinson Rookie trading pin. One of the most valuable baseball trading pins of all time also serves as a reminder of the importance of diversity and inclusion. This pin speaks for itself as its proven to be bigger than baseball due to the fact that Robinson was the first black baseball player and was a huge part of racial justice. He went on to become rookie of the year in the majors and then proceeded to win most valuable player even through racial slurs and segregation. This pin is known to be the most valuable to collectors and can be, if found, purchased anywhere from 1.5k and up.
Another monumental and historic accomplishment that was able to be captured by a singular item was Mark McGwire’s 70th Home Run Ball. Sammy Sosa and Mark McgWire were both neck and neck fighting for the single season home run record in the season of 1998. It was on the backend of a two home run night for McGwire where he
finally distanced himself from Sosa and hit his record-breaking 70th home run of the season. That same ball later sold for $3 million later that year.
Another moonshot that cannot be slept on is Barry Bond’s record-breaking 756th home run. Everyone in the ballpark instantly realized the importance of what they had witnessed once Bond raised his hands in the air in triumph after breaking, that many thought would be impossible, the home run record of Hank Aaron. It was a moment in baseball history that we may never see again in our lifetimes. The record ball sold for $756,467 on an online auction and is now put on display at The Baseball Hall of Fame.
Last but not least, is Honus Wagner’s 1909 baseball card. He is considered to be not only to be one of the Pittsburgh Pirate’s greats but also an all-time legend. Wagner’s card is known to be the most valuable card known to man and has recently broke its own record for most expensive auctioned off card. The card recently went for 3.2 million dollars shattering its old record of 2.8 million dollars. If you have ANY of these items in your collection of baseball memorabilia you are surely to be in very sacred and elite company.