Series collectibles 2000: Bats

For 65 years, batmaker Hillerich & Bradsby has produced 150 or so World Series souvenirs for executives, players and select other family members from each of the season's two finalists. Over the years, these gifts, today known as World Series black bats, have found their way to the marketplace as surviving family members decided they had no use for them or didn't value them as much as collectors. These bats bear the name and year of that year's world champion. The runnerup is similarly honored as its league's champion. Perhaps the most attractive feature on the bats are the teams' foil-stamped facsimile autographs. (Actually, only the players under contract with H&B are represented with their signatures; others's names are shown in block letters.) Prices for the bats range from just under $200 to $4,500, depending on desireability, rarity and condition. Bats produced during the last 30 years, with several exceptions, range from $200 to $600. The 1977 Yankee bat is ranked among the high end of that scale largely because of the presence of the late Thurman Munson.

During the 1960s, the New York Mets black bat from 1969 fetches from $800 to $1,000. Of course, that was the team that pulled off the miracle seven years after the team was created. The bat saluting the Florida Marlins is popular for the same reason. The rare supply and high demand for World Series black bats from before 1960 have caused bat prices to range from about $775 to $1,900 each. Clearly, the most popular teams fetch the highest prices. The '55 Dodgers and '61 Yanks fall into this category. The '51 Yankees bat is particularly desireable because of Mantle's first season and DiMaggio's last. Black bats by teams who rarely reach the Series are also considered a rarity, such as the 1959 World Champ Chicago White Sox.

Recent Yankee World Championship teams have sold in the $3,000 range. Hey, it's the new economy. These collectors have more money and are willing to part with it. The market, however, has been mysteriously devoid of the '99 Yankees bats. "Everybody is caught up with the Yankees," said Lou Pascale of West. Orange, N.J., a dealer of World Series and other bats. "But they're not so caught up on some of the older bats. I suppose the Yankee collectors in their 30s and 40s aren't as knowledgeable about the teams from the '30s, '40s and '50s. They may be putting more stock into how today's Joe Torre teams will be judged historically.." Pascale said the most valuable World Series Yankees bat is the one from 1936, which he said actually was a brown bat. The H&B series began with brown bats with gold foil-stamping. After a few years of experimenting, the batmaker in 1938 settled on black bats with gold foil-stamping. Because of their rarity, Pascale said the '36 Series bat can sell for up to $4,500. Among the notable facsimile signatures on the bat are Joe DiMaggio's and Lou Gehrig's. What might be a very hot World Series black bat? Pascale says one from a Subway Series . . .

The bats have been cherished by Yankee family members, from George Steinbrenner to his personal driver. Pascale handled the sale of Series black bats from announcer Mel Allen's estate and former third baseman Clete Boyer. The dealer worked out a trade for one with former Yankee first baseman Bill "Moose" Skowron. Skowron wasn't too happy about being traded from the Yanks to the Dodgers in '63. However, the Moose did get some revenge that year by playing on L.A.'s world championship team. Meanwhile, Skowron had told Pascale that someone had "stolen" his '55 Series bat, making his Yankees set incomplete. "He told me, 'If you can find me a 1955 bat, I'll trade you my '63 bat,'" Pascale recalled. The swap was made.