MLB’s Top 10 Most Expensive Memorabilia Ever

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Baseball, America’s beloved amusement for watching, cheering, and betting on best-rated MLB online bookies at Bookmaker-Expert.com, has resurrected interest in the collectibles market. Four baseball cards (at least) have been purchased for record prices in 2021, one record-breaking after another. Who are the renowned faces on those MLB cards, exactly? What other memorabilia is luring collectors to part with hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars?

Here is a peek at 10 of the costliest collectors’ artifacts and collectibles in baseball history, just in time to enhance the heat sparked by the 2022 MLB Regular Season.

#1 Honus Wagner T206 Series Baseball Card ($6.6 Million)

We are speaking here about the Wagner card, issued around 1909-1911, which surpassed records when it went for $6.6 million in August 2021. Because of its superb condition, it was sold for more than the card purchased in May, which we will talk about later. So, who was Honus Wagner, exactly?

Wagner was a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s initial class, inducted in 1936. The shortstop made his major league debut in 1897 with the Louisville Colonels, where he spent three seasons prior to transferring to the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he spent 17 years. He was known as “The Flying Dutchman” because of his incredible pace. He won eight batting titles and finished with a career batting average of.328. From 1897 through 1917, he fielded shortstop for 21 years, 18 of them in Pittsburgh. More than a century after his retirement, his 3,420 hits still rank eighth all-time.

#2 Babe Ruth 1928-30 Jersey ($5.64 Million)

In June 2019, a gray jersey with the word “Yankees” scrawled all over the chest in simple typography got sold for $5.64 million. Hunt Auctions, in collaboration with Ruth’s family, auctioned off more than 400 objects.

With 714 career home runs, Ruth is No.3 on the all-time home-run list, behind Barry Bonds and Henry Aaron, but No.1 in jersey sales.

#3 Mickey Mantle 1952 Baseball Card ($5.2 Million)

When the Mickey Mantle 1952 edition by Topps went for $5.2 million in January 2021, it temporarily broke the record for the highest-selling card in history. The card of the New York Yankees legend was graded a PSA 9 and is considered to be one of just six with that designation.

This Mantle record, on the other hand, could be just transitory. According to experts, there are at least three chunks of PSA 10 Mantles, implying they are in gem-mint condition and might go for higher than $10 million apiece.

#4 Babe Ruth 1920 Jersey ($4.4 Million)

SCP Auctions sold the oldest surviving Yankees jersey, worn by Babe Ruth during his debut season with the team in 1920, for $4.4 million in 2012.

The jersey had dried sweat and grime stains on the underarms. SCP Auctions president David Kohler remarked in a statement at the time that this confirmed once again that Babe Ruth is the planetary king of sports memorabilia.

#5 Babe Ruth 1933 Goudey Baseball Card ($4.2 Million)

In July 2021, the initial offer for a Babe Ruth baseball card issued in 1933 by Goudey, which was once promoted by the Big League Chewing Gum company, was half a million dollars. On a scale of one to 10, the card was awarded a PSA 9, indicating that it was in pristine shape at the moment of selling.

The total cost was $4.2 million in the end.

#6 Mike Trout 2009 Baseball Card ($3.9 Million)

While long-time Hall of Famers’ memorabilia usually tops such lists, the card of a likely new Hall of Fame candidate, Mike Trout, was bought for $3.9 million in August 2020. It was the best-selling sports card of all time at the time.

The 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Superfactor signed rookie card was in mint condition and included a certificate of authenticity for the Los Angeles Angels outfielder’s signature.

#7 Honus Wagner T206 Series Baseball Card ($3.75 Million)

The Honus Wagner card, which had been the holy grail for collections for decades, sold for $3.75 million in May 2021. Only roughly 60 Wagner cards are said to exist. Why? It is possible that the printing plate broke, limiting output; that the tobacco business that put the card in cigarette boxes and the artist had a copyright disagreement; or that Wagner demanded more money for utilizing his name and image. Then there is the story that is rooted the most: Wagner requested that manufacturing of the card be halted because he did not want it to look like he was encouraging children to smoke.

This card was deemed to be in good condition, which means that cards with a better rating can fetch a greater price. And one of them did.

#8 Mark McGwire’s 70th Ball for Home Run ($3 Million)

The Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa and the St. Louis Cardinals’ Mark McGwire trailed a record of 61 home runs of Roger Maris for a 1998 season, as baseball fans, both devoted and carefree, looked on in awe. Sosa won the National League MVP title after hitting 66 home runs and leading the pros with 158 runs batted in. McGwire hit 70 home runs, and his 70th home run ball was put up for sale in January 1999 for just over $3 million.

The ball’s worth has decreased to between $250,000 and $400,000 in the years since, according to estimates in 2020. It is unclear if it is because Barry Bonds set a new record with 73 home runs in 2001 or because McGwire eventually admitted to using forbidden substances.

#9 Babe Ruth’s 1919 New York Yankees Contract ($2.3 Million)

One of the only two authentic agreements transferring Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in December 1919 was part of actor Charlie Sheen’s collection, and it was sold for $2.3 million in 2017.

When ex-Red Sox chairman Harry Frazee revealed the transfer of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, he claimed that no other team could afford to pay the price the Yankees did, and he did not mind admitting that he thought they were taking a risk. The Red Sox did not win another national title for 86 years after the sale, until 2004. The transfer of Ruth earned the moniker “The Curse of the Bambino”. Ruth went over to hit 714 home runs in his career.

#10 Babe Ruth’s 1927 World Series Ring ($2.1 Million)

Babe Ruth’s 1927 World Series championship ring, engraved “G. H. Ruth” after his real name of George Herman Ruth, went for little under $2.1 million at auction in mid-2017. Who is the vendor? Again, actor Charlie Sheen, who chose to sell more than $4 million in Ruth collectibles he had bought in the early 1990s.

The Yankees won their second of 27 World Series championships in 1927.