Lot 38. Barry Bonds Gem Mint 10 Signature on an Adirondack Name Model 34” Big Stick Bat. Bold blue sharpie autograph by baseball’s career home run leader, who also ranks fifth on the all-time RBI list. The bat is mint. On its 1998 “Sporting News” list of “Baseball’s 100 Greatest Players,” Bonds was 34th, higher than any other active player. Bonds played for the Pirates from 1986-92, and the Giants, from 1993-2007. In his 22 seasons, he was a 14-time All-Star and seven-time NL MVP. He won the NL batting and home run titles twice, led the league in RBI in 1993 and received 12 Silver Slugger and eight Gold Glove Awards. He holds the MLB record for home runs in a season (73), career bases on balls (2,558), bases on balls in a season (232) and slugging percentage in a season (.863). PSA/DNA Pre-Certified.
Winning Bid $163
Lot 39. Willie Mays Autographed Player Model Adirondack 302 Big Stick 34” Bat. Nm 7 signature by the second best baseball player of the 20th century, according to “The Sporting News” in its 1998 list of Baseball’s “100 Greatest Players.” Only Babe Ruth was rated higher. During 23 seasons, Mays batted .302 with 3,283 hits (12th all-time), 660 home runs (6th, and 3rd among HoFers) and 1,903 RBI (11th). Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979, hes was the 1951 NL Rookie of the Year, an All-Star 24 times, the NL home run leader and stolen base leader four times each, a Gold Glove Award winner 12 times, the NL batting champion in 1954 and the league’s MVP twice. The bat is mint. JSA authenticated the signature, which comes with JSA Cert D48436. The autograph is also PSA/DNA Pre-Certified.
Winning Bid $121
Lot 40. Joe Morgan Gem Mint 10 Autograph on a Mint H&B “125” Louisville Slugger 34” Bat. Bold signature on the center of the sweet spot of this game-model bat with “H.O.F.” added by one of baseball’s greatest second basemen. Morgan was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and in 1998, “The Sporting News” ranked him 60th among “Baseball’s 100 Greatest Players.” In 2020, Bill James designated him as the best second baseman of the past 50 years. Morgan’s career spanned 22 seasons - 1963-84 with the Colt .45s-Astros (1963-71 and 1980), Reds (1972-79), Giants (1981-82), Phillies (1983) and A’s (1984). He was a .271 hitter with 2,577 hits, 268 home runs, 1,133 RBI and 689 stolen bases. He was a 10-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion, five-time Gold Glove Award recipient, 1982 Silver Slugger Award winner and NL MVP in 1975 and 1976. Morgan died in 2020. This bat with his outstanding autograph is perfect for display! PSA/DNA Pre-Certified.
Winning Bid $95
Lot 41. Oscar Taveras Rawlings PRO Model Black Bat Beautifully Signed in Silver Sharpie. The 22-year-old St. Louis Cardinals outfielder autographed this bat on Oct. 17, 2014 - just one day after his team’s season-ending NLCS loss to the San Francisco Giants. Sadly, that game was the young star’s last. Just nine days later, baseball lost a rising star when he and his girlfriend died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic. Cardinals chairman William DeWitt, Jr. called Taveras “an amazing talent with a bright future who was taken from us well before his time.” John Mozeliak, the team’s general manager, said “I first met Oscar when he was 16 years old and will forever remember him as a wonderful young man who was a gifted athlete with an infectious love for life who lived every day to the fullest.” Before reaching the Majors in 2014, Taveras spent six seasons in the minors and batted .321 with a .519 slugging percentage. He won batting titles in two minor leagues and frequently was prepared to Vladimir Guerrero. Like Guerrero, Taveras was born in the Dominican Republic. From ages 12-16, he lived in Canada and obtained Canadian citizenship. Subsequently, he returned to the Dominican Republic. Taveras’ autograph on the 34” bat with his name is gem mint 10, and the bat is nm-m. PSA/DNA Pre-Certified.
Winning Bid $25
Lot 42. Kirby Puckett Autograph on an H&B “125” Louisville Slugger Signature Model Bat. Strong mint 9 to gem mint 10 signature on this M110 nm-m 34” bat. In 2001, the Minnesota Twins center fielder was a first-ballot inductee into the Hall of Fame. His career cut short by glaucoma, Puckett was a 10-time All-Star in 12 seasons with a .318 career batting average, a six-time Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award recipient, and the 1989 AL batting champion. At No. 86, he was among a small group of active players to make “The Sporting News” 1998 list of “Baseball’s 100 Greatest Players.” Puckett was only 45 when he died in 2006. PSA/DNA Pre-Certified.
Winning Bid $220
Lot 43. Frank Thomas (Big Hurt) Signed Rawlings Game-Used Big Stick Bat. The Hall of Fame slugger’s autograph is ex-m 6 to nm 7 on the sweet spot of the 34.5” bat, which shows some ball marks that don’t detract from its appearance. In 2014, his first year of eligibility, Thomas was elected to the Hall of Fame. For 16 of his 19 MLB seasons, he was a first baseman and designated hitter for the Chicago White Sox. He made the AL All-Star team five times, was the league’s MVP twice and batting champions once, and received four Silver Slugger Awards. He batted .301 for his career with 2,468 hits and contributed 521 home runs and 1.704 RBI. No other player has matched his achievement of seven consecutive seasons (1991-97) with a batting average of at least .300, 100 RBI, 100 runs, 100 walks and 20 home runs. At his retirement, he was tied for eighth in AL history for home runs, ninth for RBI and sixth for walks (1,667). He was among the star players of the 1990s who was not suspected of using performance enhancing drugs. PSA/DNA Pre-Certified.
Winning Bid $366
Lot 44. Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca - The Shot Heard ‘Round the World! Signed Bat. Limited edition (151 total) bat commemorating Thomson’s famous home run. On Oct. 3, 1951 at the Polo Grounds, Brooklyn’s Ralph Branca delivered the pitch and the New York Giants’ Bobby Thomson delivered the home run that became known as baseball’s “shot heard ‘round the world.” Thomson’s dramatic three-run shot came in the bottom of the ninth inning in the third of three playoff games to determine the National League champion. It gave the Giants a 5-4 victory and the pennant. After entering the inning with the Dodgers leading 4-1, they Giants still trailed 4-2 with two runners on base when Thomson took his turn at bat. Thomson and Branca signed a 34” Adirondack 302 bat that recognizes that the bat is part of a “Limited Edition of 151,” as well as the event and the date. Above their autographs, Thomson added “The Shot Heard,” and Branca, “Round the World.” Branca’s entry, while somewhat light, is fully readable. The autographs are ex-m 6 to nm 7, and the bat is mint. PSA/DNA Pre-Certified.
Winning Bid $30
