Babe Ruth became BABE RUTH in 1923. Up until that point, Ruth was respected as one of the greatest power hitters the game had ever seen, but despite all his power, Ruth was still thought by many to be a flash in the pan, and his team, the New York Yankees, had failed to win a World Series. In fact, Ruth and the Yanks were humiliated twice by their rivals, John McGraw and his New York Giants in the 1921 and 1922 World Series’. That all changed forever in 1923. Ruth and the Yankees inaugurated the 1923 season by opening their own home grounds, Yankee Stadium. Ruth hit a career high .393 and his 41 home runs ensured the Yankees would win the pennant. He capped off his MVP season by leading the Yanks to that coveted World Championship, defeating the Giants and forever changing the New York baseball fan base from the Giants to the Yankees.

The following season Ruth won the batting crown with a .378 average as well as leading the league in home runs, runs, walks, on base percentage, slugging, and strikeouts. 1925 was the “year of the bellyache” in which an unwell Ruth played in just 98 games, still managing to hit 25 home runs. These three seasons established Ruth as a powerhouse who was there to stay, no mere flash in the pan, but a bonafide trailblazer completely re-writing the record books and forever changing the way the game was played. This incredible piece of lumber was used by Babe Ruth during those three magical seasons. The un-cracked Hillerich & Bradsby pre-model bat weights in a 40.7oz and measures 36 inches in length. The center brand is the C-4E version that dates the bat to a 1923-1925 window. The measurements of the bat’s handle, knob and barrel correspond with what factory records termed Ruth’s “R2” model and these same records show that the majority of the slugger’s R2 orders of the 1922-1925 period have him receiving 40 to 42 ounce bats, with this bat falling right within both those parameters.

In addition, PSA/DNA has identified four characteristics on the bat that are commonly found on Ruth gamers from this period. The first two are barrel and handle scoring, a customization Ruth performed on his game bats from circa 1920 through the 1930’s. The third Ruthian characteristic is the left barrel contact area. Period photographs show that Ruth gripped his bat with the center brand turned down, the opposite of how the majority of big-league players did at the time. This grip would make the ball contact area found on the left barrel, which this bat displays. There is checking found at this location, as well as on the back barrel area, both of which have been professionally repaired. The forth and final Ruth characteristic is the appearance of cleat impressions on the left and back barrel. The ash has aged to a warm brown tone against which the barrel and center brand stamping appear strong and dark. The bat comes with a letter of provenance attesting to its origin from the collection of former umpire Joseph Paparella (American League 1946-65) signed by his grandson Raymond Paparella. A superb Ruth gamer that dates to some of the greatest offensive seasons of his career. The bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B09165) for the game use and has been graded a solid GU 8

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