December Card & Memorabilia Auction Dec 9 - 18/19
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/18/2022
1999 marked the first time since 1981 that the Orioles legend appeared in less than 112 games. Still, the Hall of Famer made his 86 games count, hitting a mercurial .340 with 27 home runs. This 1999 Louisville Slugger P72 model bat was used by Cal during the July 25th game when he recorded the game-winning hit on a ground ball to left field off Anaheim Angels pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa in the bottom of the 11th inning for the Orioles 8-7 win. This bat shows outstanding game use with a crack on the handle from that walk-off hit. There are ball marks, stitch impressions and slight checking or grain swelling from repeated ball contact present on the barrel. There is a coating of Mota stick on the lower handle. A piece of athletic tape was applied to the barrel by Ripken with the notation in silver marker “Sunday 25th July Game Winning Hit”. This bat comes directly from the personal collection of Cal Ripken, Jr. and a signed LOA from Cal for the game use and signature will accompany this bat. Additionally, there is a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B19754) for the game use and has been given a very high grade of GU 9.