You’d think that 1961 would have to be Roger Maris’ favorite period of his career, but that is not so. Due to the tremendous pressure and criticism he received while pursuing and then surpassing baseball’s most hallowed record - Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record - Roger Maris was quite relieved when he was traded to St. Louis after the 1965 season.

     There, out from under the media scrutiny, Maris thrived and was one of the big reasons the Cardinals won the 1967 World Championship. Looking back before his death at a too-young age of 51 in 1985, Maris called the St. Louis years his favorite part of his career.

     This bat dates to Maris’ last season in New York and his first three in St. Louis. While most bat orders are to be found in the Louisville Slugger archives, the factory periodically shipped bats to prominent players without being charged or recorded in their Professional Bat Ordering Records. These were often examples of new finishes or test models for the player to try out. This Maris model D145 is one such example that was not recorded in his factory records. The Hillerich & Bradsby D145 model bat is un-cracked and shows light use. A few ball marks are found on the barrel as well as cleat marks. The model number “D145” is stamped into the knob and the weight “36 1/4” is written in red ink. Maris’ number “9” is hand written on the knob and barrel end in black marker.

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