LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2006 October Signature Sports Auction #705  / 

19873

1916 Frank "Home Run" Baker Home Run Baseball

Currency:USD Category:Sports - Cards & Fan Shop / Sports - Game Used Memorabilia Start Price:2,500.00 USD Estimated At:10,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD
1916 Frank Home Run Baker Home Run Baseball
<B>1916 Frank "Home Run" Baker Home Run Baseball.</B></I> It's difficult to imagine in the modern age, when ballplayers like Howard, Ortiz and Bonds have turned outfield bleachers into veritable hard-hat zones with their endless long balls, that a man could merit the nickname "Home Run" when he managed to hit fewer than one hundred in his entire thirteen-season career. It shows us just how much this game has changed from the Dead Ball era that saw the Hall of Fame third baseman as one of the most menacing batters in the sport's history. The arrival of Babe Ruth on the scene, just as the physical make-up of the horsehide spheres changed, and the balls "came to life," was lamented by players like Ty Cobb, who believed that the national fascination with the home run that Ruth inspired in baseball fans was an affront to the very nature of the game. But before the Babe and the lively ball began their historic partnership, there was Frank "Home Run" Baker, rising to the top of the home run charts every season from 1911 through 1914 with eleven, ten, twelve and nine respectively. To be historically correct, even though Baker was the Home Run Champ four straight seasons, it was actually game-winning home runs against Hall of Fame pitchers Marquard and Mathewson in the 1911 World Series that earned him his famous moniker. As a member of Connie Mack's famous $100,000 Infield, Baker was certainly expected to perform at a high level of expertise, and his efforts were largely responsible for four pennants and three World Series Championships during his days in Philadelphia. And there likely would have been more had not the competition of the newly founded Federal League raised ballplayer salaries, causing Mack to sell off his precious team, and Baker to sit out the 1915 season before being sold to the Yankees in 1916 for $35,000. There he remained until the end of his career, briefly sharing a dugout with the Babe after his arrival in 1920. And it was there that the torch was passed. Home Run Baker was the last of a dying Dead Ball breed, and the Babe was the future. And the long balls began to fall like raindrops from the sky.<BR><BR> Heritage is privileged and honored to offer this baseball clubbed for a homer by the great Frank "Home Run" Baker, deriving directly from the Baker family. We certainly do not need to convince the knowledgeable collector just how rare an opportunity this presents. This historic sphere represents one of the earliest home run baseballs ever to see public auction, if not the earliest, bar none. Given the rarity of any well-documented game used baseballs from this era, and the scarce occurrence of the fabled home run in pre-1920 games, there seems little chance that any others could exist that predate this one. And, if so, how could any possibly compete with a "Home Run" from Baker himself?<BR><BR> This is one of the very first home runs Frank Baker hit as a New York Yankee, and one of only ten he hit during the 1916 season, while the Babe was still a Boston Red Sox pitcher. Again, strong vintage black ink notates, "Home Run of (sic) Morton, May 15th, 1916, Cleveland." The pitcher "Morton," incidentally, is Guy Morton, who gave up only this single homer during the 1916 season on his way to posting a twelve and eight record. The text is written over the "Official American League" stamping, which is quite clearly visible through the brown dirt and age toning that gives the ball a rough and tumble look. The red and blue stitching is still tight and complete, leaving the baseball to retain its perfectly spherical form. This remarkable artifact represents one of the earliest and most desirable of all home run baseballs known. The ball is accompanied by a notarized letter of Authenticity from the family of Frank Baker with an additional LOA from Dave Bushing.
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