This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/5/2013
Rarely offered, MEARS Auction is proud to present the opportunity to bid on one of the finest examples of a Maris bat known, factory recorded to his 1960 MVP season, and possibly beyond.
Why did the Kansas Athletics trade Roger Maris to the New York Yankees in 1960? According to an article written by Harold Friend,
“As Joe L. Brown and Danny Murtaugh entered the room, the Pittsburgh Pirates' general manager and their manager thought that they were ready to make the deal. Brown later told reporters, "But as soon as Danny and I closed the door, we looked at each other and frowned. Right away we knew we didn't like it. And the more we thought about it, the less we liked it."
The Pirates were discussing sending shortstop Dick Groat to the Kansas City Athletics for Roger Maris. General manager Brown told the Athletics they wouldn't make the trade. Kansas City turned around and traded Maris to the New York Yankees. Groat had his career year in 1960. The 29-year-old shortstop batted .325/.371/.394 and was voted the National League MVP. His .325 won the batting title.”
Maris was almost a Pirate, but he became a New York Yankee. The trade sparked the Yankees and Maris was an instant success in the Big Apple.
1960
Maris hit a single, double, and two home runs his first time up as a Yankee outfielder in 1960. His first season with the Yankees, he led the American League in slugging percentage, runs batted in, and extra base hits. He hit 39 home runs, one home run behind teammate Mickey Mantle. He won the American League's Most Valuable Player award and was recognized as an outstanding defensive outfielder with a Gold Glove Award.
This bat is documented to have been available for Maris to use in his inaugural Yankees campaign.
1961
Maris hit his 61st on October 1, 1961, in the fourth inning of the last game of the season, at Yankee Stadium in front of 23,154 fans. Boston Red Sox pitcher Tracy Stallard gave up the record home run. With that homerun, he passed the immortal Babe Ruth to become the single season home run king. Maris helped lead the Yankees to a 1961 World Series Championship.
Examination of the bat by MEARS revealed the bat possesses the 1950-60 centerbrand. Examination of available Roger Maris photos determined that although the overall dating of the bat was 1950-60, the pine tar pattern found on the handle was consistent with available photos of Roger Maris while playing for the New York Yankees in 1960-61. (Images enclosed)
Maris was a fan of the O16 model, as stamped on the knob. Examination of his H&B factory records reveal that he ordered the model during 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960. His last order was on 3-3-61. Again, although the center brand dating is 1950-60, the possibility of carry over to 1961 is quite probable, especially since the model, 016, was only ordered one more time after 1960, 3-3-61.
The bat currently measures 35” in length and weighs 32 ounces, dimensions that are consistent with H&B factory records for Roger Maris for the period.
As an evaluator, this example contains an exceedingly rare degree of heavy game use. Rarely, do bats exhibit this amount of heavy use, ball marks, stitch marks, pine tar, and rack marks. The heavy use can possibly be attributed to the 39 homeruns Maris hit during the 1960 MVP season, and the bat may have been available for Maris to use during the historic 1961 season, as the model, length and weight did appear in one 1961 order.
Starting at the knob, the bat shows patina and wear from gripping by Maris. Immediately above the knob in an 8” area the handle remains free from pine tar. Starting at the 8” mark and moving up is an area of pine tar, heavily concentrated, that spreads out approximately 6”-7”. This trait is closely associated with Roger Maris and is photographically documented. (images shown).
The pine tar is key because it helps date the bat to Maris’s time with the Yankees. Images document:
1957-59, Maris, A’s – No tar on his bats
1960 Pinetar starting approximately 8” above knob
1961 Pinetar starting approximately 8” above knob
In the area of the upper handle and lower barrel are 6 black bat rack streaks, one red bat rack streak, and numerous blue bat rack streaks. This is indicative of the fact the bat traveled with Maris to several stadiums along with being used at Yankee Stadium.
Regarding ball marks, this bat has over 100+ deeply embedded ball and stitch marks. The use is consistent with a professional player of Maris’s caliber. The majority of the use is above the Roger Maris facsimile barrel stamping and extends towards the back of the barrel. Deeply embedded stitch marks pepper the bat’s surface. A truly finer example of Maris use does not exist. The handle was lightly cracked and since has been professionally repaired. The factory stampings are deep and without flaw.
Final Grade MEARS A10: 5 points were assigned for bat matching H&B factory records, 3 points for heavy game use, 2 points for player use traits.
In sum, this bat represents a perfect example of a Roger Maris game used bat, displaying the maximum degree of use from his 1960 MVP season and possibly carried over to his famed 1961 campaign.
LOA Troy R. Kinunen / MEARS
(E0561)