Babe Herman was a popular and instrumental player on the old Brooklyn Robins team of the 1920's. When Babe came up, the Dodgers had not won a pennant since 1920 and the hopes of the Dodgers masses were wrapped up in one of the newest star players who joined them in 1926. The "other" Babe was one heck of a hitter and it is an irony that he is best remembered for his frequent misques on the field, not for he bite of his bat as Herman was one of the most noted power hitters of the late 1920s and early 1930s but his name is most associated with a baserunning gaffe during his rookie year. During a game on August 15, 1926, at Ebbets Field, in which three men, including Herman who was last, ended up on third base at the same time. This led to the following popular joke:
* "The Dodgers have 3 men on base!"
* "Oh, yeh? Which base?"
Much like Merkels Boner, this seems to be Hermans lot in baseball lore. He remains to this day one of the more talked about Dodger legends and one of its most colorful characters.
Title: 1926-29 Babe Herman Rookie Era Spalding Professional Model Game Used Bat
Player: Babe Herman
Block/Script Name: Block letter first and last name
Label Period: 1926-34
Year/s Used: 1926-29
Mfg: Spalding
Model Number: 200
Length: 34.5"
Weight: 33.9 ounces
Side Writing: Yes, not readable but you can see that the first number of the return date year is a number "2" making 1929 the last year (1926-29) that it could have been used.
Vault Marks: No
Game Use: Heavy
Ball Marks: Heavy
Swelling: Yes
Grain Separation: Light on reverse
Cleat Marks: Yes
Rack Marks: No
Nails/Screws: Small nails on back
Cracked: Yes
Pine Tar: No
Handle Tape: Yes
Handle Crack: 8" and 5" cracks
Barrel Crack: No
Dents/Gouges: No
Autographed: No
Uniform Number: No
Knob Markings: No
Barrel Markings: No
Finish: N/A
Provenance: No Provenance but it was stored and originated from the Louisville Slugger vaults.
Factory Records: No records on Spalding but matches favorably with known H&B models.
Player Traits: Tape on handle
Grade: A8 with 5 base points, 3 use points and minus 1 for crack / grain separation, minus 1/2 for fading on end
MEARS Bat Trade Index: Mears has graded only two Herman bats from his days in the major leagues, one each Spalding and H&B of which this is the highest graded example to surface.
01078
MEARS Auction LOA. Collection of MEARS staff