Tag Archives: babe ruth

Verdict In: Judge’s 62nd Largest Topps NOW Run Ever

Aaron Judge’s A.L. record setting home run display was not just a boon to the Yankees — and his impending free agency. It was also a big hit with collectors, as the Topps NOW card depicting his historic 62nd blast of the season enticed fans to purchase 91,685 of the base card, the most ever in the seven-year history of Topps NOW, which depicts the greatest moments and milestones from Major League Baseball almost as soon as they happen, with physical cards limited to the number ordered within 48 hours of issue.

And it wasn’t just the final bomb that appealed to fans as they bore witness to greatness: home runs #61 (29,523) and 60 (21,490) and two base cards shared with former league homer champs Roger Maris (19,741) and Babe Ruth (13,804) set the precedent, rounding out five of the top six sellers of the 2022 season. Albert Pujols’s 700th career shot (third most, 28,898) was the only other card to top 10,000 in sales.

In all, the five top Judge cards accounted for a total of 176,243 cards issued, more than half of all the base cards (330,699) produced through the regular season (112 individual cards).

Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani (qualifying as pitcher and hitter, 7th, 7331 cards; and reaching 200K strikeouts, 10th, 4381), the Mets’ Francisco Alvarez (debut, 8th, 6005) and Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez (sets rookie HR record, 9th, 5449) rounded out the top 10 for 2022.

Fans can continue to purchase Topps NOW cards throughout the MLB playoffs at https://www.topps.com/toppsnow.

2022 Top Ten

  1. Aaron Judge, 62nd home run, 91,685
  2. Aaron Judge, 61st home run,29,523
  3. Albert Pujols, 700th career home run, 28,898
  4. Aaron Judge, 60th home run, 21,490
  5. Aaron Judge and Roger Maris, 61 home runs, 19,741
  6. Aaron Judge and Babe Ruth, 60 home runs, 13,804
  7. Shohei Ohtani, qualifying as pitcher and hitter, 7331
  8. Francisco Alvarez, debut, 6005
  9. Julio Rodriguez, sets rookie HR recorded, 5449
  10. Shohei Ohtani, 200K strikeouts, 4381

Ruth, McCovey, DiMaggio/Monroe Pieces Highlight HA Summer Auction

$20 million worth of sports history will be up for grabs when Dallas-based Heritage Auctions conducts its star-studded Summer Platinum Auction which is underway and continues through August 21-22. The event features a treasure-trove of sports memorabilia including a vintage Babe Ruth rookie trading card worth more than $1 million, the finest known baseball signed by Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe, Magic Johnson’s title-clinching jersey from his rookie season with the Lakers, another $1 million artifact, and the collection of San Francisco Giants beloved icon Willie McCovey.

Chris Ivy, founder and president of Heritage Sports, recently showcased the pieces at the 41st National Sports Collectibles Convention in Chicago.

For the first time, all of the trophies, rings and plaques accrued by Baseball Hall of Famer Willie McCovey will be made available to fans and collectors during the August auction. The Willie McCovey Collection – which features some 210 lots, among them some of the most coveted hardware in baseball history – is a centerpiece of the event. Among the artifacts of the first baseman known as “Stretch” are a 2012 San Francisco Giants World Series Championship ring and a his first-baseman’s glove that he used in games from 1975 through 1980. The expansive, extraordinary collection includes a myriad of personal effects from throughout the Baseball Hall of Famer’s career.

The 1916 M101-4 Sporting News Babe Ruth Rookie card, graded PSA EX-MT 6, which shot up to $370,000 within hours of opening. No surprise there: Just last weekend Heritage sold one of the highest-graded 1933 Goudey Ruths for a record-setting $540,000 in the auction house’s Summer Sports Card Catalog sale, more than five times than what a similar card realized just 10 months ago.

The Johnson jersey is one of the finest NBA jerseys ever to head to auction, and is photo-matched to that championship game, when Magic, en route to the first of his three Finals MVP awards, took center stage – playing every position that night, including center in the absence of an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Johnson wore the jersey again during the 1984 Finals loss to the Boston Celtics.

This is a monster piece. Twenty-four hours after bidding opened, it was already up to $330,000. With more than three weeks to go before the auction.
The bevy of museum-quality pieces on the block range from a 1920 Ruth game-used and signed bat (already up to $280,000 in early bidding) to the 1955 New York Yankees American League Championship Ring presented to Mickey Mantle to items owned and worn by Muhammad Ali never before displayed to the public.

The finest-known baseball signed by Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio, has already grabbed the attention of the international media.