Ask Babe Waxpak: July 11, 2007

Dear Babe:

In 1998 when Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire both broke Roger Maris’ home run record, Sosa gave my son a cracked black Adirondack bat during a game. The whole thing was recorded. My 10-year-old actually became a celebrity of sorts, because it happened right in the middle of a game in San Diego. The bat is not signed. I also have a Garret Anderson rookie game-used bat that is signed by him. The interesting thing is that his name is misspelled “Garrett.”

G.A., Menifee, Calif.

McGwire and Sosa have all but fallen off the radar screen when it comes to their memorabilia thanks to their link to the steroids controversy, although Sosa is making a small comeback of sorts. There was a time when that bat might have been worth $1,500 or as much as $2,000. Today, the bat is worth $750-$800. That’s the collective opinion of Mike Heffner, president of www.lelands.com auction house in New York; David Kohler, president of www.SCPauctions.com in Mission Viejo, Calif.; and Dave Bushing, an expert on bats and an authenticator for www.mearsonline.com. With a Sosa bat, you might want to check the barrel end to see if it might be corked. “The best way to tell if it was corked is to have it X-rayed,” Heffner said. “You may be able to tell on the barrel end — look for a round hole about the size of a quarter. Most of the times, if a player corked his bat, he did a good job of covering it up (with wood filler) on the end. As for the Anderson bat, the trio agreed it was in the $100-$200 range. “Misspellings don’t seem to garner any more interest or value than a regular bat, even though scarce, so I think the $100 range is fair on Anderson,” Bushing said.

Dear Babe:

My father got two Yankees-signed baseballs. Bobby Brown was a buddy of his, and he used to sit in the dugout with the team. The names on the baseballs, which are signed in green ink, include Joe DiMaggio, Larry Berra, Hugh Casey, Ralph Houk, Hank Bauer, Frank Crosetti, Brown and Allie Reynolds among others. By checking the rosters of 1946-50 Yankees, I come up with 1949, which is very fortunate since it looks like it was a World Series championship team.

Mack Stevenson, Marietta, Ga.

It is always nice when readers do some of the leg work by checking out those old rosters. I use The Baseball Encyclopedia and Total Baseball to pin down years. Hugh Casey finished his career in 1949, appearing in just one game for the Yankees, so I agree with your assessment that it’s a 1949 ball. It was indeed a championship team. The Yankees beat the Dodgers in the World Series that year to start their record run of five-straight titles. If the baseballs are in near-mint condition, they are going to be worth at least $1,500 each, said Mike Gutierrez, consignment director for Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com) in Dallas. The color of the ink should not be an issue.

Dear Babe: I have 35 1990 Fleer Barry Bonds cards (No. 461).

William Zowarka, San Bernardino, Calif.

About the only thing noteworthy about these cards is that they picture a Bonds that looks about half the size of the current version. The 1990 sets were produced in huge quantities and have little value. Beckett’s top value for the card is $1.

If you have a question for Babe Waxpak, send your full name and hometown, the card number, year and manufacturer or send a copy to babewaxpak@charter.net.