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The jersey worn by New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth when he “called his shot” in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series will go up for auction in August, Heritage Auctions announced Tuesday.

The sale of the road gray Ruth jersey, available to the public for the first time in 19 years, is expected to set a record for a sports collectible at auction, where it could fetch upward of $30 million, according to Chris Ivy, Heritage Auctions’ director of sports auctions. The auction is set for Aug. 23-25.

The jersey last sold for $940,000 in 2005 with Grey Flannel Auctions. At that time, it was dated to the 1932 season and purported to be from that year’s series. But the jersey has now been photo-matched by MeiGray Authenticated as the one Ruth wore in Game 3.

“There were a couple of things that helped [this jersey] stand out from previous seasons,” said Jim Montague, MeiGray’s vice president of authentication. “How the Y was positioned on the front of the jersey in relationship to the buttons and the placket on the jersey. Back then, everything was hand-stitched on. There are seamstresses putting names and numbers and stitching the collar, stitching of the names in the collar, they’re doing it by hand. When you see certain placements, you have [something] unique. They’re not doing it the same two times in a row.”

Ruth’s supposed “called shot” came during the fifth inning of Game 3 in the 1932 World Series — Ruth’s 10th and final Fall Classic — against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. With the score tied 4-4, Ruth stepped to the plate and pointed; whether he intended to point at pitcher Charlie Root, to the Cubs’ dugout or to the outfield remains a matter of historical uncertainty. But on a Root curveball, he clubbed a four-bagger an estimated 440 feet to center (in some reports it balloons to 490), immortalized henceforth as Ruth’s legendary “called shot.”

The 1995 Grey Flannel Auctions listing reads: “Every expert is in agreement that this jersey is authentic and 100% original in every respect […] not one of these experts can definitively say that it is not Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series jersey.”

Ivy called it a “one-of-a-kind item, the most significant sports collectible that’s ever come up for auction.” He said he wouldn’t be surprised if it exceeds $30 million.

Barry Meisel, MeiGray’s president and COO, said in addition to the photo-matching process, the firm researched how many jerseys the Yankees ordered around that time.

“The Yankees ordered three road grays and three home whites over an entire year and carried one over into the following year,” Meisel said. “And the nuances Spalding put on its company tag, or in the collar of the shirt, you start to determine, ‘Could this have been worn in 1932? Was it worn in 1935?’ Sometimes we say: ‘This is a Babe Ruth jersey, but you can’t focus on a specific event.’ But we’re confident we’ve proven it’s the real deal.”

Montague said photography from Game 3 of the 1932 World Series aligned with nuances of Ruth’s New York Yankees jersey. He pointed out a small notch in the “N” in “NEW YORK” — “almost as if [it] wasn’t completely straight.” The top of the “W,” he said, “had this curve as opposed to a flat edge; other images we saw [from other years] had a flat edge.” The “E,” he said, “had a sort of bend at the bottom.”

This isn’t the first time that photo-matching could increase the potential value of a sports collectible, let alone the first time in recent memory with a Ruth item. In April 2023, a Babe Ruth bat that sold for $400,800 in 2018 resold for $1.85 million, a record for a baseball bat, after “photographic corroboration.”

“MeiGray’s philosophy is every game-worn jersey is like a fingerprint,” Meisel said. “No two fingerprints are alike, we believe no two jerseys are alike when you look at the hand-stitching, the placement of names, numbers, letters on the shirt, where and how the buttons are attached. When you do forensic research with resources that are necessary, actual photos of the shirt, you can make the determinations that we made in this case with the Babe Ruth Called Shot jersey.”

Ivy acknowledged the improbability of the jersey still existing.

“This Ruth jersey had no intrinsic value at the time; it was just a dirty old baseball shirt when Ruth was wearing it in 1932,” he said. “A lot of this stuff was lost to time. Jerseys were sent down to the minor leagues or worn in practice until they fell apart and then were thrown away. The fact that this piece has made it for 90-plus years and it represents one of the most significant moments of not only Babe Ruth’s career but the history of this sport that’s interwoven with the fabric of America, that’s pretty cool.”

The current record for any sports collectible is the $12.6 million spent on the near-perfect 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card in August 2022. The record for any piece of sports memorabilia is the $10.1 million spent on a jersey Michael Jordan wore in Game 1 of the 1998 “Last Dance” NBA Finals.

Ivy said the bidding floor will be $7.5 million, making the Ruth jersey one of the most expensive sports collectibles ever with one bid. He said Heritage Auctions plans to display the jersey at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland in late July along with previews in their New York City and Palm Beach offices in early August, among other promotional plans.

Ivy noted that the great pieces of vintage collectibles have folklore that collectors and fans debate: the printing press/likeness back-and-forth of the T206 Honus Wagner or the water-bound dumping of 1952 Topps Mickey Mantles. Ruth calling or not calling his shot might never be known, but its intrigue lies in that elusiveness.

“That’s what takes this jersey to the next level,” Ivy said. “It’s connected to a great moment in American sports history, not to mention a World Series, and it’s one of the most debated topics in the last 100 years.”

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MLB: Iassogna crew chief, plate umpire for ASG

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MLB: Iassogna crew chief, plate umpire for ASG

NEW YORK — Dan Iassogna will be the umpire crew chief and work the plate during Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at Atlanta’s Truist Park.

His crew will include Marvin Hudson at first, Chris Segal at second, Jansen Visconti at third, Jeremie Rehak in left and Erich Bacchus in right, Major League Baseball said Thursday.

Iassogna, 56, will work his second All-Star Game. He was at third base for the 2011 game at Arizona.

He worked his first big league game in 1999, was hired to the major league staff in 2004 and appointed a crew chief ahead of the 2020 season. Iassogna umpired the World Series in 2012, ’17 and ’22 along with eight League Championship Series and seven Division Series.

Segal, Visconti, Rehak and Bacchus will work their first All-Star Games and Hudson his second after being in left field in 2004 at Houston.

Tony Randazzo will be the replay umpire in New York.

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A’s Rooker joins list of HR Derby participants

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A's Rooker joins list of HR Derby participants

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Athletics slugger Brent Rooker is adding his name to the list of Home Run Derby participants.

Rooker announced Thursday that he’s participating in the event, which takes place Monday in Atlanta. He will become the first Athletics player in the Home Run Derby since Matt Olson in 2021.

“Competing in the Home Run Derby has always been a dream of mine,” Rooker said in an Instagram post. “Can’t wait to make it happen next week in Atlanta! See ya there!”

Rooker, 30, entered Thursday with a .270 batting average, 19 homers and 50 RBIs, putting him on pace for a third straight season of at least 30 homers. He went deep 30 times in 2023 and had 39 homers in 2024.

His 58 homers since the start of the 2024 season rank him third among all American League players.

The only A’s to win the Derby were Mark McGwire in 1992 and Yoenis Céspedes in 2013 and 2014.

Other announced participants include Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr., Minnesota’s Byron Buxton, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and Washington’s James Wood.

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O’s trade reliever Baker to Rays for draft pick

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O's trade reliever Baker to Rays for draft pick

BALTIMORE — The Orioles traded right-handed reliever Bryan Baker to AL East rival Tampa Bay on Thursday in exchange for the 37th overall pick in the 2025 MLB amateur draft, a sign that one of baseball’s most disappointing clubs could be sellers at the upcoming trade deadline.

Orioles general manager Mike Elias wouldn’t completely commit to that idea. Speaking to reporters before Thursday’s split doubleheader against the New York Mets, he cited the 2024 Detroit Tigers, who traded players off their major league roster but held on to ace Tarik Skubal and then surged into a playoff spot.

Elias did, however, acknowledge the possibility of selling on a day that began with last-place Baltimore (40-50) sitting 12½ games behind the division-leading Toronto Blue Jays and seven out of the final AL wild-card spot.

“I think it’s a step in that direction,” said Elias three weeks before the July 31 deadline. “There’s no way around that. The timing of the draft, and when you have draft picks involved in the trades, kind of front-loads these decisions, and it’s earlier than my comfort level. But we thought it was a really good return and a good trade for everyone. So, we did it.”

The draft begins Sunday. In a corresponding move, the Orioles selected the contract of catcher David Bañuelos from Triple-A Norfolk.

After a dreadful start that brought the May dismissal of manager Brandon Hyde, the Orioles have steadied under interim skipper Tony Mansolino, playing to a 21-14 record since a loss to St. Louis on May 28.

Baker was a solid part of that, posting a 3.52 ERA, striking out 49 batters and posting a 1.096 WHIP in 38⅓ innings as the setup man for closer Felix Bautista.

“This is a team that is moving in the right direction, and we still have a lot of time left before the deadline, but this was a trade with the draft coming up in a couple days that we had to make a decision on,” Elias said. “We didn’t want to pass up on the opportunity. Hopefully, we can use the pick wisely, bring a lot of value back, and Bryan’s going to a good place.”

Mansolino is also hoping his team will get replenishments in the form of players eventually returning from the injured list. That sizable group includes several possible starting pitchers: Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder), Albert Suarez (shoulder), Tyler Wells (elbow) and Kyle Bradish (Tommy John surgery).

Meanwhile, Baltimore will now have four of the first 37 and seven of the first 93 draft picks.

“All the drafts are important, but when you have this amount of picks, it becomes more important, there’s no question about it,” Elias said. “There’s just a much bigger opportunity ahead of us, and the draft is a lifeblood for our franchise.”

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