The jersey worn by Babe Ruth during Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, in which baseball lore claims Ruth “called his shot” before hitting a home run into deep center field at Wrigley Field, has been put up for auction by Heritage Auctions. As of Friday afternoon, reserve bidding for Ruth’s road gray New York Yankees jersey has reached nearly $15 million.
While going up to bat during the fifth inning, legend has it that Ruth allegedly pointed towards the outfield during his plate appearance before burying a pitch from Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root into center field. Nearly a century later, how much of the story was embellished by mythmakers is unclear — There is a theory that Ruth was pointing at either Root or the Cubs dugout, as Ruth was openly displeased with the Cubs and had called the team “a bunch of cheapskates, nickel-nursers and misers” for denying former Yankee teammate Mark Koenig the full share of his World Series bonus due to his joining the team at midseason.
What isn’t in dispute is the ultimate outcome of the game — 7-5 with two home runs and four RBI by Ruth — and the World Series itself, a 4-0 sweep for New York.
The auction of Ruth’s jersey formally set to take place during Heritage’s Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction will likely yield a sale of well over the current $15 million. As noted by USA Today, a game-worn Ruth jersey from between 1928 and 1930 sold for $5.64 million at an auction in 2019.
