ShareThisDear Babe: I have a baseball bat signed by Jim Leyland that I won at a charity auction. My understanding is that Leyland rarely signed anything, especially an item such as a bat. It is a Rawlings Adirondack Pro Ring bat with the number 232 under Adirondack. It also has Big Stick printed on the business end of the bat. The signature is on the opposite side of the bat from the company markings.
-- Mike Dobens, Nashua, N.H.
Babe: More than likely the auction folks were trying to generate added interest with the story about Leyland's signing habits. The story about Leyland not signing was news to me and to Mike Breeden, a Sports Collectors Digest columnist and autograph expert. "I've never heard that about Leyland. That's just not true," Breeden said.
Since he's a manager, who never played in the majors, Leyland wouldn't have a bat with his name on it. A generic bat for a guy who doesn't play has limited value. Breeden put it in the $50-$75 range.
According to www.baseball-reference.com, Leyland has a managerial record of 1,588-1,585 in 20 seasons. He won a World Series title in 1997 with the then-Florida Marlins and an American League pennant with the Detroit Tigers in 2006. He was also skipper of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the early 1990s when they won three division titles, but couldn't get past the Atlanta Braves in the playoffs. Leyland is 18th on the list of winningest managers in MLB history. He needs 32 more victories to move up to 15th.
Leo Durocher is 10th on the all-time list with 2,008 wins. Leyland needs 481 to push Durocher out of the 10th spot. That's five or six seasons of .500 baseball or better. Leyland celebrated his 68th birthday in December, so he would have to manage into his mid-70s to have a shot at moving into the top 10 all-time.
Dear Babe: I have a baseball from the 1960s San Francisco Giants. I can't make out all the names on the ball. Some of the names are Willie Mays, Jim Hart, Jim Davenport, Frank Linzy, Herman Franks, Gaylord Perry, Frank Johnson, Jack Hiatt and a very faded Willie McCovey, among others.
-- Bart Nickens, Anderson, Calif.
Babe: Based on the names you supplied, we can narrow down the ball to 1966-68. Franks was the manager from 1965 through 1968. Frank Johnson joined the Giants in 1966. All the other players you named were there all three years.
All three of those teams finished second in the National League. The only real difference for a collector is the fact that Orlando Cepeda was in S.F. through mid-May 1966, when he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ray Sadecki.
If Cepeda's signature isn't on the ball, then it's probably from 1966 or '67.
Mike Gutierrez, consignment director for Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com), said the ball is worth $300-$500 regardless of the exact year. He said that prices for team balls are depressed right now.
Based on the values Gutierrez offered and the fact that McCovey's signature is faded and Cepeda's may not be there, I'd say it probably falls into the bottom half of the range.
(Babe Waxpak is written by Bill Wagner. If you have a question for Babe Waxpak, include your full name and hometown, the card number, year and manufacturer or send a photocopy. Please do not send cards. The address is: Babe Waxpak, Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or email babewaxpak(at)charter.net.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com.)
