These bidders will be swinging for the fences.
A signed jersey Mickey Mantle wore in the final season of his legendary baseball career is predicted to bring in a staggering $3 million at auction next month.
The Commerce Comet wore the No. 7 road jersey in 1968, when the 36-year-old eked out just 18 home runs — and saw his career batting average sink below .300.
The shoddy slugging in Mantle’s 18th season with Bronx Bombers, however, isn’t expected to make bidding for his dirt-stained jersey a walk in the park, according to Dallas-based Heritage Auctions.
“If you’re putting together a collection of best of the best game-used bats or jerseys, Mickey Mantle is going to be up there and it’s a very limited club of people who can own a Mickey Mantle all-original jersey,” said said Chris Ivy, director of sports at Heritage Auctions. He estimated there were less than 10 such jerseys in circulation.
This gray flannel uniform — part of Heritage Auctions’ Spring Sports Catalog Auction — features an inscription from the baseball titan to one of the Yankees’ bat boys, Bill Hoganich, along with Mantle’s name chain stitched on the inside of the collar.
There have been four bids so far, with the highest at $960,000, including the buyer’s premium.
Another signed 1968 Mantle road jersey, which the Mick wore while cracking his penultimate home run, sold for nearly $2.2 million in 2022.
Other memorabilia up for sale include Mantle’s bat, which he used to knock out a grand slam in Game 5 of the 1953 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yanks clinching the series the next day.
The iconic lumber is estimated to bring in at least $400,000, according to the auction house.
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