This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/11/2018
With a career that spanned 21 years, 260-game winner Ted Lyons was in a unique position to assess the talent of several generations of ballplayers. This letter is a response to a request that Lyons compare The Babe to modern-day players.
Lyons begins the letter with, “I usually don’t get mixed up in comparisons of players of our day and present day players,” but the Hall of Famer goes on to praise Ruth’s prowess with the bat. “The only thing I know is that when Babe hit one you didn’t have to wait and see whether it was going out of the park – you could tell when contact was made.” Lyons should know; Ruth hit 10 of his pitches out of the ballpark during his career. Lyons’ respect for Ruth is expressed in another line that reads, “And to cap it off I never heard of a crowd of 3,000 fans coming early to watch batting practice.” Lyons explains that he is not trying to belittle Hank Aaron, who he thinks is “a great hitter and the champ,” but “there will never be another Ruth.” Lyons ends the letter by mentioning Reggie Jackson by name and then complimenting Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx and Greenberg.
The letter is handwritten and signed by Lyons in bold 9.5/10 black pen on 8.5x11 lined paper. The page shows light toning and slight edge wear. The letter is accompanied by a 1946-dated 8x10 wire service photo of Ted Lyons and Red Faber, signed by both Hall of Famers in 7/10 black fountain pen.
Autographs pre-certified by PSA/DNA.