This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/4/2017
Former MLB slugger Mark McGwire turned the baseball world on its ear in 1998 when he went toe-to-toe with Chicago Cubs’ home run basher Sammy Sosa in what became baseball’s most watched home run race since New York Yankees teammates Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle slugged it out in 1961. The 6’ 5” McGwire, playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, wound up with a then-MLB record 70 round-trippers followed by Sosa’s 66 for the single-season campaign.
This lot features one of McGwire’s game used Rawlings Adirondack pro model bats from that headline-grabbing season. The 33-ounce, 34.5” inch-long “Big Stick” branded ash bat exhibits plenty of game use with multiple cleat and bat rack marks throughout as well as dozens of baseball contact marks littered about the barrel. A 10-inch long portion near the center of the bat is covered in dried pine tar. The knob of the bat is engraved with “MAC 25” “289” and “98” to reflect McGwire, his uniform number, the bat model and the season in question. "33 McGwire" is hand-written in black ink on the knob of the bat. Besides leading the majors in home runs and walks (162) in 1998, McGwire batted .299 that season with 147 runs batted in.