The guy that wrote “Tell it to My Heart” and a few other pop songs just decided to sell his prolific baseball memorabilia collection. Seth Swirsky, who calls himself a “manic expressive,” decided to sell his entire collection whose most noteworthy item was the ball that squirked through Buckner’s legs those 25 years ago (I know squirked is not a word, but it seems like the best verb for the occasion). The winning bidder in the interesting auction preferred to stay anonymous, but the contents of the rest of Swirsky’s collection represent some of the more entertaining and historic moments in the history of the game.
First, the Bill Buckner ball which was sold for exactly $418,250 was originally owned by Charlie Sheen and has a kiss of a baseball player inked between the seams. Apparently, as the ball was passed through the Mets dugout in 1986 one player kissed it, leaving a tobacco lip stain; a move that I find both hilarious and awesome. After the ball rolled through Buckner’s legs, it was picked up by right field umpire Ed Montague, who put a tiny “x” near a seam to mark it. Montague then gave the ball to Mets executive Arthur Richman. Wilson signed it to Richman, writing: “To Arthur, the ball won it for us, Mookie Wilson, 10/25/86.” It’s all the little things that make this ball so interesting.
Also in the collection was the cap of Texas Ranger Jose Conseco when the ball hit his head and bounced over the fence. The hat was sold for $11,950.
Another interesting bit of baseball history was sold at auction: A 1923 letter signed by then-Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis denying the reinstatement of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. The letter was sold for $53,775 and represents one of the historic decisions in the game as the Black Sox scandal set the precident for baseball’s most serious of moral codes: You don’t bet on baseball.
Also of note was the third homerun ball from Reggie Jackson from Game 6 of the 1977 World Series that earned him the nickname “Mr. October.” That ball sold for $65,725.
For what it’s worth, the $418,250 price on the Bill Buckner ball represents the about one sixth the price fetched by Mark McGuire’s 70th homerun ball, which sold for $3,005,000. A Babe Ruth All Star game home run ball sold for $805,000 while Hank Aaron’s 755 fetched $650,000. The Bartman Ball from the famous Steve Bartman foul ball incident was sold for $113,824.16 before it was publicly exploded.
-Sean Morash
