Actor Charlie Sheen will auction off prized Babe Ruth items
Charlie Sheen hasn’t portrayed Babe Ruth in a film, but the actor was the owner of two of the most prized items of Ruth memorabilia.
Sheen on Monday revealed himself as the owner of Ruth’s 1927 World Series ring and the 1919 contract of Ruth’s sale from the Red Sox to the Yankees which are part of the first Lelands.com Invitational Auction, which ends on Friday.
“While I have greatly enjoyed owning them, I thought now was the right time to sell the Holy Grail of Ruth memorabilia so others can enjoy them,” Sheen said in a statement. “It is my hope that whoever buys these will be able to put them on display for the public.”
Ruth’s ring, which is for the first of four titles he won with the Yankees, has the highest price of all the auction’s items. It started with an opening bid of $100,000 and was up to $555,991 Monday.
That season Ruth had one of the greatest years in baseball history with a .356 batting average, 60 home runs and 156 RBIs. He went 6 for 15 in the World Series sweep against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with two home runs and seven RBIs.
The five-page contract is the Yankees’ copy that Barry Halper once purchased from former owner Jacob Ruppert’s estate. It is considered the most important document in sports history. Not only did it start the Yankees on a path of winning 27 World Series titles – including four with Ruth – but it doomed generations of Red Sox players and fans under “the curse of the Bambino.” The curse wasn’t lifted until 2004, when Boston won its first World Series in 86 years.
That Ruppert copy was sold to Sheen in 2005 and hasn’t changed hands. It also started at $100,000 and is up to $379,749.
There were three copies of the Ruth contract. The Red Sox copy was sold for $996,000 to a Yankees fan during an auction at Sotheby’s in 2005. The American League copy has never surfaced.
Rays acquire SS
The Miami Marlins sent shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria to the Tampa Bay Rays for two minor leaguers in a deal that came more than a month before the trade deadline.
The Marlins got right-handed pitcher Ethan Clark and outfielder Braxton Lee in the swap.
Tampa Bay is contending for the A.L. East lead. Tim Beckham has been playing shortstop for the Rays – he’s hitting .278 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs, and recently has been slowed by a sore hand.
Hechavarria has been on the disabled list since May 10 because of a strained left oblique. He has played nine minor league rehab games in the last 10 days.
The 28-year-old Hechavarria is hitting .277 with one homer and six RBIs in 20 games for the below-.500 Marlins. He hasn’t made an error this year.
Hechavarria is a career .255 hitter in six seasons in the majors.
Clearing the bases
The Cleveland Indians have activated outfielders Michael Brantley and Brandon Guyer from the 10-day disabled list. Outfielder Daniel Robertson and right-hander Shawn Armstrong were optioned to Triple-A Columbus. Brantley hasn’t played since June 14. He was on the paternity list for three days and then was put on the DL because of a sprained left ankle. Guyer has been on the DL since May 13 because of a sprained left wrist. … The New York Yankees have activated outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury from the disabled list. He has been out since May 24 with a concussion, and played two rehab game in Triple-A over the weekend. New York put outfielder Aaron Hicks on the DL with a strained right oblique. He injured his ribcage during a check swing Sunday and is expected to miss three to four weeks. … The Texas Rangers activated left-hander Cole Hamels from the 10-day DL. Hamels has been out for eight weeks with a strained oblique muscle. He was injured warming up for a scheduled start May 2 against Houston and placed on the disabled list.