Two Sheen-owned Ruth items for sale
Charlie Sheen hasn’t portrayed Babe Ruth in a film, but the actor did have 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. Bidding closes 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 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 as of 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 until now. 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: Miami traded shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria to Tampa Bay for two minor leaguers. The Marlins got righthanded pitcher Ethan Clark and outfielder Braxton Lee in the deal.
Hechavarria has been on the disabled list since May 10 because of a strained left oblique.
The 28-year-old Hechavarria is hitting .277 with one homer and six RBIS in 20 games for the below-.500 Marlins.
■ Rangers: Mike Napoli made his first appearance at Progressive Field since helping Cleveland reach the World Series last season. The veteran first baseman/dh was presented with his American League Championship ring before Monday night’s game by Indians manager Terry Francona.
Napoli not only produced on the field — hitting 34 homers with
101 RBIS — he developed a strong fan following.
■ Rockies: Colorado outfielder Carlos Gonzalez was put on the 10-day disabled with a strained right shoulder that had kept him out the past three games.
The Rockies also placed lefty starter Tyler Anderson on the DL with inflammation in the back of his left knee near the hamstring. He felt it during his Sunday start at Dodger Stadium in what had been described as a cramp, but Colorado thought that could become a strain and made the precautionary move to shut him down.
■ Indians: Cleveland activated outfielders Michael Brantley and Brandon Guyer from the 10-day DL.
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.
Brantley is having a solid season after playing in only 11 games in 2016 because of a shoulder injury. He’s batting .296 with five homers, 28 RBIS and seven stolen bases in 54 games.
Guyer has been on the DL since May 13 because of a sprained left wrist. He’s hitting .182 with one homer and five RBIS in 21 games.
■ Yankees: Slumping New York activated outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury from the disabled list and put him back in the starting lineup.
Ellsbury has been out since
May 24 with a concussion, and played two rehab game in Triple-a over the weekend.
New York also 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 Associated Press