1963 Mickey Mantle “Bat Girl” Archive
GUEST:
Well, it all started when I was eight years old. I went to try out for the Little League, and they had a Yankee bat boy contest. Well, girls couldn't participate, so I made up a name, I put Jimmy Lotze. So when they called my house, my mother answered the phone. They said, "Oh, your son Jimmy just won the Yankee bat boy contest," and my mother started to laugh. She said, "Well, I don't have a son, Jimmy, but it's my daughter, Nancy." So when they found out, they were like, "Wow, we've got to do this. You know, make her the honorary bat girl." So they said to me, "Who's your favorite Yankee?" And I said, "Oh, Mickey Mantle." And it just so happened that Mickey Mantle came to speak to me.
APPRAISER:
And obviously, you, uh, two became friends. Here you were giving him a peck on the cheek.
GUEST:
Oh yes, yes. And I had asked him, "Oh, Mickey, can you hit a run, a home run for me?" He said, "Well, I can't promise you anything." I said, "That's okay!" And he hit a home run, and he came over to me. He said, "Here, Nancy, here's my bat." And then a few weeks later, I get this autographed picture in the mail. "To Nancy, the cutest bat boy we have ever had. Your pal, Mickey Mantle."
APPRAISER:
It's incredible. I was so excited to see this, this is such a wonderful story. This happened in 1963.
GUEST:
Yes. Yes.
APPRAISER:
You really can't get a better bat than this. A home run bat, this kind of documentation.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Here you are with the Mick, here you are in Life magazine.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
I think with all this backup documentation, this fantastic photo, at auction, I would expect a bat like this to go for about $35,000. It's truly a fantastic piece. One of the best pieces...
GUEST:
Thank you.
APPRAISER:
I've seen on this show.
GUEST:
Thank you! Thank you, yes, I mean, my memories are awesome.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
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