1903 Andy Oyler Shortest Home Run "Mudball"
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GUEST:
Well, my grandfather started in, out of college, 1902, he got picked up by the Baltimore Orioles.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
He played there for one year. Then he moved out to Minneapolis and played for the Millers for seven or eight years.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And in 1903, he hit this ball to be the shortest home run in history to date. My grandfather is small. His batting stance, he was hunched up, he was hard to pitch to. And apparently, it was a wild pitch, and it hit the back of his bat and shot straight down into the mud. It had just rained. This was the last out of the game. It shot straight down in the mud, about two feet in front of home plate.
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
Nobody saw it, I think everybody must have looked up. He ran around the bases, touched home plate, and pulled the ball out of the mud. And, and it was, it's nicknamed the Mud Ball. And then he took the ball, and he, he addressed it. You can see, there's just a little bit...
APPRAISER:
Right here?
GUEST:
That's... That's the postage stamp.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
He addressed it, put a postage stamp on it, and mailed it back to my grandmother. And then he followed it with a letter explaining what it was.
APPRAISER:
You have a letter?
GUEST:
We have a letter. I don't have it on me, but there is a letter. And it's been rolling around in a desk drawer for 100 years, I guess. (laughing)
APPRAISER:
So, first of all, you can see that this is very muddy.
GUEST:
It is.
APPRAISER:
He must have... I'm hoping he let it dry out a little bit before he sent it to your grandmother.
GUEST:
I would hope so, I would hope so. But it's still pretty cruddy.
APPRAISER:
Do you know what, who had the longest home run ever in baseball history?
GUEST:
No, I do not.
APPRAISER:
Babe Ruth, 1921.
GUEST:
Is that right? How about that?
APPRAISER:
Babe Ruth. So, your grandfather can be in the same sentence as Babe Ruth.
GUEST:
There you go.
APPRAISER:
The longest home run. The shortest home run.
GUEST:
The shortest home run. Correct.
APPRAISER:
I love this ball, and I love this story, 'cause I had never heard it before until you brought this ball. I'm not aware of any home run that probably comes close to this.
GUEST:
Nor am I, yup.
APPRAISER:
At 24 inches. And I noticed it's been documented in, in a couple of different books.
GUEST:
It has.
APPRAISER:
There are a couple of historians that may be a little bit skeptical, but my feeling is they might change their mind, knowing now that this ball exists, and a letter.
GUEST:
I hope so, yeah.
APPRAISER:
So, look, now we get to the valuation part of it.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And there have been items that have been associated with crazy or iconic or odd moments, incredulous moments in baseball history. I'm looking at the photo as-- and the cap that he wore with the Millers and the baseball-- and I got to tell you, I know it was a minor-league team, but because this is such a crazy situation, I'd put $3,000 to $5,000 on the ball.
GUEST:
Wow, that's great.
APPRAISER:
I mean, are you ever going to have a, a shorter home run?
GUEST:
That's right.
APPRAISER:
(laughing)
GUEST:
Probably never, probably never. That's great.
APPRAISER:
So, you know, I got to tell you, in this case, I think there will be joy in Mudville.
GUEST:
Yes, absolutely, that's right.
APPRAISER:
(laughs)
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