Corked Mantle Bat Going Up For Auction; X-Ray Proves New York Yankees Player Mikey Used Illegal Bat

On June 5 Gray Flannel Auctions will put up a Mickey Mantle corked bat used by the MLB icon during his career with the New York Yankees.

Lot #76 as the Mickey Mantle corked bat is referred to on the auction's website is listed as "1964 Mickey Mantle game used corked bat with x-ray."

The website says this is the first corked bat linked to Mickey Mantle. Corking a bat is illegal in the MLB. By adding cork or another light substance to the hollowed out barrel of a bat the player is said to be able to hit the ball harder and farther than a normal bat.

Players caught with a corked bat, like the Mickey Mantle corked bat now up for auction are suspended for a certain number of games. MLB officials decided how many games a player is suspended on a case by case basis.

In 2003 Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs received an 8-game suspension when a bat he was using shattered during a game. The fragmented bat sent chunks of cork all over the place, the New York Post reports.

According to the L.A Times when the auction house received the Mickey Mantle bat they brought in an authenticator by the name of John Taube. Taube was able to authenticate that the bat belonged to Mickey Mantle. However when he examined the bat closely he noticed "a circular area .75 inches wide in the center of the top barrel."

In the description of the Mickey Mantle Corked bat released by the auction house they says,

"The finish in the area has also been touched up to mask the circulation area. Alterations of this nature indicate the barrel has been drilled and filled with cork."

In order to confirm his suspicions Taube had the Mickey Mantle bat x-rayed. The x-ray proved Mickey Mantle did in fact play with a corked bat.

The Mickey Mantle corked bat description by the auction house says that they do not want to take away from the legend that is Mickey Mantle. The auction house praises Mickey Mantle in the bat's description saying,

"Mickey Charles Mantle was a hero to millions of boys and men across the country, spanning generations. The Mick would cause grown men to break down just at the chance of meeting him and shaking his hand."

Mickey Mantle began his career at the age of 19. He was recruited out of high school and signed to a 2-year contract with the New York Yankees. Mickey Mantle spent his entire 18-year career in pin stripes he and late Yankee Roger Maris famously battled in 1961 to see who would break Babe Ruth's homerun record.

Mantle lost the homerun race in 1961 but would win a total of 7 world championships during his Yankee career. Mantle retired in 1969 and passed away in 1995.

The reserve price of the corked Mickey Mantle bat is listed at $5,000.