A Yankees fan mocked David Wells for wearing a $35,000 hat, but was he really that bad?
The “yankees closer” is a baseball player who wears the number 99 on his jersey. The $35K Yankees Hat David Wells Wore for 1 Inning was sold by auction site eBay, but it has yet to be found.
Pitcher David Wells was already on the mound when manager Joe Torre realized he was wearing it. When the New York Yankees pitcher returned to the dugout, he had to remove his hat, and he was facing a fine for a uniform violation.
Wells had spent $35,000 for a hat previously worn by Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees. Wells elected to wear the hat in a game against the Cleveland Indians on June 28, 1997. Torre ordered Wells to remove the cap after an inning. That hat has changed hands many times since then, and its value has skyrocketed.
David Wells was forced to enter the field while wearing Babe Ruth’s cap.
The New York Yankees’ David Wells pitches during a Major League Baseball game at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York City, in 1997. | Focus on Sport/Getty Images .
Wells pitched in Major League Baseball for 21 years. He was a three-time All-Star and played for nine different clubs. Wells believed it would be amazing if he could wear a piece of Yankee Stadium history during his first season with the team. He told Torre he was going to start against the Indians wearing his beloved Babe Ruth cap. Torre declined.
In a video released by the YES Network, Wells remarked, “I brought it to the stadium and said I’m going to wear this sucker.” “When Joe Torre heard about it, he said, ‘Hey, you can’t wear that hat.’ It is not necessary to wear a uniform.’ But, really, how great would it be to wear Babe Ruth’s hat? I’m now wearing it.
“It brings history back because it is history.” I’m like, I’m going to put this hat on. He says, “No, you’re not.” “I’m like, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, huh
During warmups, Wells put on his usual hat as Torre kept a tight watch on him.
“I was warming up and walking past him and he was staring at my hat,” Wells said. “I look at him like, ‘See, I’m not wearing that.’ I, on the other hand, walked up to my locker and put it on. I see Jorge (Posada) and Derek (Jeter) peering up the tunnel, and I tell them to just rush out there because they’ll start the music if they run out there.
“They bolted, and Joe was furious as I got off the mound.” ‘Take off your hat,’ he says. ‘I warned you not to put it on.’ ‘Well, I wore it,’ I explained.
Torre made sure he didn’t go into the second inning with a sore arm.
For wearing the Babe Ruth cap, David Wells was fined $2,500.
When Wells was on the mound wearing the Babe’s cap, he stated he had chills.
He told reporters, “It was incredibly emotional and scary.” “I was covered with goosebumps. It’s simply one of those situations where you don’t know what to anticipate when you have a hat like that and the history behind it.
“I was apprehensive. It’s simply a hat, but it belongs to the Babe.”
In the top of the first inning, Wells retired the Indians. He returned to the game in the second inning, wearing his customary Yankees helmet, and instantly gave up four runs, erasing a 3-0 lead. The Yankees were defeated 12-8.
He remarked, “That was the only inning in which I got three outs.” “After that, things didn’t go well.”
Wells received a $2,500 punishment for his infraction. He paid the fine with 2,500 $1 notes, according to Sports Collectors Daily.
“After the game, (Torre) brought me in and said, ‘You’re fined $2,500,’” he stated, according to a video on the YES Network. “I’m like, is that all there is to it?” Whatever it is, it’s fine. At the very least, I got to put the hat on.”
I’m not sure what happened to Ruth’s hat.
Wells opted to retire the hat fifteen years after first donning it. In 2012, he placed it up for auction and watched the price skyrocket.
“I paid 35 thousand for it, and I got a lot of flak for spending that much for a hat,” he said. “I noticed in the newspaper that a Babe Ruth jersey was up for sale. If someone doesn’t want to buy the jersey, they’ll want the hat. I ended up auctioning the hat and received between $550 and $600,000 for it.
“That was a wise decision on my side. That concludes the hat tale. It was very enjoyable.”
The hat was sold for $537,278.40, according to Sports Collectors Daily. That’s not terrible for a $37,500 investment, including penalties.
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