On October 11, 1976, Sadaharu Oh belted home run number 715 off of Hanshin Tigers lefty closer Kazuyuki Yamamoto to surpass Babe Ruth's lifetime record. This piece was manufactured and sold in commemoration of the event. The item contains Oh's hand prints embedded in the bottom portion of a lifesize bronze bat, with Oh's facsimile signature near the top. The bat is to be mounted on a wood home plate base, which contains a commemorative plaque. The top line of the Japanese text on the plaque reads "The Big Grip". The text on the next line is "Oh number 715 home run commemorative".

We don't know who produced this item, but it is no cheap souvenir. We can't imagine that too many were made, due to the weight of the item and cost to produce. We have seen several of these over the years, but this is only the third example we have seen that includes the base. The small lucite piece that allows the bat to be mounted to the base is missing.

Size: Bat--11 1/2" tall, 2lb, 5.6 oz. Base--7 1/2" square, 1 lb. 2.3 oz.

Condition: Grip--Nm. Base--Vg