If you’re looking for the perfect one-of-a-kind gift for the hard-drinking New York Yankee fan in your life, well, you just missed your chance at a real gem. Here’s a description of the item at auction:

Included in this lot is a Joe Dimaggio [sic] and Mickey Mantle Signed Baseball…This baseball is truly one of a kind and might be the only one in existance [sic]. It is an extremely unique collectible from two of the greatest Yankees and baseball players of all-time.

Given that Mantle and DiMaggio briefly played together, after which Mantle succeeded DiMaggio in center field for the Yankees, there are sure to be a few balls with both their signatures. However, despite Mantle’s years of heavy drinking, it is indeed likely that there’s only one ball like this:

It’s unclear when Mantle signed the ball, nor even to whom or what the “this” refers: the ball, or Joe DiMaggio himself? Did Mickey spill a drink on Joe, then apologize with an autograph to a third-party? Or was Mantle given a Joe DiMaggio-signed ball to add his signature to, and he accidentally spilled a drink on it? No matter what happened, it was surely an amusing event, one which was commemorated via autograph.

Sadly, if you’re interested in owning this particular item, you’re about a week too late. The ball recently sold for over $12,000. It’s debatable whether the foul language increased the value of the ball or hurt it, but it certainly heightened the level of interest.

Previously in apologies delivered via baseball: Pete Rose’s Nadir

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