Homer No. 2: Melky Cabrera’s Game-Used Bat From June 27, 2006

Melky Cabrera was 21 and still new to the big leagues when he hit the second home run of his career. His first came on June 15, 2006, and his second followed on June 27, a ninth-inning home run off Atlanta’s Jorge Sosa at Yankee Stadium, hit from the eighth spot in the Yankees’ lineup while playing left field. It came with two outs in a 5-2 loss to the Braves in front of 53,763 fans, and it was the Yankees’ last run of the night. The home run didn’t change the result, but it was another sign that a young outfielder in a lineup with Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, and Jorge Posada could contribute with power too.

This is the bat he used for that swing, a game-used piece from the stretch where Cabrera was establishing himself in the majors. He finished the 2006 season with seven home runs and went on to hit 144 in his career, including a walk-off shot later that rookie summer. For collectors, a bat tied to a specific early home run, with the date, opponent, and pitcher documented, is the kind of detail that makes a game-used piece worth owning: a clearly identified moment from the first season of a Yankees regular.