Aaron Judge's 60th HR Ball Traded for Meet-and-Greet, 4 Signed Balls, Signed Bat

Michael Kessler, the fan who caught Aaron Judge's 60th home run in the ninth inning of Tuesday's game between the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates, traded the historic ball for a gift package.

Per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, Kessler swapped the ball for a meet-and-greet with Judge in the Yankees' clubhouse, four autographed baseballs and a signed bat that wasn't the one used to hit the homer.

"We were standing on top of the bleachers and then went down for his at-bat," Kessler told Hoch about catching the ball. "We were jumping up and down because I knew it was a home run. It hit the top of the bleachers and then bounced toward our section. I just went to grab it and bear hugged it."

Judge became the sixth player in Major League Baseball history to hit at least 60 homers in a season with his solo shot off Pirates reliever Wil Crowe.

Judge is tied with Yankees icon Babe Ruth for the second-most homers in a single season in American League history. His next one will tie Roger Maris for the AL single-season record.

At his current pace, Judge is on track to finish the regular season with 66 homers. If he hits that mark, it would tie Sammy Sosa's 1998 campaign for the third-most in MLB history.

The homer was critical because it helped spark New York's five-run rally vs. the Pirates. Giancarlo Stanton ended the game with a walk-off grand slam to keep the Yankees' lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East at 5.5 games with 15 left to play.

Judge and the Yankees will host the Pirates on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET.