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Yankees Star Aaron Judge's 62nd Home Run Ball Sells for $1.5M at Auction
December 18, 2022
New York Yankees star Aaron Judge's 62nd home run ball sold at auction for $1.5 million.
Goldin Auctions sold the ball on Saturday night, with six total bids coming in. The initial price tag was set at $1 million when the listing opened on Nov. 29, with each bid increasing by $50,000 before the winner was determined.
Judge broke Roger Maris' 61-year-old American League record with his final homer of the regular season on Oct. 4 in the second game of a doubleheader against the Texas Rangers.
Corey Youmans, the fan who caught the ball, initially said he hadn't thought about what he would do with it.
Judge was asked about potentially getting the ball for his own personal collection after the game.
"I don't know where it's at, so we'll see what happens with that," the Yankees slugger told reporters. "It'd be great to get it back, but that's a souvenir for a fan, so, you know, they made a great catch out there, and they've got every right to it."
Even though Youmans did make out well in this auction, he may regret not selling the ball earlier. He told ESPN's Jeff Passan someone offered him $3 million for the piece of Major League Baseball history.
"It seems fair in the sense it gives anyone that is interested and has the means the opportunity to own it," Youmans explained to Passan. "As a fan, I'm curious to see what it's worth, who buys it and what they do with it."
Judge became the first MLB player to hit at least 60 homers in a season since Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa in 2001. The 30-year-old was named AL MVP for his historic performance in 2022.