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The home run ball was consigned to Goldin in November by Cory Youmans. He was sitting in the front row of section 31 in left field at Globe Life Field on Oct. 4 when Judge led off the second game of a doubleheader between the Yankees and Rangers and connected. — The ball New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit for his American League-record 62nd home run has sold for $1.5 million at auction. The Sept. 25 “Sunday Night Baseball” game drew 2.2 million viewers for ESPN and was the second most-viewed Sunday night game of the season only behind April 10’s Red Sox-Yanks matchup. What impressed Mace was that although the September game was up against the NFL, it still drew the largest “Sunday Night Baseball” audience against football since September 2010. First, one would have to have access to data that teams and broadcast networks don’t publicize, such as sponsorship sales and game-by-game media breakdowns.
Throughout the season, MLB polled fans on the sport’s most exciting player to watch. Shohei Ohtani was the dominant selection early in the season, before Judge vaulted to the top in the second half. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the attorney for the Texas man who caught the ball told the Worldwide Leader he rejected a $3 million offer before going to auction. At the time, he said he wasn't sure what he wanted to do with the ball.
Where the Yankees fit in a reshaped AL after Carlos Rodon addition
The next day, he reportedly received a $2 million offer for the ball from an auctioneer and turned it down. Fans knew the value of the ball and were willing to go all out to make millions if they snagged the record-breaking hit. One fan went so far as to leap out of the stands to try to make the catch as Judge's ball sailed over the fence.
After hitting his 62nd home run Tuesday night, Judge got one more at-bat in the second, striking out. Sixty-one has also become a magical number in Yankees and baseball lore. Maris hit his 61st homer in 1961 in his 161st game, and Judge broke the record 61 years later in the Yankees' 161st game of the season. Aaron Judge hit his 62nd home run of the season Tuesday night against Texas Rangers pitcher Jesus Tinoco, surpassing Roger Maris for the most home runs in a single season by an American League player. Estimated delivery dates - opens in a new window or tab include seller's handling time, origin ZIP Code, destination ZIP Code and time of acceptance and will depend on shipping service selected and receipt of cleared payment. Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods.
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Fanatics, the dominant sports apparel seller, said that Judge was its best-selling MLB player in total merchandise sales this season. Judge was also Fanatics’ top finisher in total memorabilia sales in baseball, and second overall across all sports behind only Tom Brady. The man who caught Aaron Judge's record-breaking 62nd home run ball was always going to make a pretty penny once he sold his prize.
• Judge might not just win the home run race -- he has an outside chance to win a batting Triple Crown, as he leads the AL with 61 homers and 131 RBIs and ranks second with a .311 batting average, behind only Luis Arraez. Judge would be the first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and the third Yankee to win one, along with Mantle in 1956 and Lou Gehrig in 1934. This season, Judge has surpassed every Yankees legend -- Maris' 61 homers in 1961, Ruth's 60 in 1927, Mickey Mantle's 52 in 1956 and so many more.
Many consider Judge to now be the true all-time record holder
But there’s more reason to expect those results if Judge stays on a club with one of the game’s highest payrolls. NEW YORK – Back in late March, legions of Yankees fans and scores of media outlets wondered how Aaron Judge could turn down a $213.5 million contract extension. Ultimately, he decided to stay with the Yankees signing a record nine-year deal worth $360 million.
Could the Yankees have tried some combination of, say, Carlos Correa and Brandon Nimmo to replace Judge? But it would have cost more in the aggregate, and the Yankees knew Judge worked with their team and their fan base. Hal Steinbrenner decided he needed Judge for his roster, his television network, his attendance, his marketing and — perhaps most vital of all — for the owner’s reputation against the mounting criticism and boos. This began with the Yankees not believing their best player would leave, that he needed them more than they needed him. Their late offers followed a trajectory with which Judge had become familiar — All Rise. The home run snapped a five-game homerless drought for Judge.
Combined with a $250,000 buyer’s premium, that resulted in the final price. Youmans did not comment on the sale price in his statement. Judge, who has never been connected to performance-enhancing drugs, was praised by many, including Roger Maris’s family, for breaking the American League single-season record without controversy.
Yankees great Roger Maris held the previous AL record, with 61 home runs. Barry Bonds holds the single-season MLB record, with 73 home runs. Cory Youmans, the Rangers fan who caught the historic baseball at Globe Life Field in October, was seated in left field when Judge homered off a slider from Jesus Tinoco in the first inning. Youmans reportedly declined a $3 million offer after catching the ball before placing it for auction. Aaron Judge’s record-setting 62nd home run ball sold for $1.5 million, according to Goldin Auctions. The auction closed on Saturday night for a winning bid of $1.25 million plus a $250,000 buyer’s premium.
• Judge has homered off 56 different pitchers this season, which is an AL record. He broke Ken Griffey Jr.'s previous mark of 52 in 1998. The all-time record is the 65 different pitchers McGwire homered against in that same iconic '98 season.
And the parents of those kids might not be so eager to pay expensive prices to see a Judge-less Yankee team, especially one that falls short again this October. Not since Jeter has there been a Yankee so popular with their youngest fans, who fill the stands wearing his No. 99. Versus any other boulevard in North America, there’s no contest. At this rate, no one else will wear Judge’s No. 99 again. If he stays a Yankee, there’s almost a certainty that his number is retired. Not to be morbid, but there are only four monuments to Yankees players in Monument Park.
These are the Yankees, so there is still enough financial room to pursue more, especially if they really are going to plug the minimum wage-ish Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe into prominent roles. They want a left fielder and to add to their rotation (they are attracted to the high-end stuff of Carlos Rodon). So Steinbrenner, on vacation in Italy, stayed in persistent contact with Judge, who closed the deal after flying to San Diego on Tuesday. The Yankees owner could not imagine his lineup without Judge nor his day-to-day life explaining it. He followed the accepted script about wanting to be a lifelong Yankee, but never flinched in his belief about his worth. He made it clear he didn’t like the spring extension offer being made public.
At a high level, what stands out about Judge is that the marketing of baseball just doesn’t usually revolve around a single player. From a secondary angle, regional sports networks can be in an annoying position when the spotlight shines on their team. National partners — like ESPN — want more Yankees content, both during the 2022 season and going forward.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees bats and hits a home run against the Minnesota Twins on September 2, 2022, at Yankee Stadium in New York, New York. Ticket prices for the chance to watch and/or catch 61 and 62 have also skyrocketed, so Judge can stay as humble as he wants, but 62 is historic no matter what. Judge is also the third Yankee to hit 60 in a season, joining Roger Maris and Babe Ruth . He's the first person to reach the mark since both Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa did so in 2001.
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