Offers have started pouring in for the 62nd home run ball of Aaron Judge and Cory Youmans, the fan who grabbed the ball at Globe Life Park, has to make a decision if he wants to sell it and for how much money.
The offer came from JP Cohen, the head of Memory Lane, which specializes in sports memorabilia auctions. During an interview with the Associated Press over the telephone on Wednesday, he told that he had offered $2 million for the 62nd home run ball that shattered the American League home run record. Youmans allegedly has not replied to his SMS or emails.
The AP reported that Cohen told about the offer to Cory Youmans . The auctioneer also said:
“I feel the offer is way above fair, if he is inclined to sell it.”
With a price like that, it’s not surprising that a fan jumped out of the gallery in a futile attempt to catch the ball.
Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball from 1998 still holds the record price of $3 million. Since the prices of sports memorabilia are always going up, Cohen’s offer could very well be too low.
What should the catcher of Aaron Judge’s home run do?
Cory Youmans, an investment firm vice president from Dallas, caught the ball on Tuesday night. When asked about what he was going to do with the 62nd homer ball, he replied “That’s a good question! I haven’t given it any thought!”
This season, Aaron Judge and, to a lesser extent, Albert Pujols had a chance to make history. A big question was what would happen to the historic ball in the end. According to sports memorabilia experts, Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run ball is 25 times more worth than Punjols’ 700th homer ball.
Fans can take the ball, go home, and keep it in their basements for the rest of their lives if they want to. They could sell it to a collector or hold a public auction that can bring make a lot of money. There were previous examples when fans gave back the balls to the teams or players in exchange for something like a signed ball or tickets to a future game. According to an estimate, Aaron Judge’s 62nd HR ball is likely to fetch at least $2 million and go up to $5 million.
This is what Cory Youmans, who was born and raised in Dallas and works in finance, may be well aware of. It’s a great problem to have, as his wife Bri Amaranthus, an ex-reality TV star and now a reporter with Sports Illustrated, showed when she heard about his catch.
The Yankees probably want Cory Youmans to return the ball, but it looks like him selling it to Cohen might not be such a bad thing. He told the AP that his company gets along well with the Yankees and that he would be willing to lend the ball to the team for an exhibit, which is something his company has done many times before.
As for what Aaron Judge thinks, he seems to want to get the ball back, but he doesn’t mind if Cory Youmans goes a different way.
The power hitter told the press:
“I don’t know where it’s at. We’ll see what happens with that. It would be great to get it back, but that’s a souvenir for a fan. He made a great catch out there, and they’ve got every right to it.”
What would have you done with Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run ball if it was with you?
