The Yankees gave Aaron Judge a $360 million contract after his AL record of 62 home runs. This is about $145 million more than what he was offered a year earlier. But Cory Youmans, the man who got his 62nd home run ball, is not that lucky. He caught the ball in the left-field seats at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Judge’s 62nd home run ball, which set a record, sold for $1.5 million after Goldin Auctions held a bidding process that ended Saturday night. Youmans failed to get an equivalent to what he was offered earlier.
Last month, Cory Youmans turned down a private offer of $3 million for the 62nd home run ball he caught in the left-field seats at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
The fan from Texas, who is a top executive at a $200 billion investment firm, is putting it up for auction because he wants to set a record price for it. Cory Youmans’ lawyer, Dave Baron, told ESPN that the owner of the 62nd home run ball recently turned down an offer of $3 million. Goldin Auctions, which is based in New Jersey and is a leader in collecting sports items, began the auction on November 29.
When the auction for Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run ball started, it was expected to set a new record. Ken Goldin, who is running the auction, thought that the 62nd HR ball would fetch more than $3 million. Depending on how much more was paid, the sale could set a new record for the most money ever paid for a game-used baseball. The founder of Goldin Auctions told:
“We expect the final bidding to be over $3 million. This is probably the most famous baseball in the world, and it should set a record for the most valuable baseball ever sold.”
But the final price was not what he thought it would be.
The ball from Mark McGwire’s 70th home run in 1998 was sold to comic book artist and writer Todd McFarlane for $3.05 million, making it the most expensive ball ever.
Top five HR balls with the highest value (apart from Judge’s 62nd home run ball)
| Player | The HR ball | Price | Year of selling |
| Mark McGwire | 70th HR ball | $3 million | 1999 |
| Aaron Judge | 62nd HR ball | $1.2 million | 2022 |
| Babe Ruth | 1933 All-Star Game | $805,000 | 2006 |
| Barry Bonds | 756th HR ball | $752,467 | 2007 |
| Hank Aaron | 755th HR ball | $655,000 | 1999 |
| Barry Bonds | 73rd HR ball | $517,500 | 2001 |
Why did Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run ball fail to attract much higher bids? Give the reason with your comment below.
