Aaron Judge is now atop the record books, having hit his 62nd homer Tuesday night in the second game of a double header to give him the all-time record in the American League and for the New York Yankees.
The shot that flew past Roger Maris and into the left field seats at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, off Rangers right-hander Jesus Tinoco, could net as much a $3 million total for the ball, bat and jersey, a noted sports memorabilia appraiser told Sportico.
The ball could be worth $1.25 million, the bat $1 million and the No. 99 jersey $750,000, said Ken Goldin of Goldin Auctions.
As far as the ball is concerned: “I believe the 62nd home run will be the more valuable of all the items, and should he hit another one [Wednesday] I believe, across the board, that value will be about 80% of the number 62,” Goldin said in an email.
Cory Youmans, a financial advisor from Dallas, caught the ball and didn’t immediately give it to Judge, according to multiple reports.
Youmans was asked what he might do with it as he took the ball for authentication.
“Good question, I haven’t thought about it,” he responded.
For his part, Judge was his usual sanguine self when asked about the missing ball after the game.
“I don’t know where it’s at,” he said. “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.”
Judge took another at bat in the second inning and struck out against reliever Kolby Allard before Yankees manager Aaron Boone lifted him from the game, calling Judge back to the dugout after he jogged out to right field to a raucous standing ovation. He may not play in the club’s season finale Wednesday.
The Yankees open their best-of-five AL Division Series next Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.
It was a long slow slog for Judge as he swung toward the record. He hit No. 60 to tie Babe Ruth on Sept. 20 at Yankee Stadium against Pittsburg and had to wait eight games before equaling Maris last Wednesday night in Toronto.
He went six games again before hitting the record-breaker, including the first game of Tuesday’s day-night doubleheader when he went 1-for-5 with a single.
It didn’t take long in the night cap, as he led off and slugged a 1-1 pitch into the front row of the left-field bleachers, into Section 31 where Youmans snagged it on the fly.
Judge has the ball from homers 60 and 61.
“Had he gotten to 62 home runs earlier and was able to hit multiple more home runs since then, I believe his last home run and therefore the new AL record would have been slightly more valuable,” Goldin said.
