Yahoo Finance What will happen to Aaron Judge's historic 62nd home run ball?
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge’s record-breaking home run ball hasn’t been seen since it flew into the glove of Cory Youmans on Tuesday night, sparking debate over what the fan should do with the historic memorabilia.
“Our offer still stands,” Memory Lane President JP Cohen told Yahoo Finance. “It’s 2 million bucks.”
The ball, which broke Roger Maris’ 61-year record for most single-season home runs in baseball's American League, is estimated to be worth between $1.25 million to $2 million.
In the immediate aftermath, Youmans told a local news outlet he “hadn’t thought about” what to do with the ball. According to Cohen, he and his memorabilia team have already texted and called Youmans about their offer but have yet to hear back, as of Thursday morning.
Though Cohen is willing to pay up to $2 million, he stated that his offer isn’t based strictly on an advanced valuations process.
“We felt that was an attention number that probably in our opinion, if the ball went to auction wouldn't even fetch that much,” he said. “So it's one of those numbers where let's put it out there and whoever gets that ball wants to be an instant millionaire, so to say.”
'It is possible' ball sells for up to $5 million
High-end collector’s and luxury items have held up amid heightened inflation and the fear of an economic downturn.
The Judge ball will likely be no different, according to Goldin Auctions founder Ken Goldin. He believes the hype around the moment — with ESPN cutting into broadcasts and tickets selling for thousands of dollars — could drive the price higher in the short term.
There are two kinds of memorabilia purchases, Goldin explained: One surrounding a legend that will appreciate value over time, the other centered around a specific event and will depreciate over time. Goldin puts the Judge home run ball in the latter category.
“Whatever this ball ultimately goes for, if it comes up for public auction two years later, the price is going to be significantly less,” he told Yahoo Finance.
Over the course of his career, Goldin has sold more than $1.3 billion in sports memorabilia, including jerseys and player cards. Those markets are much larger than the used ball market, he said. Millions of people collect cards and game used jerseys, while likely “less than a thousand” collect balls.
And since the regular season is now over, Goldin said now is the ideal time to sell Judge's historic baseball.
“The best thing to do with that ball is to put it up for public sale, literally within the next two weeks, and have it publicized as much as humanly possible,” he said. “It is possible that in a public auction, the ball goes for $5 million."
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Josh is a reporter and producer for Yahoo Finance.
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