New York—A baseball hit by New York Yankees star Aaron Judge to break one of Major League Baseball’s most noted records has sold for $1.5 million, according to Goldin Auctions.
Bidding closed Saturday night on the ball smashed by Judge for his 62nd home run of the 2022 season to break the one-season American League homer record set by former Yankee Roger Maris in 1961.
The unidentified buyer made a winning bid of $1.25 million with a $250,000 buyer’s premium to purchase the ball caught by fan Cory Youmans in the stands on October 4 at Arlington, Texas.
Judge, last season’s American League Most Valuable Player, has agreed a nine-year free agent deal worth $360 million to remain with the Yankees.
He smashed a 391-foot blast over the left-field wall off Texas Rangers pitcher Jesus Tinoco to set the new mark.
It was the second-highest price ever paid for a baseball, trailing the $3 million for what was then the MLB one-season homer record ball, the 70th home run ball hit by Mark McGwire in 1998. The record is 73 set by Barry Bonds playing for the San Francisco Giants in the National League in 2001.
