The dropped ball by New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series was sold at auction for $43,510, drawing a total of 101 bids over a 10-day period. Judge’s error contributed to the Yankees squandering a 5-0 lead to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who went on to win the game 7-6 and become World Series champions. The auction page highlighted the fact that the ball was dropped by Judge, adding to its appeal to collectors.
Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball from the same season set a record for the most expensive game-used ball of all time, selling for $4.392 million in October. The most valuable ball from the 2024 World Series is currently Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam ball from Game 1, with bidding already at $600,000.
The Judge ball is not the most valuable error ball from a World Series, with that distinction going to the famous ball that rolled through Bill Buckner’s legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Autographed by Mets star Mookie Wilson, the Buckner error ball was sold for $418,250 in 2012.
The auction of baseball memorabilia continues to attract attention and fervent bidding from collectors. The upcoming sale of Freeman’s grand slam ball is expected to attract significant interest, with bidding already at a substantial amount. As the world of sports memorabilia continues to captivate fans and collectors alike, the value of game-used balls from historic moments in baseball only continues to rise.
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