Toronto Star ePaper

Historic homer could pose dilemma for lucky fan

GILBERT NGABO

Over an hour before the first pitch of Monday night’s game between the Blue Jays and Yankees, Ryan Mills and his two grandchildren were already in their outfield seats at the Rogers Centre.

Giant baseball gloves at the ready, the trio was waiting for the game’s main attraction: the possibility of catching a record-tying — or even record-breaking — home-run ball off the bat of Aaron Judge.

The Yankees outfielder’s pursuit of Roger Maris’s American League record of 61 home runs in a single season, set in 1961, continued in the opener of a three-game series.

“Absolutely a huge moment,” said Mills, adding he’s been a Judge fan since the 30-year-old slugger’s rookie season.

Fans with seats beyond the outfield wall and a chance to witness baseball history this week might be asking themselves: What would I do with a record-breaking homerun ball? Mills said he’d keep it for a while, as a valuable piece of memorabilia, but eventually give it to Judge.

“To a Yankees fan, it’s probably worth a million dollars,” Mills said, adding it would mean much more to him if a Blue Jay were going for the record.

A few rows further from the action, Robert Rix was teaching his 10-year-old grandchild to hold his glove high, in case a long ball comes his way.

“I’m going to catch it, for sure, with my bare hands,” said Rix, who added he caught a home run ball a few seasons ago.

If the ball does land in his hands, Rix said he’d “of course” give it to Judge — in hopes that the all-star might invite him and the family to a future game or into the clubhouse in return.

“That ball is important to him, for his accomplishment,” said Rix.

For many fans, home-run balls have emotional value — significant milestones or not.

Earlier this season, one Jays sup

porter caught a ball hit by Judge and immediately handing it to a young Yankees fan sitting behind him. The kid, Derek Rodriguez, was reduced to tears in a powerful moment caught on video. Rodriguez was wearing a Judge shirt at the time. Getting a ball hit by his idol was special. It meant a lot to Judge, too. “That still gives me goosebumps to this day, to see little kids that are wearing my number, wearing my jersey … it’s something that I dreamed of,” Judge said afterwards. “I used to be in his position, you know, that little kid rooting on my favourite players and teams. That was a pretty cool moment that I definitely won’t forget.”

Teams have a long tradition of seeking out fans who catch milestone balls and bartering to get them back.

In 1961, when Maris launched No. 61, the ball was caught by Sal Durante, who got $5,000 (U.S.) to return it to Maris, who in turn gave it to the Baseball Hall of Fame, according to the Washington Post. In reaching that milestone, Maris passed legend Babe Ruth, who hit his first pro home run at age 19 in Toronto.

With money and sometimes fame on the line, controversy can erupt in the stands.

The 73rd home run hit by Barry Bonds in 2001, still the MLB record, led to a court case over ownership after the ball was knocked loose as two men battled for it. A judge ordered them to sell it and share the profits.

To ensure that whoever catches the milestone ball can prove it’s the real deal, every ball pitched to Judge since he got to No. 59 has had special markings, the New York Times reported.

After Judge hit No. 60 at Yankee Stadium, that ball was inspected and deemed authentic while the fan who caught it was introduced to Judge. He handed it over — in exchange for four autographed balls (one for each member of his group) and a signed bat.

No one can say with certainty how much Judge’s milestone home-run balls will be worth. But Brian Ehrenworth, president of Frameworth Sports Marketing, a sports memorabilia shop in Toronto, said it could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars based on what he’s seen sold in the past.

“It’s a factor of how important the achievement is that the ball represents, and how rare the achievement is,” he said, noting milestone balls hit by Ruth, Mark McGwire and Hank Aaron have gone for even more.

“Whoever catches this ball is going to need to be escorted out of the building with security, for safety reasons.”

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2022-09-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

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