Talk about dropping the ball.
New York Yankees star Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run on Wednesday night, tying the single season American League home run record — but at least one person had a reason to frown.
A Blue Jays fan sitting in the left field stands, where Judge blasted his home run, was ready for a once in a lifetime opportunity to catch the historic ball. Unfortunately, the ball bounced off his glove and landed in the Blue Jays bullpen, instead.
And a potentially huge payday slipped through his fingers.
The fan was later revealed to be a 37-year-old Toronto restaurant owner, who gave his name as Frankie Lasagna to The Canadian Press. He said normally he “would never ever bring a glove other than this situation,” but this time he wanted to be prepared for a possible Judge home run just in case.
And in viral video footage, Lasagna appears visibly upset after missing the historic catch. “The disbelief comes over you and just the shock and the amazement,” Lasagna said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I almost had it.’”
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David Kohler, CEO of California auction house SCP Auctions Inc., estimated the value of Judge’s home 61st home run ball could be worth between $200,000 to $250,000. And if this was Judge’s last home run ball of the season, it could end up being valued at more than $1,000,000.
“The Yankees are beloved,” Kohler said. “Aaron Judge is beloved. There’s no negativity here like the steroid era in the past.”
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The moment went viral on Twitter after the game.
Lasagna didn’t catch the ball, so where did this piece of history go?
The ball landed below the fan in the Blue Jays bullpen, and eventually made its way to Judge. The Yankees star didn’t keep it for long, however, as a video of Judge gifting the ball to his mother was posted on Twitter
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after the game.
“It’s a moment that I’ll never forget. I’ll cherish it,” Judge said. “Having my mom here supporting me — she’s been here through it all. That’s for sure. The Little League days. Getting me ready for school. Taking me to my first couple of practices and games. Being there for my first professional game and being there when I debuted and now getting chance to be here. This is something special. We’re not done yet.”
Judge tied the AL home run record of fellow former New York Yankee Roger Maris, who broke the record 61 years ago in 1961. Maris made $32,000 during the 1961 season with the Yankees, compared to Judge who will make $19 million this season, contract data from Spotrac indicates.
So what would Lasagna have done with the ball? Some fans to give record-breaking memorabilia back to the athlete who earned it (in exchange for some autographs and future game tickets).
“I would have held on to it for as long as I could (to) negotiate,” Lasagna said. “Maybe get Judge to try to come to the restaurant.”
