Ball dropped by Aaron Judge in Game 5 of World Series up for auction
Bidding for the game-used ball has already surpassed $12,000
The ball dropped by Aaron Judge in center field in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series — the one that opened the door for the Los Angeles Dodgers to come back from a 5-0 deficit and eventually clinch their eighth title — could be yours via MLB's auction site.
The game-used ball is available to collectors, with bidding running through Thursday evening. As of Wednesday afternoon, the price is nearing $13,000 for this unique piece of baseball memorabilia.
In the top of the fifth inning of Game 5, with the Yankees up 5-0 but down 3-1 in the series, Tommy Edman sent a fly ball toward center field. What was expected to be a routine flyout turned into a game-changing error by Judge.
The first error committed all season by Judge allowed Kiké Hernández to slide in safely to second base and gave the Dodgers two runners on with no outs against Gerrit Cole.
Judge is not able to make the grab on that one, and the Dodgers have 2 on with nobody out!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/S8c5QGQljm— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 31, 2024
Following a throwing error by Anthony Volpe and two strikeouts, Mookie Betts beat out an infield hit that got the Dodgers on the board after Cole failed to cover first base on a grounder to Anthony Rizzo. A Freddie Freeman two-run single and a Teoscar Hernández two-run double then evened the score at five.
The Dodgers grabbed the lead for good in the eighth inning and won the game 7-6 to clinch the title.
It has been a big year for Dodgers-related balls in the memorabilia world. The ball hit by Shohei Ohtani for his 50th home run of the season sold for $4.4 million at auction in October. And while not quite as pricey, the ball Freddie Freeman hit for his walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series is currently at $550,000, with bidding ending Saturday.