Freddie Freeman’s iconic World Series home run ball sells for eyewatering amount at auction
Freddie Freeman’s historic walk-off grand slam ball from Game 1 of the World Series raised a staggering amount when it went under the hammer last week.
The ball sold late Saturday night for $1.56 million – including buyer’s premium – at SCP Auctions. The buyer was not disclosed.
With the $1 million sale, a 10-year-old Dodgers fan secured a huge windfall for his family.
Freeman, the Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman, came to bat with a sprained right ankle with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning against the New York Yankees.
He hit Nestor Cortes’ first pitch from 450 feet for the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.
The Dodgers won the game 6–3 and went on to claim the franchise’s eighth World Series championship in five games. Freeman was named MVP of the World Series.
Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off Grand Slam home run in Game 1 of the World Series
The Dodgers star’s historic walk-off grand slam ball sold for a whopping $1.56 million
The ball ended up in the right field pavilion, where it was corralled by 10-year-old Zachary Ruderman
The ball landed in the right-field pavilion, where it was corralled by 10-year-old Zachary Ruderman, who lives in Los Angeles.
The ball rolled from the chair in front of him to his feet and he hit it to his father Nico, who jumped on it.
The fifth-grader was told he was leaving school early that day to have his braces removed. Instead, his parents took him to Dodger Stadium.
It is the second ball associated with the Dodgers to be auctioned this season. The ball hit by Shohei Ohtani, which made him the first player in Major League history with at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, sold for almost $4.4 million. It set a record for the sale of any sports ball.
Meanwhile, Freeman’s historic ball became the third most expensive baseball ever sold.
It comes in after teammate Ohtani and Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball, which sold for about $3 million in 1999.
Freeman’s $1.56 million also surpassed Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run ball, which sold for $1.5 million in 2022.
It wasn’t the first time this year that a Dodger defeated a Yankee, with Los Angeles ultimately defeating New York to advance to the World Series in five games.