The baseball of Freddie FreemanThe World Series grand slam sold for $1.56 million at auction Saturday evening.
The $1.56 million bid made this ball the third most expensive baseball game ever, according to SCP Auctions. Shohei Ohtani 50th home run of last season, when Ohtani became an MLB player first player 50-50, sold at auction for $4.4 million. Mark McGwire’s 70th home run in 1998 cost $3.005 million.
Freeman raised the Los Angeles Dodgers to one 6–3 victory on the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series with his 10th inning home run off Nestor Cortés. This dramatic hit fueled an eventual five-game series victory for the Dodgers.
The fact that the veteran first baseman is suffering from an ankle injury that makes such a feat seem unlikely made Freeman’s grand slam even more compelling. Instead, the home run on baseball’s biggest stage led to quick comparisons to Kirk Gibson’s home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
The Grand Slam ball was initially grabbed by 10-year-old Zachary Ruderman. As the ball rolled toward him, he threw it to his father Nico, who recovered it amid a fierce stampede of fans in the right-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium.
“As soon as everyone knew I had the ball, I stood up and handed it to (Zac),” Nico Ruderman said. in a statement published by SCP Auctions. “I picked him up and tears were streaming down his face.”
The buyer of the grand slam ball has not been revealed.
Freeman’s home run ball is the second from the 2024 World Series sold at auction last week. On Thursday, the ball was dropped by the Yankees. Aaron judges in Game 5, causing the Dodgers to come back from a 5-0 deficit, sold for $43,510.
Still available for fans wanting a 2024 World Series souvenir, game used dirt.
