I hate to be repetitious,
but the Aaron Judge story is just so intriguing that it bears watching for the
rest of the Major League Baseball season.
Yes, he hit his 60th home run last night, as the Yankees beat the Pirates in a real nail biter, 9-8.
His home run not only tied Babe Ruth’s 60 in 1927, but it set the table for a Yankees’ comeback.
They were down 8-4 to one of the worst teams in baseball this season in the ninth inning, Judge’s home made it 8-5, and a few batters later, Giancarlo Stanton—who once hit 59 home runs in a season for the Marlins—gave the Yankees a comeback win with with a walk-off grand slam homer.
So even though Judge’s homer was one for the record books, it wasn’t even the most important long ball in the inning—which fits Judge’s take on this perfectly.
He has said since Day One that homers don’t mean as much as wins do, and I am sure that he was way more impressed with Stanton’s dinger than he was with his own.
Judge’s saga needs to be looked at at many different angles, which again, makes it so intriguing.
One of those angles is worth, and let me explain myself when I say that word in relation to Judge’s home run barrage.
Since we are in a world that values worth, what something costs, and what something will cost on the open market, the question is this:
What ball will be worth more: his 60th home run, which caught up to Babe Ruth, probably the greatest baseball player of all time; his 61st, which will catch Roger Maris’ American League record (and which some acknowledge is the actual all-time record, less the steroid era records); or the 62nd, which will establish a new American League record (and again, a homer which some believe will be the new, steroid-free record)?
You have to understand that as much as people bad-mouth baseball as being too slow and not of the times, the greatest record in professional sports in this country—and several others, like Japan—is the home run record.
It is certainly the most cherished, and has remained so for more than a century.
So when someone does what Judge is doing and about to do, even casual and non-sports fans sit up and take notice, and that is what is happening right now.
So when Judge launches another homer into the stands, probably at Yankee Stadium, what ball will be worth more on the open market—if it even gets there?
“The even gets there” portion of that question is the tricky part of this scenario, but let’s not put the cart before the horse.
What ball is going to be worth more if it can get to the open market? What fan will get that lucky ball and maybe make some money off ot it?
It is hard to say.
He has hit number 60, so I am sure some fan has it right now, or has already had a pay off from the Yankees and/or MLB for that prized possession.
But there is no steadfast rule that the fan has to take the Yankees or MLB’s bait, and such a ball could go on the open market, which will dictate how much the ball is worth.
And then, you have his presumed 61st homer,, 62nd homer, who knows how many others he will hit, what will they be worth?
It is really hard to say.
No one knows who caught Ruth’s 60th homer, but it now resides in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and I think it was donated by a private collector to the museum, who I am sure paid a pretty penny for it.
Teenager Sal Gallante caught Maris’ 61st homer in the old Yankees Stadium bleachers, and he became a celebrity for 15 minutes. The ball passed around to many owners—at many prices—and I believe a private collector now owns it.
Barry Bonds’ 73rd homer—however tainted it was—has passed around to a few owners, and they have paid high prices for the ball, in the many thousands of dollars. I have no idea where the ball is now.
But unless Judge hits the ball to dead centerfield in Yankee Stadium—or elsewhere in other stadiums the Yankees will visit during the last 16 games of the regular season—some fan will grab his presumed 61st and 62nd homers, and unless MLB and the Yankees get some sort of eminent domain rights over those balls, two fans will have a nice payday coming up if they choose to put those balls on the open market.
Will the 61st homer ball be worth more than the 62nd homer ball?
What happens if Judge goes on to hit, let’s say, 65 homers—does that devalue the 61st homer ball and/or the 62nd homer ball, and make his last homer of the season the most valuable of the 60th, 61st, 62nd, and however many he hits?
Sure, it is nothing but a side story to this entire event, but it is fun to think about.
But like Judge has said repeatedly, wins are more important than homers—which is true—but who will win the most when Judge hits his next home runs?
Former Red Sox first baseman George “The Great” Scott used to call his home runs “taters,” and using that as a reference, some fan will have a lot of taters on his plate when he grabs Judge’s nest home run ball.
That’s going to be a lot to mash around, I can tell you that for sure.
Yes, he hit his 60th home run last night, as the Yankees beat the Pirates in a real nail biter, 9-8.
His home run not only tied Babe Ruth’s 60 in 1927, but it set the table for a Yankees’ comeback.
They were down 8-4 to one of the worst teams in baseball this season in the ninth inning, Judge’s home made it 8-5, and a few batters later, Giancarlo Stanton—who once hit 59 home runs in a season for the Marlins—gave the Yankees a comeback win with with a walk-off grand slam homer.
So even though Judge’s homer was one for the record books, it wasn’t even the most important long ball in the inning—which fits Judge’s take on this perfectly.
He has said since Day One that homers don’t mean as much as wins do, and I am sure that he was way more impressed with Stanton’s dinger than he was with his own.
Judge’s saga needs to be looked at at many different angles, which again, makes it so intriguing.
One of those angles is worth, and let me explain myself when I say that word in relation to Judge’s home run barrage.
Since we are in a world that values worth, what something costs, and what something will cost on the open market, the question is this:
What ball will be worth more: his 60th home run, which caught up to Babe Ruth, probably the greatest baseball player of all time; his 61st, which will catch Roger Maris’ American League record (and which some acknowledge is the actual all-time record, less the steroid era records); or the 62nd, which will establish a new American League record (and again, a homer which some believe will be the new, steroid-free record)?
You have to understand that as much as people bad-mouth baseball as being too slow and not of the times, the greatest record in professional sports in this country—and several others, like Japan—is the home run record.
It is certainly the most cherished, and has remained so for more than a century.
So when someone does what Judge is doing and about to do, even casual and non-sports fans sit up and take notice, and that is what is happening right now.
So when Judge launches another homer into the stands, probably at Yankee Stadium, what ball will be worth more on the open market—if it even gets there?
“The even gets there” portion of that question is the tricky part of this scenario, but let’s not put the cart before the horse.
What ball is going to be worth more if it can get to the open market? What fan will get that lucky ball and maybe make some money off ot it?
It is hard to say.
He has hit number 60, so I am sure some fan has it right now, or has already had a pay off from the Yankees and/or MLB for that prized possession.
But there is no steadfast rule that the fan has to take the Yankees or MLB’s bait, and such a ball could go on the open market, which will dictate how much the ball is worth.
And then, you have his presumed 61st homer,, 62nd homer, who knows how many others he will hit, what will they be worth?
It is really hard to say.
No one knows who caught Ruth’s 60th homer, but it now resides in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and I think it was donated by a private collector to the museum, who I am sure paid a pretty penny for it.
Teenager Sal Gallante caught Maris’ 61st homer in the old Yankees Stadium bleachers, and he became a celebrity for 15 minutes. The ball passed around to many owners—at many prices—and I believe a private collector now owns it.
Barry Bonds’ 73rd homer—however tainted it was—has passed around to a few owners, and they have paid high prices for the ball, in the many thousands of dollars. I have no idea where the ball is now.
But unless Judge hits the ball to dead centerfield in Yankee Stadium—or elsewhere in other stadiums the Yankees will visit during the last 16 games of the regular season—some fan will grab his presumed 61st and 62nd homers, and unless MLB and the Yankees get some sort of eminent domain rights over those balls, two fans will have a nice payday coming up if they choose to put those balls on the open market.
Will the 61st homer ball be worth more than the 62nd homer ball?
What happens if Judge goes on to hit, let’s say, 65 homers—does that devalue the 61st homer ball and/or the 62nd homer ball, and make his last homer of the season the most valuable of the 60th, 61st, 62nd, and however many he hits?
Sure, it is nothing but a side story to this entire event, but it is fun to think about.
But like Judge has said repeatedly, wins are more important than homers—which is true—but who will win the most when Judge hits his next home runs?
Former Red Sox first baseman George “The Great” Scott used to call his home runs “taters,” and using that as a reference, some fan will have a lot of taters on his plate when he grabs Judge’s nest home run ball.
That’s going to be a lot to mash around, I can tell you that for sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.