During a key moment in the 2024 World Series, the grand slam ball from Freddie Freeman’s bat into the right field stands at Dodger Stadium reached new heights.
The historic series changing pitch was sold at auction Saturday night for $1.56 million after being auctioned off on Dec. 4.
Laguna Niguel-based SCP Auctions put the ball up for sale and received 22 bids from around the world. The auction was extended multiple times and ended about three hours after its original closing time.
Freeman, who was suffering from an ankle injury, hit Nestor Cortez’s first pitch from 413 feet to complete the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. The baseball ended up in the hands of 10-year-old Zachary Ruderman, whose family lives in Venice.
Zachary told NBCLA that the ball rolled from the seat in front of him to his feet.
“When he hit the ball, we knew it was going out of the park, but we didn’t think we would be able to catch it,” Zachary said. “The ball bounced off the seats in front of us and rolled a little bit on the ground. Then I knew it.”
Zachary’s family had told him he was leaving school early on that magical day to have his braces removed. Instead, he ended up being part of what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called “the greatest baseball moment I’ve ever witnessed.”
Zachary was overjoyed and called it “the best day of my life.” The family said they hope the ball will be on display for all fans to see.
“Our family would like to see baseball displayed at Dodger Stadium so that all Dodgers and baseball fans can appreciate this special piece of history in the city of Los Angeles,” the Ruderman family said in a statement Wednesday. said.
This baseball is the second Dodgers-related ball to be auctioned this season. The ball hit by Shohei Ohtani, who became the first player in Major League history to hit 50 home runs and steal at least 50 bases in a season, was sold to a Taiwanese investment company for nearly $4.4 million and is on display in the country.
A sports ball sales record was set.
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