As he walked through a concourse outside Globe Life Field, high-fiving fans and surrounded by a sea of cameras, it was almost as if Cory Youmans had hit a big home run. Instead, he won the award.
Youmans made the catch of his life Tuesday night, catching the ball that New York Yankees shortstop Aaron Judge threw for his AL-record 62nd home run.
The historic hit came in the front row of Section 31 in left field, a Judge hit to lead off the second game of a day-night doubleheader against the Texas Rangers. Youmans nailed it on the fly.
Youmans, who is from Dallas, works in finance. Ken Goldin, the executive chairman of Goldin Auctions, told the New York Times that he believes Judge’s home run would fetch between $750,000 and $1.25 million if it goes up for sale. However, JP Cohen, the president of memorabilia site Memory Lane, has said he would pay $2 million for the ball and lend it to display at Yankee Stadium. On Wednesday, he said the offer is still on the table.
“I think the offer is well above fair value, if you’re inclined to sell it,” Cohen said in a telephone interview with the AP.
The most expensive home run ball of all time cost $3 million, including commission, in 1999. It was the ball that Mark McGwire hit for his record 70th home run in 1998.
With security around him as he took the ball to be authenticated, Youmans was asked what he planned to do with the award.
“Good question. I haven’t thought about it,” he said.
After the Yankees trailed 3-2, Judge said he did not have possession of the home run ball.
“I don’t know where it is,” he said. “We’ll see what happens with that. It would be great to get him back, but that’s a memory for a fan. He made a great catch out there, and they have every right to that.”
Shortly after a local TV station aired a brief interview with Youmans on a catwalk, Bri Amaranthus tweeted, “THIS IS MY HUSBAND.” Amaranthus is a reporter who covers the Dallas Cowboys and was once a contestant on The Bachelor.
Youmans was in a crowd of 38,832, the largest to see a baseball game at Globe Life Field in its three-year history.
Many fans at Rangers Stadium came dressed in Yankees caps and jerseys. Some came to see Judge make history. Some came just for the story. Some came a long way.
The latter two categories included Jimmy Bennicaso of Norwalk, Conn., who is a fan of the Yankees’ cross-town rivals. “I’m actually a Met fan,” Bennicaso said. “Cowboy and Met make a tough combination.”
Bennicaso was at home in Connecticut on Monday night after watching Judge fail at home in the first of four games against the Rangers in three days. An idea crossed his girlfriend’s mind, what if he headed to Texas to join the hunt for Judge himself?
“She said, ‘Yeah, go for it,'” he said.
Bennicaso took an early morning flight to Texas. Being self-employed in real estate investments helped, he said. Bennicaso positioned himself in the lower deck of the right field bleachers hoping to hit an opposite field homer.
Instead, Judge hit a home run that broke the AL record set by Roger Maris in 1961. Empty-handed, Bennicaso planned to return home Wednesday morning.
“It was worth it,” he said. “I gave my best.”