Video shows ‘a tragedy’ in slo-mo when MLB fan drops Aaron Judge’s historic 61st homer
For a brief hue in time, millions of eyes were on a nameless face wearing an expression of undeniable misery, his bitter misfortune not only on display to the world, but suddenly forever intertwined with baseball history.
On Wednesday, Sept. 28., New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his 61st homer off a 94-mph sinker thrown by Toronto Blue Jays reliever Tim Mayza, tying Roger Maris for the most single-season home runs in American League history.
And then there was the other guy. No, not Mayza, whose Blue Jays went on to lose 8-3, but the guy whose face will be seen on a loop whenever people decide to relive Judge’s moment of exuberance.
The guy who didn’t just drop a ball — he dropped the ball.
The ball that could potentially bring in a small fortune on the auction block. Hands to his head, the fan knew it, and so did the cameras, who remained glued to the once anonymous man.
The ball could have sold for between $250,000 and $350,000, Ken Goldin, the founder of Goldin Auctions, told the New York Times.
The ball eventually fell into the hands of Toronto bullpen coach Matt Buschmann, who experienced his own personal “I’ve lost the ball” drama after handing it down the line in order to get it back to Judge.
NFL reporter Sara Walsh, Buschmann’s wife, jokingly announced she was filing for divorce after discovering he handed the valuable ball to relief pitcher Jordan Romano, who passed it to Yankees reliever Zack Britton, who finally returned it to the man of the hour.
Now back to our fan in blue.
The Toronto Star reported that the unfortunate fan is Frankie Lasagna, a 37-year-old Toronto restaurant owner.
“Two more feet and I would have had it,” Lasagna told the Star. “I needed a fishing net and I would have got it.”
Twitter exploded after the home run, not just in response to Judge making history, but also in sympathy to the fan and the catch that wasn’t.
The ball ended up in good hands, however.
The payoff could be bigger if Judge hits No. 62 over his last seven games; three at home against the Orioles and four in Texas against the Rangers to close out the regular season. Goldin said that home run ball could sell for between $750,000 to $1.25 million.
This story was originally published September 29, 2022 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Video shows ‘a tragedy’ in slo-mo when MLB fan drops Aaron Judge’s historic 61st homer."