The ball Freddie Freeman hit into right field in a historical moment at the start of the World Series hit the auction block Wednesday morning.
It was the first walk-off grand slam to end a game in Major League Baseball history and kicked off the Dodgers’ journey to a 4-1 mark. beat the Yankees in the first Fall Classic LA-New York match in decades. Freeman’s record-breaking hit lifted LA to a 6–3 loss to the Yankees in the first game of the series, drawing comparisons to another historic moment in Dodgers history: the walk-off two-run homer Kirk Gibson in 1988.
Freeman homered as the game culminated in a thrilling tenth inning at Dodger Stadium.
“Those are the kinds of things, when you’re five years old with your two older brothers and you’re playing Wiffle ball in the backyard — those are the scenarios you dream about,” Freeman told reporters after the game.
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SCP Auctions began bidding at 10 a.m. PST on Wednesday, and as of 11:30 a.m. the current high bid stood at $300,000. The auction company’s president, David Kohler, said he believes the ball is “easily worth seven figures,” the Associated Press reported.
In the days following the October 25 grand slam, a A 10 year old boy came forward as the lucky fan who got the ball and described it as ‘the best moment of my life’. Zachary Ruderman said at the time that he had ambitions other than selling it.
“All I hope is that I can get Freddie Freeman to sign it,” he said.
Before it was auctioned, his family released a statement describing their plans for the ball, AP reported.
“Our family hopes that the baseball will be on display at Dodgers Stadium so that all Dodgers and baseball fans can see a very special piece of history for the city of Los Angeles,” the Ruderman family statement said.
Freeman later tied a World Series record by homering in five consecutive games. He was, after all named the 2024 World Series MVP. And Los Angeles had its first Dodgers parade in more than 30 years.
In October, just before the series, there was reportedly another coveted Dodgers ball sold at auction for almost $4.4 million.
This past season, Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season. His 50th home run ball was auctioned with a starting bid of $500,000 and was at the center of a legal battle over ownership.
