Freddie Freeman's World Series grand-slam ball goes up for auction
The ball Freddie Freeman struck into right field in a history-making moment at the start of the World Series hit the auction block Wednesday morning.
It was the first walk-off grand slam to finish off a game in Major League Baseball history and kicked off the Dodgers' journey to a 4-1 win over the Yankees in the first Fall Classic LA-New York matchup in decades. Freeman's record-breaking hit brought LA to a 6-3 defeat of the Yankees in the first game of the series, drawing comparisons to another historic moment in Dodgers history — the walk-off two-run homer hit by Kirk Gibson in 1988.
Freeman homered as the game at Dodger Stadium stretched into a tense tenth inning.
"Those are the kind of things, when you're 5 years old with your two older brothers and you're playing Wiffle ball in the backyard — those are the scenarios you kind of dream about," Freeman told reporters after the game.
SCP Auctions started off the bidding at 10 a.m. PST Wednesday, and by 11:30 a.m., the current highest 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 Oct. 25 grand slam, a 10-year-old boy came forward as the lucky fan who got ahold of the ball, describing it as "the best moment of my life." At the time, Zachary Ruderman said he had other aspirations beyond trying to sell it.
"All I hope is that I can get Freddie Freeman to sign it," he said.
Before it went up for auction, his family released a statement describing their plans for the ball, AP reported.
"Our family hopes the baseball will be displayed in Dodgers stadium so all Dodgers and baseball fans can view a very special piece of history for the City of Los Angeles," the Ruderman family's statement read.
Freeman later tied a World Series record by homering in five straight games. He was eventually named the 2024 World Series MVP. And Los Angeles held its first Dodgers parade in more than 30 years.
In October, just ahead of the series, another coveted Dodgers ball was reportedly sold at auction for nearly $4.4 million.
This past season, Shohei Ohtani became the first player in major league history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a season. His 50th home run ball went up for auction with a starting bid of $500,000 and was at the center of a legal battle over ownership.
