Fan Who Caught Aaron Judge’s 62nd Home Run Gets ‘Way Above Average’ Offer For Ball

The owner of a sports memorabilia auction house said he offered $2 million to the fan who caught Aaron Judge’s American League-record 62nd home run.

J.P. Cohen, president of Memory Lane Inc. in Tustin, Calif., told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he had texted and emailed Cory Youmans, the man who took the landmark photo of Judge Tuesday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Cohen said Youmans had not yet responded.

Aaron Judge hits his 62nd home run. (Photo: Ron Jenkins via Getty Images)

“I feel the offer is well above what is fair, if he is inclined to sell it,” Cohen said in a telephone interview with the AP on Wednesday.

Youmans grabbed the historic souvenir on the fly as he sailed to first place in Section 31 in left field. The homer pushed Judge past Roger Maris for the AL single-season record — a mark many consider baseball’s “clean” standard, as the only National League players who have hit more have been tarnished by steroid ties.

Youmans, a Dallas native, works in the financial world. He was asked Tuesday what he planned to do with his prize as security staff took him away to have it authenticated.

Cohen had already pledged $2 million for Judge’s 62nd home run. He said his company had a good relationship with the Yankees and would be willing to lend the ball to the team for an exhibition. He said the team frequently displayed items belonging to Memory Lane at Yankee Stadium.

“We made an offer of $2 million and that offer still stands,” Cohen said.

After the Yankees lost 3-2, Judge said he didn’t 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 have it back, but it’s a souvenir for a fan. He made a great catch there, and they have every right to do so.

Youmans was part of the crowd of 38,832, the largest to watch a baseball game at the 3-year-old ballpark.

This article was originally published on HuffPost and has been updated.