Man who caught Aaron Judge's 62nd home run ball takes $1.5M loss at auction

According to Darren Rovell of The Action Network, the buyer, referred to as "Joe from Wisconsin," isn't a Yankees fan and doesn't plan to sell the baseball. 

As for Youmans, it doesn't seem like he regrets his decision to auction off the ball rather than sell it privately. 

"People may not appreciate that this is not Hal Steinbrenner calling and say, 'Hey, I'll write you a check for $3 million' or Aaron Judge saying, 'I'll write you a check,'" Youmans said. "This comes through art dealers and law firms and there's not a lot of transparency. And I have concerns about selling the ball that way." 

Ahead of the sale, there was reason to believe Judge's ball would sell for more than it did. Initial estimates said Judge's final home-run ball of the 2022 campaign, which No. 62 was, would sell for no less than $2 million at auction. Even Youmans' lawyer, Dave Baron, seemed convinced, saying the auction house believed Judge's ball could sell for "significantly higher" than $3 million, citing the Yankees' hardcore fanbase as a reason.