Yankees’ Aaron Judge slugs way into ‘Class of One’

Baseball history was on display Sept. 20 at Yankee Stadium when Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge tied Babe Ruth with his 60th home run of the season sparking a memorable ninth-inning comeback win for the Bronx Bombers.

(Fourteen days later Judge would finally eclipse Roger Maris with No. 62 in Texas.)

But sooner than later everyone’s attention turned to a 21-year-old fan from Port Chester named Michael Kessler who caught the historic home run. What he did next surprised almost everybody.

Kessler handed the ball back to Judge in exchange for a few signed balls, a signed bat and a meet and greet with the star right fielder. According to Dan Lust, sports law attorney at Moritt Hock and Hamroff LLP of Manhattan, Kessler had parted ways with an item worth upwards of six-figures out of respect for the beloved slugger.

“Property laws are very clear that whoever catches the ball is the owner of that ball, so to speak,” Lust told The Riverdale Press. “It was Michael’s ball.”

After giving Judge the ball, Kessler told reporters that he and three friends made a last-minute decision to buy tickets for the game. They had the golden tickets that night, but that didn’t mean Kessler had a clean catch. He had to overcome a massive dog pile to get the ball, saying he “bear-hugged” it after watching it bounce off someone’s hand.

“When I saw that, I immediately assumed that whoever was in that pile saw dollar signs in their eyes and literally went to dig for treasure in a pile of human bodies,” Lust said.

Clearly, Kessler was not among those who had money on their mind in that moment — and not in the following minutes either. Ultimately, it was his decision to make, but probably not without some peer pressure on hand at Yankee Stadium. According to Lust, anyone who has ever caught a ball at a baseball game may be able to relate.

“It’s not anything new that fans would be telling someone to do something with a ball that they now own,” Lust said. “I fully expected in the heat of that dogpile that fans in that section were making those overtures.”

By the very next day, baseball discourse everywhere and anywhere was dominated by Roger Maris, the pinstriped legend who produced 61 home runs in 1961 and set both the American League and franchise record for most in a season.

Eight days later, Judge achieved the record milestone, tying Maris with a two-run shot in the seventh inning while his mother, Patty, and Roger Maris Jr. watched from behind the visitors dugout in Toronto.

In addition, home run number 61 ended up in the right hands again for Judge — making him two for two in getting history-making balls back. This time it was Blue Jays bullpen coach Matt Buschman on the receiving end of history — who then handed it over to Yankees reliever Zach Britton on the condition it would be presented to Judge.

Two fans with gloves sitting in the section above the Blue Jays bullpen got leather on it but whiffed. Meanwhile, Buschman’s wife and Fox NFL reporter Sara Walsh took to social media to express her thoughts on the situation regarding the valuable souvenir that Buschman apparently no longer owned.

“He just handed that back without checking to see if our house is still here? I’d like next to announce our divorce,” Walsh tweeted jokingly from her home in Tampa Bay amidst Hurricane Ian.

Yankees fans wouldn’t want anyone else besides Judge to be slugging their way into the history books.

“He is loved by his teammates, is the unofficial captain of the team, and is adored by Yankees fans everywhere,” said local resident Norm Wechsler.

Michael Rubinstein has been a loyal Yankees fan since 1970. He’s watched every game recently to keep a close eye on the home run chase, even recording the action on his DVR in case he couldn’t watch live. With Judge tied up with Ruth at 60, Rubinstein and his wife attended the home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept 21. hoping to see number 61 in person. They left early like thousands of other fans when the Yankees went ahead comfortably, while not expecting Judge to get another at-bat in the eighth inning. The last at-bat resulted in a four-pitch walk — a common outcome for Judge this season.

“On the way home we listened as the Yankees scored eight times in the eighth inning,” Rubinstein said. “We would have never forgiven ourselves if he hit 61 while we were in the car.”

Rubinstein has memories of watching countless Yankees legends, but described what Judge has done as a “highlight for me” since falling in love with baseball’s most storied franchise a few decades back.

“A true ambassador for the game,” Rubinstein said of Judge. “Almost single-handedly kept the team alive when it was floundering.”

Among the biggest legal disputes in sports this century was Popov v. Hayashi, the infamous court case involving two fans who attended the San Francisco Giants game on Oct. 7, 2001, and walked away claiming the legal rights to Bonds’ 73rd home run. Popov had it and lost grip of it in a scrum of fans before it wound up in the possession of Hayashi. Since both fans had a pre-possessory interest in the ball, the court ruled shared ownership of the ball and split the nearly $500,000 profit from the sale of the ball between the two. 

“That was a case about if possession was established and when was the appropriate time to look at possession,” Lust said. “That was 20 years ago and now we have much more technology at the games like cameras and lasers.”

Yet, the narrative of Bonds and other steroid offenders’ accomplishments changed and their reputations have never been the same. Undoubtedly, Hall of Fame caliber in terms of talent, neither Bonds, McGwire, or Sammy Sosa is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

“Everyone knows the record is tainted,” Rubinstein said of Bonds’ 73 home runs. “Those records have no meaning.”

Fans have conjectured what they would do if home run 62 landed in their possession. Either gift Judge his third milestone ball in a row— in exchange for a gift basket of Yankees prizes—or cash in on it yourself for a massive payday. The latter is what comic book creator and Cardinals fan Todd McFarlane did by fetching $3 million for home run number 61 hit by Mark McGwire in 1998, according to FanSided.

Rubinstein would choose the former, but not without checking off every item on his wishlist first.

“The jersey and bat he used to hit 62, inscribed and authenticated,” Rubinstein said to open up his list of demands. “A team ball signed by the playoff roster, a ball signed just by Judge to me, season tickets for two next year, and three tickets to a playoff game.”

The expected value of the potential 62nd home run ball easily will exceed 61, according to sports attorney Dan Lust.

“I think that ball certainly has substantial value to Yankees fans,” Lust said about the potential value of 62 for Judge. “If the ball went for double what Bonds’ ball went for and was purchased by a Yankee fan, that certainly would not surprise me.”

And if the Yankees advance to the World Series this year, tickets to the Fall Classic would probably be a priority for the lucky fan who gets it. Both 1927 and 1961 ended in World Championships for the Yankees after Ruth and Maris displayed their home run magic during the regular season. If history repeats itself, there will be more to celebrate this season with the Bronx Bombers aiming for their first World Series title since 2009. 

For Judge and every one of his fans, it would be the only right way to end this fairytale season.