The Guy Who Caught Aaron Judge's 62nd Home Run Ball Has Completed An All-Time Bag Fumble, Turning Down $3 Million To Auction The Ball For ... $1.5 Million
This is an absolute nightmare scenario. Cory Youmans has to live for the rest of his life knowing one horrifically idiotic decision cost him $1.5 million.
Obviously, there's the fact that Youmans just got $1.5 million — minus taxes and whatever the auction company takes — for a baseball. There are clearly much worse things that could happen to you. But when you account for the fact that number could have been doubled, the $800,000 or so he's actually getting suddenly becomes a tough pill to swallow.
I could live with $3 million no matter what someone surmised the ball could have gotten at auction. I can't imagine it could have possibly gotten much more than that — clearly — and then you have $3 million in your pocket no matter what. Instead, you will now be haunted for the rest of time by the fact you only got half of the concrete offer you had. I don't know if y'all have taken a look around recently, but $1.5 million pre-tax in Joe's economy isn't even a great Christmas present in a handful of states.
I don't like kicking Cory while he's down, but this was an egregious fumbling of the bag. If someone offers you $3 million for a baseball, you take it. Especially if it's only the ball that gave a player the seventh-most home runs in a season.