Amazing Catch: HV Athlete Grabs Aaron Judge’s 60th Homerun

It was like winning the lottery. A Westchester County baseball player attending City College came away from last night's Yankee game with more than he bargained for after catching Aaron Judge's historic 60th homerun. Here's how it happened, and what he ended up receiving from the Yankees in exchange for the ball.

Yankee Fandom in the Hudson Valley

Aaron Judge's 60th Homerun

Yankee slugger Aaron Judge is chasing history this year. His 60th homerun of the season last night tied Babe Ruth's single-season record, and put him one homer behind Roger Marist's single-season American League record. Understandably, fans in the outfield bleachers are a little on edge, as any swing of Judge's bat could connect them with baseball immortality if they catch a longball from number 99. Last night, that's exactly what happened to Westchester County, NY resident Mike Kessler.

Westchester Resident Catches Aaron Judge's 60th Homerun

As he tells it, Kessler and his friends, baseball players themselves at City College (my dad's alma mater), specifically returned to their seats in left field for Judge's at-bat. You can see the pandemonium above as fans all scramble for the ball.

Kessler said he "just went to grab it and bear hugged it" after a lucky bounce sent the ball his way. He also said it wasn't even a thought in his mind that he would keep the ball. Instead, he and his friends met Judge after the game and made an exchange.

Homerun Ball Exchange

While some auction houses value the baseball at as much as a half-million dollars, Kessler settled for an autographed ball and bat. "He deserved to have the ball back", Kessler said simply. Hey, a bat is cool, but is that really the extent of thanks extended to a young student who could have paid off all his (and his friends') college debt if he held on to the ball? Even Jeter took the famous home run kid out to dinner after his "heroics".