Kid who caught Freddie Freeman's World Series grand slam made his family a fortune

This is not an overstatement: Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of this year's World Series might be one of the greatest Los Angeles Dodgers moments of all time.

Everything from the moment itself to Joe Davis' unforgettable call, echoing the legendary Vin Scully's 1988 call of Kirk Gibson's Game 1 walk-off homer instantly made Freeman a folk hero that fans will end up telling their grandkids about.

The cherry on top? He did it at Dodger Stadium, in front of a sold-out crowd. The ball traveled 413 feet and into right field bleachers. A mad dash ensured to retrieve it, but 10-year-old Dodger fan Zach Ruderman eventually walked away with it in his possession.

He and his father decided to keep the ball, which was put up for auction by SCP Auctions. On Dec. 15, it sold for $1.56 million, making it the third most valuable baseball ever, after Shohei Ohtani's 50/50 ball and Mark McGwire's 70th homer ball from 1998, and surpassing Aaron Judge's 62nd homer from 2022.

Freddie Freeman's World Series Game 1 walk-off grand slam ball sold at auction for $1.56 million

Ohtani's 50/50 ball set a new record — by a lot — when it sold for $4.39 million in October, over $1 million more than McGwire's went for, despite a heated custody battle between three separate parties for rightful ownership of the ball. The buyer was UC Capital, a Taiwanese investment firm, which now keeps it on display as a tourist attraction at the Taipei 101 building.

Luckily, Ruderman and his family weren't bogged down by the same issues. Bidding had reached $800,000 with five minutes left on the clock, but a series of higher and higher offers extended the auction's life until the $1.56 million proved to be insurmountable.

It's hard to imagine what the Dodgers must've tried to offer that kid and his family to try to get the ball themselves, but what it was, the family can't be too cut up about missing out on it, not when they're pocketing over $1 million.