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Tag: Major League Baseball
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Boosted by Judge, Yankees’ YES Network viewers increase 27%
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Boosted by Aaron Judge’s pursuit of Roger Maris’ American League home run record, Yankees games on the team’s YES Network averaged 368,000 viewers in the New York market this year, up 27% from 2021 and the most in 11 seasons
NEW YORK — Boosted by Aaron Judge’s pursuit of Roger Maris’ American League home run record, Yankees games on the team’s YES Network averaged 368,000 viewers in the New York market this year, up 27% from 2021 and the most in 11 seasons.
The network said Thursday the figure was for 126 telecasts. YES’s 2021 average was 290,000 for 128 telecasts.
YES averaged 412,000 in 2011.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
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Fan who caught Aaron Judge’s 62nd HR offered $2M for ball
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The owner of a sports memorabilia auction house says he has offered $2 million to the fan who caught Aaron Judge’s American League-record 62nd home run.
JP Cohen, president of Memory Lane Inc. in Tustin, California, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he has texted and emailed Cory Youmans, the man who caught Judge’s milestone shot Tuesday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Cohen says Youmans has not yet replied.
“I feel the offer is way above fair, if he is inclined to sell it,” Cohen said in a telephone interview with the AP on Wednesday.
Youmans grabbed the historic souvenir on the fly as it sailed into the front row of section 31 in left field. The homer pushed Judge past Roger Maris for the AL season record — a mark many consider baseball’s “clean” standard because the only National League players who hit more have been tarnished by ties to steroids.
Youmans, who is from Dallas, works in the financial world. He was asked Tuesday what he planned to do with the prize while security personnel whisked him away to have it authenticated.
“Good question. I haven’t thought about it,” he said.
The record price for a home run ball is $3 million, paid for Mark McGwire’s record 70th from the 1998 season.
Cohen had previously pledged to offer $2 million for Judge’s 62nd homer. He said his company has a good relationship with the Yankees and it would be willing to loan the ball to the team for an exhibit. He added the team has frequently exhibited items owned by Memory Lane at Yankee Stadium.
“We did make an offer of $2 million and that offer is still valid,” Cohen said.
After the Yankees lost 3-2, Judge said he didn’t have possession of the home run ball.
“I don’t know where it’s at,” he said. “We’ll see what happens with that. It would be great to get it back, but that’s a souvenir for a fan. He made a great catch out there, and they’ve got every right to it.”
Youmans was among the crowd of 38,832, the largest to watch a baseball game at the 3-year-old ballpark.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
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Judge out of Yankees starting lineup for finale after No. 62
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Yankees slugger Aaron Judge isn’t in the starting lineup for New York’s regular-season finale Wednesday, a day after his 62nd home run that broke Roger Maris’ 61-year-old American League single-season record.
When Judge homered in the first inning Tuesday night, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Texas Rangers, it was his 55th consecutive game. He has played in 157 games overall for the AL East champions.
With the first-round bye in the playoffs, the Yankees won’t opening postseason play until the AL Division Series starts next Tuesday.
Even though Judge had indicated that he hoped to play Wednesday, manager Aaron Boone said after Tuesday night’s game that they would have a conversation “and see what makes the most sense.”
Judge went into the final day of the regular season batting .311, trailing AL batting average leader Minnesota’s Luis Arraez, who was hitting .315. Judge was a wide leader in the other Triple Crown categories, with his 62 homers and 131 RBIs.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
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Fan who caught Judge’s 62nd HR unsure what he’ll do with it
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ARLINGTON, Texas — As he walked through a concourse in the outfield at Globe Life Field, high-fiving with fans and surrounded by a sea of cameras, it was almost as if Cory Youmans had hit a huge home run.
Instead, he hit the jackpot.
Youmans made the catch of a lifetime Tuesday night, snagging the ball New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge launched for his American League-record 62nd homer.
The historic souvenir came sailing into the front row of section 31 in left field, a drive Judge hit to lead off the second game of a day-night doubleheader against the Texas Rangers. Youmans snared it on the fly.
Youmans, from Dallas, works in the financial world and there’s no telling yet what the ball could be worth. With security personnel around him as he took the ball to be authenticated, he was asked what he planned to do with the prize.
“Good question. I haven’t thought about it,” he said.
After the Yankees lost 3-2, Judge said he didn’t have possession of the home-run ball.
“I don’t know where it’s at,” he said. “We’ll see what happens with that. It would be great to get it back, but that’s a souvenir for a fan. He made a great catch out there, and they’ve got every right to it.”
Soon after a local TV station posted a brief interview with Youmans in a walkway, Bri Amaranthus tweeted: “THIS IS MY HUSBAND.”
Amaranthus works in local media and is an alum of ABC’s “The Bachelor.”
Youmans was among the crowd of 38,832, the largest to watch a baseball game at the 3-year-old ballpark.
Many fans came clad in Yankees caps, T-shirts and pinstripe jerseys.
Some came to watch Judge make history. Some came just for the history. Some traveled a long way.
The latter two categories included Jimmy Bennicaso of Norwalk, Connecticut.
“I’m a Met fan, actually,” Bennicaso confessed. “Cowboy and Met fan — a rough combo.”
Bennicaso was home in Connecticut on Monday night having watched Judge fail to homer in the first of four games against the Rangers in three days. He ran an idea past his girlfriend — what if he headed to Texas to take in Judge’s chase in person?
“She said, ‘Yeah, go for it,’” he said.
Bennicaso caught a morning flight to Texas. Being self-employed in real estate investments helped, he said.
Bennicaso stationed himself in the lower deck of the right-field stands in hopes of grabbing an opposite-field homer, certainly a possibility given Judge’s spray chart.
Instead, Judge pulled a home run that broke the AL record set by Roger Maris in 1961.
Empty-handed, Bennicaso planned to return home Wednesday morning.
“It was worth it,” he said. “I gave it my best shot.”
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
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Nationals-Mets game rained out, doubleheader Tuesday
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NEW YORK — The scheduled game between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets was postponed by rain Monday night and will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader Tuesday at Citi Field.
The first game is set to begin at 4:10 p.m., though the forecast Tuesday is similarly soggy.
New York (98-61) began the day two games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East with three to play. The playoff-bound Mets have led the division for 175 days this season, but their chances of winning it all but disappeared last weekend when they were swept in three games at Atlanta.
The only way the Mets take the NL East and bypass a best-of-three wild-card series this weekend is by sweeping three games from the last-place Nationals while Atlanta loses all three at Miami.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
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AP source: Mets calling up top prospect Álvarez vs Braves
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NEW YORK — The first-place New York Mets are calling up top prospect Francisco Álvarez for their pivotal weekend series against the Atlanta Braves, according to a person familiar with the decision.
The person confirmed the move to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the Mets had not yet announced the transaction.
The 20-year-old Álvarez is rated the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball by MLB.com, which reported his promotion earlier. He batted .260 with 27 home runs, 78 RBIs and an .885 OPS combined at Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse this season.
New York leads the NL East by one game over the defending World Series champion Braves heading into their three-game series in Atlanta that begins Friday night. Both teams are headed to the playoffs and have six games remaining in the regular season.
The division winner earns a first-round bye, while the second-place finisher will be the top NL wild card and host a best-of-three postseason series starting Oct. 7.
Álvarez, a catcher and right-handed hitter, figures to be used as the Mets’ designated hitter against left-handed pitching — including Friday’s scheduled Braves starter, Max Fried.
New York has received little production from right-handed hitters Darin Ruf and rookie Mark Vientos at DH since sending J.D. Davis to San Francisco at the Aug. 2 trade deadline.
Left-handed hitter Daniel Vogelbach is New York’s regular DH against right-handers.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
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