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WORLD SERIES WIN - As if attending a World Series game with your parents wasn’t cool enough, 10-year old Venetian Zac Ruderman was able to secure the ultimate souvenir, a game-winning, walk-off grand slam home run by LA Dodger Freddie Freeman in Game #1 of the 2024 World Series that saw the locals defeat the New York Yankees four games to one.
The prized possession will now be put to bid by SCP Auctions, who deals in important sports trading cards and memorabilia (www.scpauctions.com) according to Austin Widger, Auctions Operations Director and Public Relations spokesperson.
The auction will commence on December 4th and the bidding will begin at $300,000.
Widger believes the closing bid should be well over seven figures.
The bidding will end December 14th.
Many are comparing the ball to the 1988 Game One World Series where Dodger legend Kirk Gibson hit a walk-off home run to defeat the Oakland Athletics. Hobbled by injuries, Gibson’s was a pinch hit homer defeating the A’s 5-4.
Ironically, the ball’s ownership is a mystery some 36 years later.
However, the Gibson bat was auctioned for $575,000, his helmet $150,000 and his game jersey for $303,000 according to Widger.
Freeman would go on to be named World Series MVP and when his big fly finally landed, it was corralled by the 10-year-old Dodgers fan Zac Ruderman, a resident of Venice.
His parents told him he was leaving school early on the day of Game 1 to go get his braces removed. To Zac’s surprise, the family headed directly to Dodger Stadium instead.
“Our family hopes the baseball will be displayed in Dodger Stadium so all Dodgers and baseball fans can view a very special piece of history for the City of Los Angeles,” offered the Ruderman family in a prepared statement.
Zac’s Dad is Nico Ruderman, who serves as a member of the Venice Neighborhood Council as its Communications Officer. Ruderman is also a rabid Dodger fan who can be seen around the neighborhood always wearing a vintage Brooklyn Dodger cap.
For more information about the auction, call (949) 831-3700 or [email protected].
(Nick Antonicello is a thirty-one year resident of the neighborhood who covers all things Venice. Have a take or a tip? Contact him via e-mail at [email protected])
