NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 14: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees hits a home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the third inning of a game at Yankee Stadium on August 14, in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

126 games into his major league career, Aaron Judge has reached a milestone that no athlete in America’s big four sports has reached in the last 15 years. The jersey worn by the New York Yankees outfielder during his MLB debut sold for an incredible $157,366 at an auction this weekend, the highest amount for a jersey worn by a big four athlete in the last 15 years.

Via ESPN‘s Darren Rovell:

The winning bid in the auction, held by Steiner Sports, represents the highest price paid for any jersey worn in the four major U.S. pro sports leagues in the past 15 years. It topped the $135,060 paid last month for the jersey Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry wore in Game 3 of this year’s NBA Finals.

The sale price on the Judge jersey is a huge jump from the price paid for a game-used jersey Steiner sold just last month. The jersey Judge wore May 28, when he hit his first career grand slam, sold for $45,578.

Yes, a jersey worn by a player with less than a full season of games under his belt sold for 20 grand more than a jersey worn by a former NBA MVP in the most recent NBA Finals.

Rovell also noted that the price on the Judge jersey was more than a bat used by Mickey Mantle in the 1957 All-Star Game, which sold for just over $135,000.

The frenzy around Judge memorabilia is insane, and both auction houses and private sellers must be giddy about the bounty they’re receiving in exchange for anything involving the reigning Home Run Derby champion.

Will it continue? That will likely depend on his performance going forward. If Judge isn’t launching 30+ homers per season and playing at an MVP level, collectors shelling out large amounts of cash for Judge merchandise might end up regretting their purchases. But if he develops into the superstar that we saw in the first half of this season, maybe that $157,000 will look like a bargain.

[ESPN]

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.