Father-Son Duo Sells Historic World Series Home Run Balls

UPDATE: Two historic World Series home run baseballs have been secured by SCP Auctions from a father-son duo who caught them during the thrilling Game 7 of the 2025 MLB Postseason. The auction house’s chief operations officer, Mike Keys, confirmed that the balls were collected from John Bains and his son, Matthew Bains, who were seated in the first row of Rogers Centre’s Section 143.

This high-stakes game saw the Los Angeles Dodgers face off against the Toronto Blue Jays, culminating in a dramatic series victory. Bains caught the game-tying home run hit by Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas in the top of the ninth inning. Just two innings later, his son Matthew snagged the series-winning home run from Dodgers catcher Will Smith, which also landed in left field.

Bains, a dedicated season ticket holder from Brampton, Ontario, expressed his excitement about the game and the remarkable catches. “I’ve had seats for the last 10 years, and the main reason I picked these after the [Rogers Centre] renovation were for playoffs,” he stated.

SCP Auctions’ inventory manager flew to Ontario this week to finalize the collection of the balls, which will undergo authentication processes expected to take several days. “With these balls that don’t get MLB stickered, that’s how we have to go about things,” Keys explained. The auction house will require sworn affidavits and polygraph tests from the Bains family before the balls can go up for sale.

A source at Major League Baseball has confirmed that the Rojas and Smith balls will not be authenticated by the league, as they were not marked during the game. This follows MLB’s policy regarding any balls that leave the field without an official witness.

The potential sale of these baseballs is generating buzz in the sports memorabilia community. Previous high-profile baseball sales have set record prices, such as a final-pitch ball from the 2024 World Series that sold for $414,000 and Freddie Freeman’s walk-off home run ball from the same series, which fetched $1.56 million. Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, speculated, “I think these baseballs will be well into six figures. Smith’s home run is going to top the Rojas ball—I wouldn’t be surprised to see that approach seven figures.”

As the auction process unfolds, all eyes will be on the remarkable home run balls that could change hands for staggering amounts. Fans and collectors alike are eager to see how much these historic pieces of baseball history will command in the market.

Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story as SCP Auctions prepares to bring these historic baseballs to auction.