Mike Trout belted the 400th home run of his career Saturday night, becoming the 59th member of the exclusive club.
Trout, a known collector, told reporters after the game he was looking forward to making a trade for the ball, which landed in the center-field stands at Coors Field in Denver.
How can you not be romantic about baseball ????
— cllct (@cllctMedia) September 21, 2025
pic.twitter.com/otLC7aKPnx
"Hopefully, I can get it for my family and my collection. My boys are probably fired up back home," Trout said after his 485-foot blast.
According to MLB.com, the ball landed in the bare hand of a fan named Alberto, who gladly returned the ball to Trout, in return for signed memorabilia and the chance to play catch with the future Hall of Famer.
Considering the milestone home run and Trout’s value in the hobby, it’s only natural to wonder how much the fan gave up in the trade.
It’s certainly not close to the $4.39 million commanded by Shohei Ohtani’s 50-50 ball last year, or Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam ball from the 2025 World Series, which fetched $1.56 million.
Ohtani’s 300th home run ball (combined from Japan and MLB) sold for $44,322 last month. While Ohtani’s worldwide appeal is unmatched, Trout’s milestone is far more significant, so it’s difficult to determine which ball should come out on top.
The same night of Trout’s milestone blast, Barry Bonds’ 600th career homer sold for more than $170,000 at Goldin. Considering just nine players have surpassed that mark, less than one sixth of the size of the 400 home run club, Trout’s ball would not come close.
Probably the best comparable sale for Trout’s ball, taking into account both the significance of the milestone as well as the timing of the sale (the market has grown so much in recent years that it is nearly useless to compare prices from pre-COVID), would be Alex Rodriguez’ 500th home run ball, which sold for $31,720 last month at Heritage.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.