Going … going … sold!

Cal Ripken Jr. rounds third base after homering on Sept. 5, 1995

Michael Stirn, the fan who catches the home run Cal Ripken Jr. hits on the September 1995 night Ripken ties Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games at 2,130, sells the prized baseball 30 years ago today in a nationwide phone auction.

A Maryland businessman has the winning bid at $41,736 for the baseball Stirn retrieves after Ripken’s homer to deep left field.

The solo homer comes off relief pitcher Mark Holzemer in the sixth inning of the Orioles’ 8-0 victory over the California Angels before a Tuesday night crowd of 46,804 at Camden Yards.

Parting with the baseball is not a hard decision for Stirn, a 32-year-old carpenter from Sykesville, Md.

“It’s just a ball to me,” Stirn tells The Associated Press.

Stirn – who travels 28 miles from his home in Sykesville to see Ripken’s milestone game on Sept. 5, 1995 – says he plans to use the money to pay down some bills and to “start a college fund for our two kids, because you really can’t share a ball with two kids.”

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