Shohei Ohtani 50/50 Home Run Ball Headed To Auction, Could Fetch Millions
The fan who refused to sell Shohei Ohtani's 50/50 home run ball back to the Los Angeles Dodgers might have made a brilliant financial decision.
On Sept. 19, Ohtani made history by becoming the first MLB player ever to join the 50/50 Club — in other words, 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. It was an overall monster game for the Dodgers' two-way superstar, as he went 6-for-6 with three homers, two steals and 10 RBI on the night.
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a two-run home run, his 50th of the season.
(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The Dodgers originally offered the fan who caught Ohtani's 50th home run ball a mere $300,000, according to Fox Sports 640's Andy Slater. But he turned down the offer, thinking he could fetch more for it on the open market. And it looks like his gamble might have paid off. The 50/50 ball has been consigned to collectibles marketplace Goldin and will go up for auction on Friday.
"This was one of the easiest [consignments] ever," Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin, told ESPN. "Ohtani [hits 50] on Thursday, literally Friday we heard from the guy, he contacted Goldin on his own through social media, flew a security guard down to Miami on Monday with a representative from Goldin, met him, flew back Monday."
Auction For Shohei Ohtani 50/50 Ball Starts Friday
The opening bid is $500,000, but Goldin is also offering buyers the chance to purchase the ball for $4.5 million between Sept. 27 and Oct. 9. That opportunity will be taken off the table, however, if bids reach the $3-million mark at any point.
"My viewpoint was that the auction route as quickly as possible was the best," Goldin said. "It's timely; the Dodgers going to the playoffs, Ohtani is easily going to be the Most Valuable Player, let's do this while Ohtani is on everybody's mind — and, what was also very important to the consigner, is the worldwide and global reach that both Goldin and eBay have. It's certainly possible someone outside the United States is going to win this baseball."
The current record selling price for a baseball is the $3.05 million paid for Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball in 1999 by comic book creator Todd McFarlane. Ohtani's 50/50 ball has a solid shot of breaking that record in the coming weeks.
And who knows? Maybe the Dodgers and Ohtani will end up with the keepsake, after all. They're just going to have to pony up a lot more than $300K.