Shohei Ohtani’s season of setting records continues.
Ohtani’s 50th home run baseball sold for a record-breaking $4.392 million in an auction on Tuesday night, a sum that’s more than double his $2 million salary for the season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The previous record was held by Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball in 1998, which sold for $3.005 million.
The auction for Ohtani’s ball, held by Goldin, began on Sept. 27 and was open to the public until 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday. After that, Goldin opened extended bidding for people who had already bid on the ball.
Ohtani made history by slugging three home runs (his 49th, 50th and 51st of the season) against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19 as part of a 6-for-6 day in which he notched a Dodgers-record 10 RBIs. His 50th home run came in the seventh inning on a Mike Baumann curveball that soared into the bar in left field at loanDepot Park.
Ohtani is the first major leaguer to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season.
🚨 BREAKING: NEW RECORD $$$ FOR A BALL 🚨
Final Sale Price on the Shohei Ohtani 50th Home Run Baseball: $4,392,000
The Most Expensive Ball of Any Sport of All-Time!
Email us at Sell@Goldin.com to Consign your Collectibles! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/e6cIVSnVcB
— Goldin (@GoldinCo) October 23, 2024
Given the high value and widespread interest in the ball, two lawsuits surrounding the baseball emerged around the time the auction began. On Sept. 25, Max Matus, an 18-year-old Marlins fan, filed a lawsuit against Chris Belanski, alleging Belanski assaulted him to get the ball out of his hand after it landed in the stands at loanDepot Park.
Days later, another fan, Joseph Davidov, filed a separate lawsuit against both Matus and Belanski, alleging he had possession of the ball before it reached either of them and only lost control of the ball when “an unknown fan” jumped on Davidov and “attacked (him) causing the 50/50 Ball to come loose and roll into the hands of Defendant Chris Belanski.”
Matus and Davidov’s complaints were later amended to identify Christian Zacek, not Belanski, as the defendant. According to Zacek’s legal team, the original lawsuits named the wrong person.
Both lawsuits remain open, however, all parties involved in both cases have agreed to allow the Goldin auction to continue as scheduled, according to eBay, which owns Goldin. The resolution of the litigation will determine which parties get a share of the auction proceeds.
What makes this ball more sought after? It’s Ohtani’s
It’s fascinating that this is the most expensive baseball ever sold, and it speaks to Ohtani’s massive star power. The previous record-selling ball represented the final home run hit in a season that captivated the nation for an entire summer in 1998. It capped off a campaign that people followed and discussed day in and day out for months. Ohtani’s 50/50 chase didn’t inspire anywhere near the same pop culture infatuation (at least not in the U.S.) until he was right on the cusp of achieving it.
Being the first to 50/50, as impressive and historic as it is, arguably doesn’t carry that same magic as the single-season home run record historically has had. But it’s Ohtani who did it. And that seems to be what makes this ball so valuable.
Adding to the interest in the ball is the fact that we’re still just a little over a month away from when Ohtani hit it. The two active lawsuits to determine who gets the proceeds from the sale of the ball show just how coveted it is. And on top of it all, Ohtani is days away from playing in his first World Series. All of these factors could have helped drive the price up.
A star in the U.S. and a megastar in his native Japan, Ohtani brings a level of interest and admiration that more than makes up for the fact that this is a more obscure baseball feat than a purely home-run-related record. Goldin even extended the auction by a week to accommodate the influx of bidding interest from abroad.
So what could break the record? Well, Ohtani might have to hit 74 home runs in a single season for anything to come close. — Brooks Peck, Collectibles senior editor
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(Photo: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)
