Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball is up at auction starting Friday. By hitting it, he became the first player to have 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season.
The homer was the second of three the Dodgers’ designated hitter knocked out on the road against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19, coming after he had already stolen his 50th and 51st stolen bases of the year.
An anonymous fan caught it in the stands, held onto it and put it up for auction with Goldin, with a starting bid of $500,000.
The final day of bidding is Oct. 16. From Friday through Oct. 9, interested parties can buy the ball privately outright for $4.5 million, which would smash the $3.005 million record for a used MLB game ball held by Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball from the 1998 season, according to The Athletic.
If bidding exceeds $3 million before Oct. 9, the private sale period will end and the ball will stay on the auction block, Goldin explained on the ball’s lot page.
“Ohtani is truly one of a kind, and the 50-50 record may be his crowning achievement. We’re honored to bring this iconic item to collectors. This is a piece of baseball history that fans and historians around the world will remember for decades to come,” Goldin CEO Ken Goldin told The Athletic.
The Dodgers did try to acquire the ball for Ohtani, making an offer of $300,000 to the fan who caught it, according to Fox Sports South Florida radio host Andy Slater. The fan instead reached out to Goldin to put the ball up for sale.
“This was one of the easiest [consignments] ever. Ohtani [hits 50] on Thursday, literally Friday we heard from the guy. … This is one of those cases where our reputation for getting the absolute highest price on hot-market items [came] into play. … Honestly, we had no competition at all,” Goldin told ESPN.
Ohtani has continued to build on his statistical record as the regular season winds down and the Dodgers prepare for the playoffs. As of Thursday, he has 53 home runs and 56 stolen bases.
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