Shohei Ohtani's coveted 50-50 home run ball has been submitted to the Goldin Collectibles Marketplace and bidding will begin Friday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star is the only player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season. He hit three home runs and stole two bases in the same game against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19 to achieve a baseball record.
“This was one of the easiest [consignments] “Ohtani is the greatest player of all time,” Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin, told ESPN. [hits 50] On Thursday, literally on Friday, we heard from the guy, he contacted Goldin on his own through social media, he brought a security guard to Miami on Monday with a representative for Goldin, we met him, we flew back on Monday.”
The consignor has now chosen to remain anonymous, although photographs of him have appeared on the Internet. Goldin says he did not speak to another auction house: “This is one of those cases where our reputation for achieving the highest price on high-demand items is at stake.” [came] “We went into the game… honestly, we had no competition at all.”
Fox Sports 640's Andy Slater reported that the Dodgers originally offered the fan who caught Ohtani's 50th home run ball $300,000. ESPN was unable to reach the Dodgers for comment. Goldin confirmed that “there was an offer from the Dodgers and he turned it down.”
The opening bid from Goldin, now owned by eBay, is $500,000. Prospective buyers “will have the opportunity to purchase the ball outright for $4,500,000 exclusively between September 27 and October 9; however, if bidding reaches $3,000,000 before October 9, the private purchase option will no longer be available and interested parties will be required to compete and bid on the ball.”
The extended auction begins at 10pm EST on October 16th.
“My view was that the quickest possible auction route was the best,” Goldin said. “It's timely; the Dodgers are going to the playoffs, Ohtani is easily going to be the MVP, let's do this while Ohtani is on everyone's mind – and, what was also very important to the consignor, is the worldwide and global reach that both Goldin and eBay have. It's certainly possible for someone outside of the United States to win this ball.”
The ball features black scuffs and surface abrasions. The panel beneath the “Official Major League Baseball” seal contains a scuffed MLB batter's logo and adhered to the ball is an authenticated MLB hologram.
The current record paid for a baseball is the $3.05 million paid by Todd McFarlane, comic book creator and mogul of the McFarlane toy empire, for Mark McGwire’s No. 70 baseball in 1999. McFarlane told The Athletic in 2022 that he owns Barry Bonds’ No. 73 baseball from the 2001 season, as well as Sammy Sosa’s No. 66 baseball from 1999.
In late 2022, also under Goldin, Aaron Judge’s ball that broke the American League record of 62 home runs sold for $1.5 million. Seller Cory Youmans caught Judge’s ball at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, turned down a $3 million offer for the ball, and put it up for auction. The $1.5 million paid for Judge’s No. 62 ball remains the second-most expensive baseball ever sold at auction.
“Ohtani is a unique athlete, I think, like no one has ever seen in baseball before and may never see again in baseball,” Goldin said. “This is a guy who can steal 60 bases and at the same time win the Triple Crown, [and] Let's not forget that when he's healthy, he's a Cy Young-caliber pitcher.
“So I think as an individual he's incredibly unique and has an otherworldly talent. [He’s] “The total package and playing in Hollywood. This is the perfect scenario, he's the perfect baseball player and he's going to be the face of Major League Baseball for the next 10 years. What he can accomplish between now and when he retires may never be matched again.”
