The historic 50th home run ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is heading to auction later this week, and the starting bid is already at half a million dollars.
The home run ball, which was hit last week in one of the most dominant single player performances in MLB history, has been authenticated by the league and is being auctioned through Goldin, a well-known auction house that specializes in collectables and memorabilia.
Bidding opens to the public on Friday with bidding starting at $500,000 — $610,000 including the buyer’s premium.
The history-making home run ball came in the Dodgers’ Sept. 19 win against the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park in South Florida.
Coming into the game with 48 home runs and 49 stolen bases, Ohtani would hit his 49th, 50th and 51st home runs, while swiping his 50th and 51st bases. It was also the first 10-RBI game in Dodgers history.
But it was the second home run of the evening, in the top of the seventh inning off of Marlins pitcher Mike Baumann, that ended up in the hands of the consigner, who rejected offers from the team and Major League Baseball to turn the ball over for undisclosed payouts, possibly as much as $300,000.
It’s possible the fortuitous bounce that landed the ball in that person’s hands could become among the most lucrative home runs balls to ever sell at auction.
No player in the long, illustrious history of America’s past time has ever cracked 50 stolen bases and home runs in a single season. No one had ever had more than 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases in a single season until Ohtani did it earlier in the season, besting former Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez who set that mark in 1998.
But sports fans love even numbers, and the 50/50 club is both unprecedented and a satisfying figure to celebrate.
Bidding will commence Friday morning and will remain open until Oct. 9, Goldin says.
For the most diehard Ohtani fans, ones who are perhaps willing to shell out thousands for a golden bobblehead of the Japanese phenom and his beloved dog, the ball can be save from auction through private sale.
For $4.5 million, collectors can attempt to purchase the Ohtani 50th home run ball directly. Private sale is currently available now until one week remaining in the auction.
The option to buy privately will be removed if the item receives a bid of $3 million or more prior to that date, Goldin says.
Prospective buyers may want to exercise patience for the 50th home run ball, as Ohtani has an outside chance of founding another new fraternity: the 60/60 club.
With only five games remaining in the Dodgers’ regular season schedule, and Ohtani sitting at 53 home runs and 55 stolen bases, it’s unlikely.
But if Shohei Ohtani has proven anything, it’s to believe in the impossible.