The baseball Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hit for his historic 50th home run last Thursday is going to auction.
According to Goldin Auctions, the opening bid has been set at $500,000 when the auction begins Friday, but potential buyers will have a chance to purchase the baseball outright for $4.5 million exclusively between Sept. 27 and Oct. 9.
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If bidding reaches $3 million prior to Oct. 9 however, the option to purchase privately will no longer be available, and interested parties must compete and bid for the baseball.
That’s a lot of zeroes.
While a select group of sports collectors lick their chops, one fan who claims he had the ball stolen from his hands will also be a very interested observer.
MIAMI, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 19: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after hitting a two-run home run, his 50th of the season, during the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park on September 19, 2024 in Miami, Florida. Ohtani is now the first MLB player to have at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season. The ball Ohtani hit for his 50th home run is going to auction Friday.
Megan Briggs/Getty Images
Eighteen-year-old Max Matus told clict.com that he was the first to retrieve the Ohtani baseball when it sailed over the left-field fence at loanDepot Park last Thursday; he claims the fan who walked away with the ball and delivered it straight to Goldin to be auctioned is its second owner.
“The ball bounced off the table, and it went under, and I grabbed it,” Matus told clict Friday. “Then the other guy had my hand between his legs holding my arm and took the ball from my hand.”
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Attorney Danny Karon of Cleveland-based Karon LLC believes Matus might have a legal claim to some of the auction proceeds.
“It can” go to court, Karon told Newsweek Sports. “And if it does, the Bonds case is the kid’s best precedent.”
The example of Barry Bonds’ record 73rd home run ball, Karon explained, still holds water (perhaps in more ways than one) 23 years later.
A fan named Alex Popov caught the ball. After the crowd swarmed him, a different man, Patrick Hayashi, came up with it. Popov sued Hayashi and the court wound up ruling that the two men split the proceeds of the sale of the ball.
To be clear, Karon said he doesn’t chastise anyone for seeking their slice of the wealth that can be transferred when a simple piece of sports equipment becomes valuable memorabilia.
“It’s a business,” he said.
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Major League Baseball took the almost unprecedented step of authenticating game balls as Ohtani chased the historic 50-50 milestone. No known player in MLB history has ever collected 50 homers and 50 steals in the same season.
Ohtani accomplished both feats on the same night, part of a 6-for-6, three-homer, 2-steal, 10-RBI game during the Dodgers’ 20-4 win over the Marlins.
