Shohei Ohtani’s historic 50-50 ball sells at auction for nearly $4.4M

Shohei Ohtani’s fiftieth home run ball has sold at auction for nearly $4.4 million, a record high price not only for a baseball, but for any ball in any sport, the auctioneer said Wednesday.

Ohtani became the primary player in baseball history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a season, reaching the milestone on Sept. 19 when the Los Angeles Dodgers star hit his second of three homers against the Marlins.

“We received bids from around the globe, a testament to the importance of this iconic collectible and Ohtani’s impact on sports, and I’m thrilled for the winning bidder,” Ken Goldin, the founder and CEO of auctioneer Goldin Auctions said in a press release.

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The auction opened on Sept. 27 with a starting bid of $500,000 and closed just after midnight on Wednesday. The auctioneer said it couldn’t disclose any information concerning the winning bidder.

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The auction has been overshadowed by the litigation over ownership of the ball. Christian Zacek walked out of Miami’s LoanDepot Park with the ball after gaining possession within the left-field stands. Max Matus and Joseph Davidov each claim in separate lawsuits that they grabbed the ball first.

All of the parties involved within the litigation agreed that the auction should proceed.

Matus’ lawsuit claims that the Florida resident — who was celebrating his 18th birthday — gained possession of the Ohtani ball before Zacek took it away. Davidov claims in his suit that he was in a position to “firmly and completely grab the ball in his left hand while it was on the bottom, successfully obtaining possession of the 50/50 ball.”

Ohtani and the Dodgers are preparing for Game 1 of the World Series scheduled for Friday night.

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