Ohtani’s 50/50 home run ball to be auctioned

The coveted Shohei Ohtani 50/50 home run ball has been consigned to collectibles marketplace Goldin 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 baseball history.

“This was one of the easiest [consignments] ever,” Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin, told ESPN. “Ohtani [hits 50] on Thursday, literally Friday we heard from the guy, he contacted Goldin on his own through social media, flew a security guard down to Miami on Monday with a representative from Goldin, met him, flew back Monday.”

Currently, the consigner is choosing to remain anonymous, though pictures of him have surfaced online. Goldin says he didn’t speak to another auction house: “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.”

Fox Sports 640’s Andy Slater reported that the Dodgers originally offered the fan who caught Ohtani’s 50th home run ball $300,000. The Dodgers could not be reached for comment by ESPN. Goldin confirmed “there was an offer by the Dodgers and he turned it down.”

The opening bid with Goldin, now owned by eBay, is $500,000. Prospective buyers “will have a chance to purchase the baseball outright for $4,500,000 exclusively between September 27 to October 9; if bidding reaches $3,000,000 prior to October 9 however, the option to purchase privately will no longer be available, and interested parties must compete and bid for the baseball.”

Extended bidding begins at 10 p.m. ET on Oct. 16.

“My viewpoint was that the auction route as quickly as possible was the best,” Goldin said. “It’s timely; the Dodgers going to the playoffs, Ohtani is easily going to be the Most Valuable Player, let’s do this while Ohtani is on everybody’s mind — and, what was also very important to the consigner, is the worldwide and global reach that both Goldin and eBay have. It’s certainly possible someone outside the United States is going to win this baseball.”

The ball shows black scuffing and surface abrasions. The panel below the “Official Major League Baseball” stamping contains a scuffed-up MLB Batter Logo and affixed to the baseball is an MLB authenticated hologram.

The current record paid for a baseball is the $3.05 million paid for Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball in 1999 by comic book creator and McFarlane Toys empire magnate Todd McFarlane. McFarlane told The Athletic in 2022 that he owns Barry Bonds’ 73rd from the 2001 season as well as Sammy Sosa’s 66th from 1999.

In late 2022, also with Goldin, Aaron Judge‘s American League record-breaking 62nd home run ball sold for $1.5 million. Seller Cory Youmans caught Judge’s record breaker 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 62nd is still the second-most-expensive baseball ever sold at auction.

“Ohtani is a unique athlete, I believe, the likes of which have never been seen in baseball before and may never be seen in baseball again,” Goldin said. “This is a guy who can steal 60 bases while at the same time, winning 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 so incredibly unique and such an otherworldly talent. [He’s] the complete 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-plus years. What he can accomplish between now and when he retires may never be matched again.”