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Shohei Ohtani cemented his reputation as the best baseball player on the planet by becoming the first player in MLB history to join the 50/50 Club, and the fan who caught the home run ball that put him over the hump is about to be a very rich man based on new details involving an upcoming auction.
It’s been six years since Shohei Ohtani made his Major League Baseball debut with the Angels after making a name for himself in Japan, and it didn’t take him very long to emerge as one of the most electric talents the baseball world has ever seen.
The six-tool player easily earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2018 after more than holding his own as a pitcher and an outfielder, and that campaign marked the start of what promises to be one of the most legendary careers in history when everything is said and done.
Ohtani ultimately opted for a slight change of scenery when he signed a record-breaking $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the start of the 2024 season, and while he put pitching on the backburner after undergoing Tommy John surgery for the second time, it’s safe to say he benefitted from the chance to devote more energy to the offensive side of the ball.
On September 19th, Ohtani had what is arguably the greatest game in baseball history while establishing the 50/50 Club thanks to a performance that saw him go 6-f0r-6 and record 10 RBI while hitting his 49th, 50th, and 51st home run of the year and stealing his 50th and 51st base.
There was understandably a mad scramble in the stands for that 50th home run ball, and as things currently stand, we still don’t know the identity of the fan who reportedly turned down a $300,000 offer from the Dodgers to return it to the man who hit it.
What we do know, however, is that they’re probably going to make much, much more by hanging onto it.
According to ESPN, the anonymous owner of the ball reached out to Goldin to organize an auction that will officially commence on September 27th. However, the structure of the sale is a bit unique.
As things currently stand, the opening bid is $500,000, but Goldin is also offering buyers the chance to purchase the ball for a whopping $4.5 million between the start of the action and October 9th. However, that opportunity will be taken off the table if bids reach the $3 million mark at any point.
If you’re curious, Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball from 1998 is the most expensive baseball ever sold thanks to the $3 million it fetched, and it seems like there’s a chance that mark could end up being surpassed by Ohtani’s 50th.