Shohei Ohtani’s home run baseball that founded the 50-50 club is up for sale.
Goldin will auction off the ball beginning at noon ET Friday, with the opening bid starting at $500,000. Buyers have the chance to purchase the baseball outright for $4.5 million between Sept. 27 and Oct. 9. If bidding reaches $3 million before Oct. 9, Goldin will remove the option to purchase it privately, and interested parties must bid for the baseball.
If the ball sells for $4.5 million or more, it would shatter the record for a baseball, which is $3.005 million paid for Mark McGwire’s 70th in 1998.
“Ohtani is truly one-of-a-kind, and the 50-50 record may be his crowning achievement,” Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin, said in a statement. “We’re honored to bring this iconic item to collectors. This is a piece of baseball history that fans and historians around the world will remember for decades to come.”
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
It’s HERE. We got it! Presenting Shohei Ohtani’s 50th HOME RUN BASEBALL from his HISTORIC Game when he became the inaugural member of the 50/50 Club. ⚾️
This one-of-a-kind Baseball will be available in our special “Shohei Ohtani 50/50 Auction”, which Opens… pic.twitter.com/uIQviGUHdH
— Goldin (@GoldinCo) September 25, 2024
Ohtani made history by slugging three home runs (his 49th, 50th and 51st of the season) against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19 as part of a 6-for-6 day in which he notched a Los Angeles Dodgers-record 10 RBIs.
Ohtani’s 50th home run came in the seventh inning on a Mike Baumann curveball that soared into the bar in left field at loanDepot Park. The Dodgers star is the first major leaguer to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season.
Goldin received Ohtani’s 50th home run baseball from the fan who caught it at loanDepot Park.
Required reading
(Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)