Shohei Ohtani made history in 2024 with a 50-50 season. His 50th home run also did the same.
The auction of the ball that sealed the first base of 50 home runs and 50 steals in MLB history ended Tuesday night at Goldin Auctionsat a listing price of $3.6 million. With a 22% buyer’s premium added, the total price comes to $4.392 million.
That breaks the record for the most expensive baseball ever sold at auction, surpassing the $3.005 million raised by Mark McGwire’s 70th home run (a figure that includes the buyer’s premium).
Goldin’s website also lists a 0.9% insurance fee and a $19 shipping fee. Apparently breaking a two-decade-old record doesn’t get you free shipping and handling.
Shohei Ohtani’s 50-50 ball saw 15 bids in the final night
Bidding began on September 27 at $500,000, with a total of 40 offers for the ball. The price remained at $2.1 million for the last two days, until two bids (for $2.2 million and then $2.3 million) came in in the last three minutes of Tuesday’s auction. . That triggered an expanded bidding window in which 13 more bids came in to raise the price to $3.2 million.
Bidders kept trying to wait until the last minute to put in their new price, but each bid set the clock to 30 minutes. It was basically a rich version of eBay users trying to jump in at the last minute to get a baseball card.
The bidding finally ended at 9:26 pm PT, almost two and a half hours later than planned.
The total also comfortably surpasses the $1.5 million spent on Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run in 2022, which received a private bid of $3 million before the auction.
In MLB’s century of history, Ohtani’s 2024 accomplishment stands out as one of the largest the league has ever seen in a single season, with the ball sold as the focal point.
After joining the Dodgers on a record $700 million contract, Ohtani exceeded all expectations in his first season, first with the fastest 40-40 season of all time and then reaching a threshold that seemed mythical before the season. Ohtani not only reached 50-50, but he got there with one of the best single-game performances in history. On September 19, 2024 at Marlins Park, Ohtani went 6-for-6 with three home runs, two steals, two doubles, four runs scored and 10 RBIs.
Ohtani’s regular season ended with 54 home runs and 59 steals, and his postseason performance is still ongoing. Game 1 of the World Series is scheduled for Friday at 5:08 pm PT in Los Angeles (Fox).
Shohei Ohtani’s 50-50 ball has been the subject of lawsuits
The path of the 50-50 ball from Ohtani’s bat to the auction house was a little bumpier than usual.
First, a Marlins fan came tantalizingly close to grabbing him. Then there was the fight that led to the eventual seller, Chris Belanski, getting his hands on it and not letting go. With even conservative estimates of the ball’s value reaching six figures, those fans knew life-changing money was at stake.
When a ball is caught in an MLB game, it becomes the legal property of the fan who caught (or picked it up). The Dodgers tried to get their hands on the historic ball, but Belanski understandably opted to take it and see what he could get at auction.
A small legal battle then ensued over whether that seller really deserved the ball, as 18-year-old fan Max Matus subsequently filed a lawsuit alleging that Belanski forcibly took it from him. Claiming to be the rightful owner of the ball, the teenager demanded that the auction be stopped and that the ball be kept in a safe location while the legal process unfolded.
The other lawsuit was filed by Joseph Davidov, alleging that a fan mistakenly jumped over a railing and attacked him, causing the ball to slip out of his hands. So there are three different people who publicly claim to be the rightful owners of the ball.
Goldin opted to move forward with his auction despite that litigation, so it remains to be seen how much of that record money Belanski will walk away with when all is said and done.