The ball Shohei Ohtani launched for his 50th home run of the season, having also stolen 50 bases, was bought at auction early Wednesday for more than $4.3 million.
The LA Dodgers phenom became the first player to reach the 50-50 milestone in a season in September, widely considered one of the greatest achievements in baseball history.
There were 40 bids from around the world at the auction, with the successful bid coming at 12:26 a.m. ET. New Jersey auction house Goldin said it was the highest price paid for a baseball — or any other ball — in history.
“Shohei Ohtani made history with this baseball, and now, with the highest sale price for any ball ever sold, this legendary piece of sports memorabilia has made history again,” said Ken Goldin, found and CEO of Goldin.
Ohtani, 30, from Japan, went in to the game versus the Florida Marlins on Sept. 19 with 48 home runs and 49 stolen bases. In the seventh inning, on a 1-2 ball from Marlins’ pitcher Mike Baumann, Ohtani sent a mighty strike to left field and made history. It was one of three Ohtani home runs that night alone — his 51st season home run ball is also up for sale.
Afterwards, attention naturally turned to the fate of the ball, with collectors keen to own such a unique item. The fan who caught it worked with New Jersey-based auction house Goldin and the opening bid was set at $500,000 with the offer to buy it outright fort $4.5 million.
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