“He’s in a world of his own!” Joe Davis, play-by-play announcer of the Los Angeles Dodgers, shouted into his microphone. The day was September 19, 2024, and top-of-his-game Japanese baseball player Shohei Ohtani had just hit his 49th home run of the season. His 50th followed later in the Dodgers’ match against the Miami Marlins, as did his 51st. “One of a kind player!” Davis shouted. “One of a kind season!”
In the world of baseball, 50 home runs is a legendary achievement. In the entire history of Major League Baseball, only 32 players have entered this exclusive club, and only 10 have done so more than once. Knowing this, it should come as no surprise that Ohtani’s lucky baseball made a pretty penny when it was put up for auction at Goldin on October 23.
Also unsurprising, though no less astounding, is the fact that this ball, bought by an unknown buyer, went for a whopping $4.39 million, setting a new record for baseball memorabilia after Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball from the 1998 MLB season sold for $3 million in 1999.
Shohei Ohtani 50th Home Run Game-Used Baseball. Photo courtesy of Goldin.
Then again, we’re talking about Shohei Ohtani here. Born in Oshu, Japan in 1994, he took the Nippon Professional Baseball League by storm, claiming the record for most home runs and steals by any Japanese player. Nicknamed Shotime, he’s often referred to as one of the greatest baseball players of all time, living or dead, including the patron saint of baseball himself, Babe Ruth. “The greatest day in baseball history,” to quote Davis. “This is not real life.”
The auctioneers at Goldin were similarly enthusiastic. “Ohtani made history with this baseball,” auction house CEO Ken Goldin said in a statement, “and now, with the highest sale price for any ball ever sold, this legendary piece of sports memorabilia has made history again.”
If the auction itself went smoothly, there actually was a fair bit of drama going on behind the scenes, most of it concerning the ball’s rightful ownership. Unlike sports like soccer, where spectators must return balls that find their way into the stands, baseball tradition holds that whoever catches a ball, owns that ball.
Shohei Ohtani 50th Home Run Game-Used Baseball. Photo courtesy of Goldin.
This tradition explains the impromptu wrestling matches that happen in baseball stadiums whenever a player successfully sends the ball flying towards the audience. In Ohtani’s case, his home run was initially caught by one 18-year-old Max Matus, only to be wrestled from him by another spectator, Christian Zacek, who then took it home with him.
It appears Zacek brought the ball to Goldin. But when the auction house tried to put it up for auction, they received word from Matus. Or rather, Matus’s lawyer, whose court filing claims that Zacek “forcefully obtained control of the ball” from him.
Although the question of ownership has yet to be settled, the parties involved were able to reach some sort of settlement that allowed the historic auction to continue, giving the winner “full assurance that they will receive free and clear title” to the ball.
In the meantime, the proceeds of the auction have been placed into an account, where they will remain until the issue has been settled.