"Otani's 50th Home Run Ball" was sold for 6 billion won...a new record high

AP/Yonhap News

Shohei Ohtani (30, Los Angeles Dodgers), who achieved the record of 50 homers and 50 steals for the first time in the Major League, broke the highest MLB home run ball auction ever.

Ohtani's 50th home run ball, which was posted on the U.S. auction house "Goldin," was sold for $4.392 million (about 6.1 billion won), according to the New York Times and other reports on the 23rd (local time).

Goldin

This is the highest winning bid ever, surpassing Mark Maguire's 70th home run ball of the season, which was sold for $3.5 million at the time in 1998 and about $3.997 billion in Korean money.

Earlier, Ohtani's home run ball is likely to be sold at a higher price than Maguire's 70th home run ball, given that not only the U.S. but also Japanese baseball collectors can actively enter the purchasing competition.

Ohtani started as the first designated hitter in the 2024 MLB Miami Marlins' away game at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida on the 20th of last month, hitting his 49th home run in the top of the sixth inning with a 7-3 lead, and exploding his 50th home run in the top of the seventh inning with a 12-3 lead.

Ohtani, who filled 50 steals in his previous at-bat, made the MLB's first 50-50 milestone with this home run.

Ohtani's 50th home run went over the left fence, and about 10 spectators nearby threw themselves to catch it. One of them picked up a ball that fell under the table.

A lawsuit is being filed between the person who claims to have caught the ball first in the stands and the person who currently owns it. All parties to the lawsuit have agreed to proceed with the online auction of Home Run Ball.

Reporter Lee Yu Na from Digital News Team.