Shohei Ohtani 50-50 Home Run Ball Auction Record-shattering $4.4 Million After Last-Minute Bid Storm

Shohei Ohtani made history in 2024 with a 50-50 season. So did his 50th home run ball.

The baseball auction that sealed the first 50-homer, 50-stolen base in MLB history ended Tuesday night with a list price of $3.6 million at Goldin Auctions. With the addition of a 22% buyer's premium, the full price tag comes to $4.392 million.

It broke the record for the most expensive baseball sold at auction, beating the $3.005 million brought by Mark McGuire's 70th home run ball (a figure that includes the buyer's premium).

Goldin's website also mentions a 0.9% insurance fee and a shipping fee of $19. Apparently, breaking a two-decade-old record doesn't get you free shipping and handling.

Shohei Ohtani's 50-50 ball saw 15 bids on final night

Bidding opened on September 27 at $500,000, with a total of 40 bids for the ball. The price stood at $2.1 million for the final two days until there were two bids — $2.2 million then $2.3 million — in the final three minutes of bidding on Tuesday. That triggered an extended window in which 13 more bids came in to push the price to $3.2 million.

Bidders try to wait until the last minute to give their new price, but each bid resets the clock to 30 minutes. It was basically a rich version of eBay users trying to scramble at the last minute for a baseball card.

Bidding finally ended at 9:26 p.m. PT, nearly two and a half hours after it was scheduled to end.

The total also handily beat the $1.5 million spent on Aaron Judge's 62nd home run ball in 2022, which received a private $3 million bid before the auction.

In MLB's century-plus history, Ohtani's feat in 2024 stands as the league's most in a single season, with the sold ball serving as the centerpiece.

After joining the Dodgers in a record $700 million deal, Ohtani exceeded all expectations in his first season, first with the fastest 40-40 season ever and then reaching a threshold that seemed mythical before the season. Not only did Ohtani reach 50-50, he got there with the greatest single-game performance of all time. On September 19, 2024 at Marlins Park, Ohtani went 6-for-6 with three homers, two steals, two doubles, four runs and 10 RBI.

While Ohtani's regular season ended with 54 homers and 59 steals, his postseason performance is still ongoing. Game 1 of the World Series is scheduled for Friday in Los Angeles (FOX) at 5:08 p.m.

Shohei Ohtani has a 50-50 ball case

Ohtani's 50-50 ball from the bat to the auction house was a little more eventful than usual.

First, a Marlins fan came close to catching it. Then, there was the push that eventually led to the seller, Chris Belansky getting his hands on it and not letting go. Even with conservative estimates of the ball coming in at 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 lifted) it. The Dodgers tried to collect the historic ball, but Belansky understandably chose to take the ball with him and see what he could get at auction.

A small legal battle ensued over whether that seller actually deserved the ball, as 18-year-old fan Max Matus later filed a lawsuit claiming Belansky 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 place as the legal process ends.

Another lawsuit was filed by Joseph Davydov, who claimed that a fan mistakenly jumped over the railing and attacked him, causing the ball to come loose from his hand. So three different people are publicly claiming to be the rightful owners of the ball.

Goldin chose to go ahead with his auction despite that lawsuit, so it remains to be seen how much of that record-breaking amount Belansky will bring in when all is said and done.