'10 Million Dollars Is Possible' Organizers Surge Bidding On Ohtani 50-50 Home Run Ball WS Issue...Bonds and Maguire will wake up

Oct 23, 2024

LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani hits his 50th home run of the season against Miami Marlins Mike Bowman at Rondipo Park on September 20 (Korea time). AFP Yonhap News

LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani's 50th home run ball this regular season could soar to $10 million while surpassing $2 million at auction.

Ken Goldin, CEO of Goldin Auctions, which is hosting the auction for Ohtani's 50th home run ball when he hit 50 homers and 50 steals, said in an interview with local media TMZ Sports on the 22nd (Korea time), `It wouldn't be surprising if any foreign bidder put in eight digits and exceeded $10 million.'

The bid price for this home run ball has risen to $2.1 million as of today. The auction deadline is 11 a.m. on the 23rd, which, according to Goldin, could be extended for a few more days.

Tani Shohei's 50th home run ball this season. 사진=Goldin Auctions

Ohtani hit a two-run homer to the left in the top of the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins at Rondipo Park on September 20 to reach the 50th home run mark of the season, achieving the first 50-50 in major league history. Amid a legal ownership dispute over the home run ball that was blown at the time, auction prices are steadily rising.

Goldin auctioned the home run ball on the 28th of last month and is auctioning it for $500,000. It exceeded $1 million in one day of the auction and reached $1.5 million on the 5th, drawing keen attention.

However, there is a three-way dispute over ownership of this home run ball.

Chris Bellanski, who was initially known to have caught the ball, had one contact with the Dodgers and was offered to sell it for $300,000, but he refused and auctioned it. However, an 18-year-old fan named Max Matters, who claims the ball is his, filed a lawsuit with Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit Court on the 27th of last month seeking a temporary order to suspend the auction of the home run ball.

However, the court rejected it, and the auction began on Sept. 28 at $500,000 as scheduled, surpassing $2 million in 24 days. However, another person who claimed ownership of this home run ball appeared. A man named Joseph Davidoff filed a lawsuit with the court against Chris Bellasky, who auctioned with Matters as well as the auction house Goldin, and was likewise rejected on the 16th.

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who hit his 50th home run of the season and achieved 50-50 points. AP Yonhap News

The price of Ohtani's 50th home run ball is soaring for various reasons. This is due to the fact that Ohtani, who wrote the myth of 'Both-base hitters and hit a career high this season, is certain to be MVP, that Ohtani has advanced to his first postseason and is set for the World Series against the New York Yankees, and above all, it contains the meaning of the first 50-50 major league that is hard to see again.

The most expensive home run ball ever in Major League history was Mark Maguire's 70th season in 1998. At an auction held the following year, a famous collector named Todd McFarlane bought it for $3.05 million at an auction.

Yankees Aaron Judge's 62nd home run ball of the season, the most in a single American League season in 2022, came in second with $1.5 million. Ohtani's 50-50 home run ball has newly established itself in second place beyond Judge, and Maguire's home run ball is also certain to surpass it.

Ken Goldin says "The regulations allow Ohtani himself to participate in the auction, but I haven't heard of him offering a bid yet."Usually, most auctioneers bid hours before the deadline, so $10 million is also possible."

jhno@sportschosun.com