Shohei Ohtani's latest bit of MLB history could result in a handsome payday for one man.
That won't be Ohtani, however.
The Dodgers dynamo added his name to the billowy quilt that is baseball lore (again) after slugging his 50th home run of the year against the Marlins on Sept. 19. The shot landed deep in the left field bleachers, right in the waiting grasp of one fan, who summarily pocketed off with the heirloom, seemingly destined for a hefty payday — be that at the expense of Los Angeles or an auction house.
The fan made his decision shortly after leaving LoanDepot Park, dialing up famed auctioneer Ken Goldin in the hours after fielding Ohtani's dinger. Now, he's readying for his close-up, hoping to secure some history for himself — and a little bit of change, too.
With that, here's what you need to know about the price and sale of home run No. 50 of Ohtani's wondrous campaign.
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Shohei Ohtani 50-50 ball price
Ohtani's historic opposite field blast is expected to garner quite the fee on the auction block.
The Dodgers reportedly offered the consigner, who has chosen to remain anonymous, $300,000 for the piece of baseball lore. He declined, instead taking his talents to Goldin, an eBay-owned platform that allows users to buy and sell collectibles.
"This was one of the easiest [consignments] ever," Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin, told ESPN. "Ohtani [hits 50] on Thursday, literally Friday we heard from the guy, he contacted Goldin on his own through social media, flew a security guard down to Miami on Monday with a representative from Goldin, met him, flew back Monday."
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The record-breaking nature of Ohtani's homer, coupled with his vaunted status as perhaps the greatest talent to ever lace up baseball spikes, should mean that the person who fielded the Japanese supernova's dinger should receive quite the payout. As in, upwards of $1 million.
As of now, the price to make an opening bid for Ohtani's treasure is $500,000. Prospective buyers can purchase the ball outright from Sept. 27-Oct. 9. However, if bids reach $3 million or above prior to Goldin's Oct. 9 deadline, a bidding war will commence. Private parties won't have the opportunity to purchase the ball exclusively anymore. All interested factions will be expected to bid for the ball.
Extended bidding will start at 10 p.m. ET on Oct. 16 and end once the ball finds a new owner.
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Most expensive home run balls
At present, the title for most expensive home run ball belongs to Mark McGwire's 70th homer from the 1998 season.
Comic book creator and McFarlane Toys empire magnate Todd McFarlane shelled out $3.05 million to secure the memento. He also owns Barry Bonds' 73rd dinger from 2001 and Sammy Sosa's 66th long ball from his famous 1999 campaign.
Here's a look at some of the other big-money home run ball purchases in recent memory, via ESPN and Boardroom:
| Rank | HR ball's significance | Price |
| 1 | Mark McGwire, No. 70 | $3.05 million |
| 2 | Aaron Judge's, No. 62 | $1.5 million |
| 3 | Babe Ruth, All-Star Game | $805,000 |
| 4 | Barry Bonds, No. 756 | $752,000 |
| 5 | Hank Aaron, No. 755 | $650,000 |
| 6 | Barry Bonds, No. 73 | $518,000 |
| 7 | Barry Bonds, No. 762 | $377,000 |
| 8 | Barry Bonds, No. 500 | $303,000 |
| 9 | Eddie Murray, No. 500 | $280,000 |
| 10 | Barry Bonds, No. 715 | $220,000 |
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What is Goldin Auctions?
Goldin Auctions is an eBay-owned platform that allows users to buy and sell collectible items, particularly those pertaining to sports, pop culture and entertainment.
Founded in 2012, Goldin has overseen a host of high-profile sports sales, from Honus Wagner's 1909-1911 T206 White Border trading card to Babe Ruth's 1918 contract with the Red Sox. Owned by venture capitalist Ken Goldin, the auction house is well-known in public circles, even commanding its own Netflix show, "King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch." The program released its second season in June.
Shohei Ohtani 50-50 ball lawsuit
On Thursday, a fan claiming to be the rightful owner of Ohtani's 50th moon shot filed a civil lawsuit in the hopes of stopping Goldin Auctions' impending sale.
Eighteen-year old Max Matus filed a suit into Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit Court seeking a temporary injunction against Goldin Auctions. Bidding for Ohtani's 50-50 ball is scheduled to start on Friday.
The lawsuit, which also names Chris Belanski and Kelvin Ramirez, claims that the memento was "wrongfully and forcefully" obtained from Matus' grasp.
The suit says that on Sept. 19, Matus — sitting in the left-field bleachers to celebrate his 18th birthday — "successfully grabbed" the ball after Ohtani sent it into the LoanDepot Park abyss.
"A muscular man" — revealed to be Belanski — then allegedly trapped Matus' arm "in between his legs and wrangled the 50/50 Ball out of Max's left hand." The suit claims that Matus was the ball's rightful owner before it was "forcefully taken away from him."
"If defendants are allowed to sell the 50/50 Ball, Plaintiff will be irreparably harmed as the 50/50 Ball is a unique one-of-a-kind item that cannot be replaced. Once the 50/50 Ball is sold, Plaintiff will likely be unable to get it back and no monetary damages will be adequate to replace it," the lawsuit reads.
Goldin Auctions offered a statement for ESPN after news of Matus' lawsuit broke. In it, the multi-million dollar company reaffirmed its desire to open bidding for Ohtani's 50th home run ball on Friday.
"We are aware of the case that has been filed," Goldin Auctions said in a statement to ESPN. "Having reviewed the allegations and images included in the lawsuit, and publicly available video from the game, Goldin plans to go live with the auction of the Ohtani 50/50 ball."
