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As Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani gets set to play in his first career World Series, a memento from the biggest swing of his historic regular season is looking like it will be worth a small fortune.
The ball that Ohtani hit for his 50th home run of the 2024 regular season — making him the first MLB player ever to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season — could fetch over $10 million at auction.
[Related: Aaron Judge believes Shohei Ohtani is ‘the best player in the game’]
Auctioneer Ken Goldin, whose company Goldin Auctions is overseeing the sale of Ohtani’s record-setting home run ball, told TMZ Sports he believes the ball could fetch over $10 million at auction. Bidding is currently in the multimillion-dollar range, Goldin said, and he is expecting a dramatic increase in both the number and value of bids as the auction deadline nears.
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“It wouldn’t blow my mind,” Goldin told TMZ, “if some foreign bidder put this to eight figures and it topped $10 million.”
Goldin said he has not heard from Ohtani or anyone in his camp about possibly bidding on the baseball. Ohtani signed a historic, deferral-heavy $700 million contract with the Dodgers last offseason after proving himself as a two-way superstar with the Los Angeles Angels.
Bidding is currently underway for the home run ball despite an ongoing lawsuit over who has claim to the ball.
Ohtani finished the 2024 regular season with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. He has three more home runs in the playoffs so far to help the Dodgers take down the San Diego Padres and New York Mets en route to their fourth National League pennant in eight years. He is set to win the 2024 National League MVP despite only being a designated hitter this season as he was sidelined as a pitcher due to a torn UCL suffered in 2023.
Ohtani’s 54 home runs were more than any other player this season — except Aaron Judge, who hit 58. Judge’s New York Yankees take on Ohtani’s Dodgers in the 2024 World Series, which starts at 8 p.m. ET Friday on FOX and the FOX Sports App.
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Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports