Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani's 50th home run ball from this major league season sold for $4.392 million at auction, including buyer's premium, shattering the record paid for a baseball -- or any sports ball, for that matter.
The previous most expensive baseball was Mark McGwire's record-breaking 70th home run ball from the 1998 MLB season, which Spawn creator Todd McFarlane paid $3 million for in early 1999.
Ohtani's 50th home run ball cemented him as the only player in the sport's history to eclipse 50 home runs and 50 steals in a season. The ball, consigned to Goldin Auctions, marked one of the most anticipated modern, game-used memorabilia auctions in recent memory; Goldin's site shows photos of the MLB-scuffed baseball and highlights the MLB Authentication hologram number "431048" and validation code "WSG."
"Shohei Ohtani made history with this baseball, and now, with the highest sale price for any ball ever sold, this legendary piece of sports memorabilia has made history again," Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin, said in a statement. "We received bids from around the world, a testament to the significance of this iconic collectible and Ohtani's impact on sports, and I'm thrilled for the winning bidder."
The auction house did not identify the buyer.
Though litigation over the ball's initial ownership is playing out in Florida, an agreement was reached on Oct. 7 between the auction house and "all parties" that allowed the auction to proceed and conclude apart from the lawsuits filed over the ball's ownership.
According to a statement from Goldin Auctions, the agreement stipulated that all parties vying for ownership of the ball "have agreed to convey any and all of their ownership interests in the 50/50 ball to the winner of the auction, giving the winner full assurance that they will receive free and clear title to the 50/50 ball."
The nearly $4.4 million paid for the Ohtani ball will go into an account until the ownership lawsuits are resolved.
Ohtani and the Dodgers will face the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.