Everything Shohei Ohtani touches turns to gold.
Whether that’s pen to paper, signing the richest and biggest contract in the history of professional sports at $700 million, or launching his 50th home run ball into the stratosphere where it fetched an all-time record-price, Ohtani is the golden goose that keeps on laying golden eggs.
Ohtani is the only player in Major League Baseball history that has ever recorded 50 home runs, while also swiping 50 bases (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)Getty
Ohtani’s 50th home run ball – hit against the Miami Marlins on September 15 – which made him the founding and only member of baseball‘s 50-50 Club, sold for an all-time record of $4,392,000 at Goldin Auctions.
It comes in as most a baseball has ever been sold for, surpassing Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball, which sold for $3.05 million in 1999.
However, there is just one major hurdle standing in the way of the $4.5 million being rewarded to the collector.
No one knows who the collector is.
It is unclear, as three different parties have stepped forward, claiming to be the rightful owner of the historic ball.
Chris Belanski is the man who physically took the baseball home on the night Ohtani broke the record and refused an offer from the Dodgers to give up the ball.
However, attorneys for 18-year-old Max Matus filed a lawsuit against Goldin Auctions and Belanski, claiming the ball was actually Matus’ first.
Matus claims the ball was taken from him as a result of civil battery during the brawl for the ball.
Then a third party entered the fold, by a man named Joseph Davidov, who claimed video evidence showed him “grabbing and possessing” the ball before a fan jumped a railing and “attacked” Davidov, causing him to loose the ball and landing it into the possession of Belanski.
All three parties agreed to allow the auction to continue as planned, with the winner retaining “free and clear” title to the record-setting baseball.
Ohtani’s stock has only continued to rise as he leads the Dodgers into the World Series (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)Getty
Now that the baseball has reached a historic price, the battle in court is only going to intensify tenfold.
The rightful recipient, or recipients, of the $4,392,000 will be determined in court, but until then, everyone is just going to have to wait.
As the battle in the courtroom continues, Ohtani and the Dodgers are set to face Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees in the battle of the titans in the World Series.
The two best teams in the league this year, with the two biggest fanbases, with all the stars, all the storylines, will face one another in the Fall Classic with everything on the line.
MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred, has to be the happiest man on the planet that this is the matchup he got.
The Yankees are back in the World Series for the first time since 2009Jason Szenes / New York Post
Ohtani and Judge have been known to leave the ballpark with a crack of the bat or two, so it isn’t crazy to imagine a scenario where they hit a walk-off home run to win it all.
Imagine that?
Imagine the price that ball would go for?
It might make $4.3 million feel like pocket change.
