After selling at auction last month for $4.392 million, a record for a game-used baseball, Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball is now on display and under tight security inside Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taiwan.
Security guards oversaw Shohei Ohtani’s 50/50 home run ball while it was on display at the Dream High Exhibition in Taiwan ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/gTFMqOpGiI
— MLB (@MLB) November 13, 2024
The winning bidder for the ball was UC Capital, a Taiwan-based investment firm. “Aside from hoping (for the ball) to cultivate the development of Taiwan’s baseball, (we) also hope that the world will be able to see Taiwan,” the company said in a statement at the time, according to Channel NewsAsia.
When he hit his 50th home run on Sept. 19, Ohtani became the first player to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a single season. Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers went on the win the World Series to cap off his historic season. He is currently the favorite to win the National League MVP award, which would make him just the second player to win both NL and AL MVPs after Frank Robinson.
“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,” said Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin, the auction house that handled the sale, in a statement after the ball sold. “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.”
According to TVBS in Taiwan, Taipei 101 hired a prominent local security firm to protect the ball around the clock at a cost of more than $150,000 while it’s a part of the exhibition, which includes other pieces of Ohtani memorabilia and items from Taiwanese baseball legends, and will run through March 2. The broadcaster reports that Taipei 101 chairwoman Janet Chia hopes for up to 7,000 visitors per day to the exhibition.
Although UC Capital is now the owner of the ball, there are still two ongoing lawsuits over who will get the $4.392 million paid for it. Those lawsuits involve three fans who scrambled to grab the ball after Ohtani hit it into the stands at Miami’s loanDepot Park. So while the ball now resides half a world away, the legal battle over its proceeds continues.
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(Top photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
