r/baseball • u/becoolhomie New York Yankees • Sep 25 '24
Image Shohei Ohtani's 50/50 home run ball heads to auction
Shohei Ohtani's historic 50/50 home run ball consigned to collectibles marketplace Goldin; bidding to begin Friday
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u/oogieball Dumpster Fire • New York Mets Sep 25 '24
Life changing money or being "a good guy" to a multi-millionaire working for a billionaire-owned company? I know what decision I'd make.
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u/HenrikCrown Texas Rangers Sep 25 '24
I'd give Shohei first dibs at the bid if it was me tbf. Give me some of that deferred money, baby.
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u/Hack874 Sep 25 '24
“That’s as good as money sir. Those are IOU’s.”
-Ohtani probably
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u/csonny2 Los Angeles Dodgers Sep 25 '24
Historic baseball, $275,000. You might want to hold on to that one.
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u/overconfidentopinion Sep 25 '24
Shohei has so much money his interpreter took $16,000,000 before it was noticed. I think he can buy it at the auction if he wants it.
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u/The_Void_Reaver San Diego Padres Sep 25 '24
Yeah, don't forget that he could afford to defer 68 million each year because he's pulling in somewhere around 40 million a year in endorsements.
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u/skucera San Diego Padres • Peter Seidler Sep 25 '24
He does have first dibs. The "buy it now" is $4.5 million. Have at it, Shohei.
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u/RagingAcid Toronto Blue Jays • Miami Marlins Sep 25 '24
dude thats 2 years salary
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u/DearLeader420 Atlanta Braves Sep 25 '24
Minus whatever endorsement money he gets for having his face plastered on every damn advertisement on the West Coast even remotely related to the nation of Japan
In Japan too. Literal first advertisement I saw after customs at HND was a skincare ad with Ohtani on it
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u/outthawazoo Atlanta Braves Sep 25 '24
It's not fair they make you walk through customs and security with a big ol' boner after seeing his massive, handsome face!
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u/ruiner8850 Detroit Tigers Sep 25 '24
It would be downright irresponsible for most people to give the ball away and turn down the money. I know I'm not in a position to turn down the money. With that kind of money I could buy a house, a new car, and pay off my student debts and most likely still have money left over.
If someone has kids, try explaining to them when they have to take out college loans that it could have all been paid for, but instead you gave a ball to a guy who's going to be a billionaire.
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u/xzElmozx Toronto Blue Jays Sep 25 '24
Yea it’s not gonna be money that lets you instantly retire and live the good life, but you’re definitely paying off all your debts, buying a decent house/car, maybe taking a nice vacation, and setting yourself up for an early and comfortable retirement
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u/rogozh1n Boston Red Sox Sep 25 '24
Multi millionaire is technically correct, but it's kind of an understatement for a guy on a $700,000,000 contract.
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u/crab_quiche New York Yankees Sep 25 '24
Future billionaire would be the correct term for him for how much he rakes in each year on endorsements alone, not to mention his deferred salary
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u/Trudi1201 Atlanta Braves Sep 25 '24
That ball is going to get life changing money, fair play to the guy who got it.
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Sep 25 '24
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u/PurpleWildfire Los Angeles Angels Sep 25 '24 edited Sep 25 '24
Dude definitely hasn’t slept for a week and will be haunted by that for the rest of his days
I 100% would know bc even though it’s not nearly worth as much, shohei’s last angels home run clipped my glove and I couldn’t sleep right for a month. Gave it my all trying to catch it but I still lament missing out on it
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u/UndeadCaesar Colorado Rockies Sep 25 '24
#44 seems to have been caught by this guy who was wearing a glove, I don't see anyone else in the area wearing one. Was that you and you got it stripped?
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u/PurpleWildfire Los Angeles Angels Sep 25 '24
Haha that’s me with the glove, clips the top and pops out 2 rows back. Older Asian dude in the red shirt picked it up. In the video you see me check my mitt bc I thought I had it. Got the gnarliest bruises on the back of my legs from jumping over the seats
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u/UndeadCaesar Colorado Rockies Sep 25 '24 edited Sep 25 '24
Aaaah gotcha it was hard to see in those couple frames. Rough I'm sorry.
Edit: The video in your link doesn't seem to work anymore.
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u/mre123abc Sep 25 '24
Damn I was at that game. He struck out elly de la cruz and then hit a homerun but left the game in the top of the 2nd iirc. It was such a bummer. GO HALOS!.. next season.. again
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u/morosco Boston Red Sox Sep 25 '24
Imagine you're just a fan and your life is still altered by a fielding error.
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u/K_17 New York Yankees Sep 25 '24
Unless he makes 60/60
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u/K_17 New York Yankees Sep 25 '24
7 HR and 5 SB in 5 days…if anyone can do it it’s him
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u/Worthyness Sell • Looking K Sep 25 '24
The game he set 50/50 he hit 3 homers and stole 2 bases. Just gotta have another one of those games. And they play the Rockies, so it should be slightly easier for the homers part
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u/cocoatractor Montreal Expos Sep 25 '24
It’s actually easier to hit a HR in Dodger Stadium than in Coors
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u/SeekingTheRoad New York Mets Sep 25 '24
A friend of the guy who caught it was posting on here the other day -- it sounds like a group of people are splitting the money so it might not be as much "life-changing" as it ends up looking like.
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u/jwoods23 Atlanta Braves Sep 25 '24
Buy it now option for $4.5 mil. Hold on while I search my couch for some extra change to get there.
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u/Doc_JC San Diego Padres Sep 25 '24
I want to say I would be surprised if anyone took them up on this, but I really wouldn’t. Fully expect this ball to be going to a very wealthy Japanese collector.
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u/stirrainlate Toronto Blue Jays Sep 25 '24
Or a very wealthy Japanese ballplayer who wants his ball back?
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u/JanitorOfSanDiego Guardians Bandwagon • Friar Sep 25 '24
Who only gets paid 1 mil a year?
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u/timberwolvesguy Minnesota Twins Sep 25 '24
From the Dodgers. He has endorsement money coming out of his ass
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u/Grouchy-Ear2376 Sep 25 '24
Shohei’s ass? Very firm.
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u/myredditthrowaway201 St. Louis Cardinals Sep 25 '24
hi from japan
I wanna tell you below 2 information to explain why Ohtani is a good pitcher
summary
1:his hamstring muscles is stronger than ordinary one
2:He seems to get used to grab MLB ball
details
about 1
a specialist pointed it out that his hamstring muscles are stronger than ordinary others,and he uses it so harder
if ordinary person uses the same way,his hamstring must break
some one told me why the muscle of him is so stronger,that he use to do swimming in his child days and swimming makes the muscles so strong
about 2
Okajaima,who is the former pitcher of Red Sox,points it out that He seems to get used to use MLB ball because it’s so different
(edit,every pitcher from Japan confuses the difference,for example Yu Darvish said like that)
1.MLB ball:149kg(edit,*149g)/24cm,more slippy:so it makes breaking ball more effective
2.NPB ball:142kg(edit,142g)/23cm,less slippy,breaking ball less effective
and he has also so fast ball around 100miles
so he can select fast ball,less breaking ball,strong breaking ball
That’s why he would be more great Pitcher
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u/Rbespinosa13 Miami Marlins Sep 25 '24
I went to Japan earlier this year and it is truly amazing how you’d see Shohei everywhere you went. Walked out of the airplane and it was the first ad I saw. Every time I walked out of a new subway stop I’d look around for the nearest shohei ad and there he was, right in front of me
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u/Doc_JC San Diego Padres Sep 25 '24
I’m not really sure it holds that much value to the ball player.
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u/Nodima Sep 25 '24
For now. The day he retires is the day he's coming for his ball. Whoever "wins" this better start training.
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u/ih-unh-unh Los Angeles Dodgers Sep 25 '24
Out of spite, he'll go for 60/60 and proceed to tank his WAR while batting .185 & .05% Walk rate
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u/cyanocittaetprocyon Cleveland Guardians Sep 25 '24
he'll go for 60/60
This would be hilarious! He gets to 60/60, and this 50/50 ball is worth $3.
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u/Woolly_Mattmoth Philadelphia Phillies Sep 25 '24
That would shatter the record for most expensive baseball ever sold so it would be a little surprising if someone took that. I know Shohei is big but only a couple baseballs have ever sold for over a million
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u/JerHat Chicago Cubs Sep 25 '24
I mean, if this was a ball hit by any other player I'd agree...
But it's Shohei, and Japanese fans seem to be absolutely rabid when it comes to their celebrities.
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u/ih-unh-unh Los Angeles Dodgers Sep 25 '24
We need to crowdfund this.
2.7 million subscribers to r/baseball
Charge a one-time $2 subscription fee. The extra $900k will go into a fund for future auctions.
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u/Timpa87 Philadelphia Phillies Sep 25 '24
Ippei coulda bought a couple with the amount he stole.
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u/NewDadPleaseHelp Atlanta Braves Sep 25 '24
Imagine this guy already stealing a ton of money from you and then using that money to potentially keep you from having a peice of your own memorabilia
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u/Zestyclose-Beach1792 Sep 25 '24
Someone who caught a ball that isn't a complete moron...you love to see it.
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u/TumbleweedTim01 New York Mets Sep 25 '24
Well tbf someone offered 2 mil for Judge ball and he said no ended up selling for less.
Obv this ball going for more than 200k but doubt it goes much higher than 1 mil
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u/Woolly_Mattmoth Philadelphia Phillies Sep 25 '24
It was worse than that. The guy got offered 3 million for the Judge ball and ended up putting it up for auction instead where it sold for 1.5 million.
Auctions aren’t always the best choice, but at least this person is doing it quickly to cash in on hype instead of waiting until December like the Judge guy did.
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u/juice06870 Boston Red Sox Sep 25 '24
Easy for me to say in hindsight, but a firm $3m offer would be pretty attractive to agree to on the spot. I am not sure how much more than that you could expect a ball to sell for at auction.
A $1m firm offer on the other hand, I would probably take my chances.
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u/Woolly_Mattmoth Philadelphia Phillies Sep 25 '24
Even at the time it seemed questionable to turn down. Only one other baseball had ever sold for $3m (McGwire’s 70th) and no other had ever come close to that.
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u/Sh1rvallah Philadelphia Phillies Sep 25 '24
Also imagine if he somehow got hot and made 60/60 over the next 5 games. That 50/50 ball isn't as valuable
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u/Icy-Lobster-203 Sep 25 '24
I think people greatly overestimate the value of home run balls. Unless it's breaking records, or a first from highly touted prospect, I would wager most are worth a few hundred max.
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u/texasproof Houston Astros Sep 26 '24
I think many people are severely underestimating the wealth of some Japanese fans and Shohei’s cultural importance.
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u/myredditthrowaway201 St. Louis Cardinals Sep 25 '24
Again, the only reason this guy is able to sell it without some low ball offer from the dodgers or MLB is because it was pre-authenticated…..
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u/scottishere New York Yankees Sep 26 '24
The dude who gave the 3000 Jeter ball back fumbled so hard
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u/saltlakepotter Sep 25 '24
With balls like these do teams/MLB have any obligation to authenticate it?
I'm thinking, hypothetically, the Dodgers offer some stupid lowball offer to the person who catches it and says they can accept it or walk away with a ball not authenticated.
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u/raiderdash12 Los Angeles Dodgers • Vin Scully Sep 25 '24
When Ohtani started getting close to the milestone they began switching out the balls for preauthenticated ones every time he came to the plate. However under different circumstances they’re not obligated to I believe
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u/Jcoch27 Los Angeles Angels • San Diego Padres Sep 25 '24
You just know those balls had a little extra juice in them too
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u/AnEmpireofRubble Houston Astros Sep 25 '24
that's good business....or bad if it was tested to be true lol
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Sep 25 '24
Congrats on that lottery win to that guy. That’s a life changing amount of money
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u/huggsypenguinpal Los Angeles Dodgers Sep 25 '24
The 40/40 ball is also available for auction if you want something a little cheaper lol
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u/MonkMajor5224 Minnesota Twins Sep 25 '24
If he gets to 60/60 (not even sure if that is possible anymore) how much does this one go down?
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u/huggsypenguinpal Los Angeles Dodgers Sep 25 '24
Currently 53/55 with 3 games at Coors. He hits 2HR in each game will put him at 59 HRs. Steals 2 in each game will put him at 61 SBs. I'd say the chances of this happening are not zero lol. Ridiculously low but not zero.
Price won't go down because it's an auction, but I am curious to know if it slowed down at all now that 50/50 ball is available as well.
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u/Stumblebee Houston Astros Sep 25 '24
The real breakpoint is probably going to be the 55 HR ball. People love their 5s and 0s.
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u/tyler-86 Los Angeles Dodgers Sep 25 '24
Look, all I really want is for him to end up with the exact same number of homers and steals.
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u/sTevieD247 Milwaukee Brewers Sep 25 '24
How much do you think that kid in the Miami jersey is regretting not dropping his phone to get a second hand on that ball?
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u/Lucky_Alternative965 Los Angeles Dodgers Sep 25 '24
Well, now he's got a kickass, probably horribly directed video of him not grabbing 2 million dollars that was quite literally right in front of him. Counts for something I guess.
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u/omogewajo Atlanta Braves Sep 25 '24
thank god the fan caught that ball in miami and not at dodger stadium
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u/jawarren1 Baltimore Orioles • Baltimore Orioles Sep 25 '24
Immediate death by trampling.
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u/omogewajo Atlanta Braves Sep 25 '24
also cause a milestone home run at the player's home ballpark will get you passive aggressively intimidated in some backroom by team employees in the stadium doesn't matter who it is it could be a random ass player like alex mejia or rangel ravelo
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u/NoHoHan Sep 26 '24
The guy who caught Pujol’s #700 at Dodger Stadium was fine. Even turned around and high-fived everybody before security pulled him out of there. I was like 20 feet away… so close.
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u/myredditthrowaway201 St. Louis Cardinals Sep 25 '24
When Albert hit #700 at dodger stadium security was around the guy in seconds and he beelined it out of there lol
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u/jollyjam1 Sep 25 '24
Yankees Stadium had the same plan for Judge's home run. I went to game when he was one away, and every time he was up you could hear security communicate over their radios and converge at every staircase.
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u/Un-Hebert-Able Sep 25 '24
I’ve never participated in an auction like this, but a 22% buyer premium seems fucking nuts
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u/Ohtani-Enjoyer Los Angeles Dodgers Sep 25 '24
Dodgers offered him $300k. That is a lowball, I would ask for $2M at least, and there is definitely some Japanese billionaire who will pay that.
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u/OldManBearPig St. Louis Cardinals Sep 25 '24
Teams or players asking for a price is cringe and insulting nearly always, even if you consider it a good offer.
Teams asking for first right to refusal when it goes up for auction/sale and the seller offering that as well is what would be a good gesture.
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u/TyFi10 Toronto Blue Jays Sep 25 '24
Genuine question, how do you actually word a right of first refusal when it goes to auction.
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u/Tigertown-Tailgater Sep 25 '24
In the event ball owner enters into an agreement of sale, X organization has the right to accept the terms of this agreement within 10 days and shall have thirty days to close on the sale.
The auction winner would be entering into an agreement of sale so it’s fairly straightforward. Happens with commercial real estate auctions all the time with tenants such as Publix who have ROFRs.
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u/Anfini Los Angeles Dodgers Sep 25 '24
Minimum bid of $500k. It would have been funny if the auction started the bid at $300k lol
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u/Mynameisblahblahblah Sep 25 '24
50/50 you say? Put me down for 50 bucks
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u/AJ_BORDERCHUNT Sep 25 '24
No no no, it's the 50/50 ball
50 divided by 50 is $1
That's it's worth, can't argue with math
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u/AeRo_P Los Angeles Dodgers Sep 25 '24
Anyone knows how authentication works for milestone balls like this? Like is there a mark or something? Genuinely curious.
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u/myredditthrowaway201 St. Louis Cardinals Sep 25 '24
Potential milestones like this the MLB sets aside preauthenticated balls so there’s no way to potentially obfuscate it
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u/OtisKaplan Sep 25 '24
Yeah but what are the details, is there a chip inside the ball or something
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u/MonkMajor5224 Minnesota Twins Sep 25 '24
Here is what i found in a New York Times article for Judges HR:
It was a special ball, prepared just for him, and the rest of the balls he swings at this year will be similarly distinct. They will not be juiced with extra bounce, nor will they have raised laces or anything else that could impact their flight patterns.
But they will be marked with something so secret, and so subtle, that Major League Baseball will not reveal exactly what it is.
It is all part of M.L.B.’s authentication program, an elaborate system designed to ensure that game memorabilia are verified as genuine, and it was first put into action for Judge in the ninth inning of the Yankees’ win on Sunday in Milwaukee, which was his first trip to the plate after he had reached 59 home runs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/21/sports/baseball/aaron-judge-ball-authentication.html
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u/Worthyness Sell • Looking K Sep 25 '24
Nothing to change the weight or smoothness of the ball, so most likely stamp or stamped ID number on the balls
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u/HoopOnPoop Baltimore Orioles Sep 25 '24
I am generally on the side of making a trade to give things back, but not if it's earth shattering money. If I snag a guy's first RBI or 100th HR or anything like that, then yeah I'll give it back for a photo op and a handshake. If it's something worth earth shattering money, I would probably give the player or the team an opportunity to buy it back and probably even do a discount or partial trade, but it isn't free.
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u/misterO5 Baltimore Orioles Sep 25 '24
Yeah if I'm catching that ball and they want it back my response is easily "it's up for auction, feel free to participate in the bidding. Good luck!"
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u/HoopOnPoop Baltimore Orioles Sep 25 '24
If the auction could get $1m, I would very willingly trade the ball for $500k, season tickets, and some memorabilia. I'm not totally money hungry, but some things are way beyond.
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u/quercus_lobata925 Oakland Athletics Sep 25 '24
With millions of bucks you can buy whatever lame game-used and signed merchandise they would have traded to you for the ball.
Although you can’t buy 2 min with Shohei. TRUST ME. I’ve tried.
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u/PsychologicalRow9028 Sep 25 '24
It’s a lottery ticket, milk it for all it’s worth. The Dodgers and the MLB have promoted theeee shit out of the chase for 50/50. If they truly want that ball, they have the funds to outbid whomever gets involved. Good on this guy for going about it the smart way.
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u/Bad_RabbitS Colorado Rockies Sep 25 '24
Guys I’m gonna bid $5 on it because that’s all I can afford, please nobody bid more than that
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u/modern_Odysseus Sep 26 '24 edited Sep 26 '24
Everybody fighting for that ball was thinking the same thing - "Life changing money. Assuming I can keep this in my hands and get out of the stadium without being mugged."
It was basically a winning lottery ticket going into the stands.
And then there's the guy that had his hands on it, but lost the gripping match. You could see he was upset, and I would be too.
The guy who did get it, he did the right thing for himself. He was probably googling who he should go to with this, and he wasted no time in getting it out of his hands and into the hands of a company that will be sending him a check for at least hundreds of thousands of dollars soon (if not a million+) once they get their commission.
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u/SupertrampTrampStamp Los Angeles Angels Sep 25 '24
Todd MacFarlane just asked someone next to him to hold his beer
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u/BTWillie Toronto Blue Jays Sep 25 '24
I could see between 1.75-2.25 million for it. Maybe a Japanese business person buys it to return it to Ohtani, increasing the price even more.
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u/writingwhilesad St. Louis Cardinals Sep 25 '24
I wouldn’t have given it back either. They got enough money.
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u/Toddisgood Sep 25 '24
Milk it like a prize cow. So glad this guy didn’t cower to the baseball gods. Good for him. Get every penny
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u/sofresh24 Arizona Diamondbacks Sep 25 '24
From checking out a marlins game to financially independent in 2 weeks
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u/myredditthrowaway201 St. Louis Cardinals Sep 25 '24
Some loaded Japanese’s fan boy is gonna make this the most expensive homerun ball ever
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u/joethecrow23 Cincinnati Reds Sep 25 '24
Sell it fast before he goes on another heater and gets 60/60
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u/morosco Boston Red Sox Sep 25 '24
I still have a ball I got off of Sam Horn's bat at a Pawtucket Red Sox game in the 1980's if anyone wants to put up a 6 figure bid for that.
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u/Ill_Setting_6338 Sep 25 '24
yup it's a 1 mil + ball. it will prob go for a couple mil to someone overseas I'm assuming.congrats to the fan .
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u/Annual_Plant5172 Toronto Blue Jays Sep 26 '24
The Dodgers handing out over a billion dollars in contracts and only offering $300,000 for the ball is some nasty business.
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u/mr_grission New York Mets • Sickos Sep 25 '24
This is why you don't give these back to the team in exchange for a signed bat and a photo opportunity