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Shohei Ohtani: His 50/50 ball is about to be the most expensive in auction history

The record is held by Aaron Judge's ball which sold for $1.5 million in 2022

Shohei Ohtani
Shohei OhtaniLAPRESSE

Shohei Ohtani's controversial 50/50 ball during the Los Angeles Dodgers' win over the Miami Marlins is on the podium of the most expensive balls in MLB history and has two weeks left to sur the $1.5 million that was paid for Aaron Judge's 62nd home run at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

For the ball thrown by the Japanese star at LoanDepot Park Stadium to reach the record, it only needs one more bidder and for that there is still plenty of time, since the auction closes on October 17.

Beyond the cost of Judge and Ohtani's baseballs that ended up in the hands of fans, it should not be forgotten that the absolute record is still set by the $3 million that Todd McFarlane paid for the 70th home run ball that Mark McGwire hit in 1998.

The St. Louis Cardinals slugger had a lot to do with that sale, as the fan who caught his ball decided to sell it after McGwire didn't want to meet him.

This ball was denounced by a fan, Max Matus, who specified that it was stolen from his hand by Chris Belanski and Kelvin Ramirez. The lawsuit was filed in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Dade County, Florida, although Goldin Auctions went ahead with presenting the auction on the date established at the time.

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