Ken Goldin: Bidding on Shohei Ohtani's historic 50-homer ball up to $2.1 million

PHILADELPHIA — Shohei Ohtani made history when he launched a homer into left field at loanDepot Park in Miami on Sept. 19 during a game against the Miami Marlins. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar became the first MLB player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. He did so in spectacular fashion, going 6 for 6 with three homers and two steals.

Fans scrambled to grab the ball that marked Ohtani’s 50-homer milestone, and according to the Associated Press, Chris Belanski walked out of the stadium with it. The fan turned down the Dodgers’ high-paying offer and kept it, but he didn’t have the historic ball for long.

Belanski decided to auction it through Goldin, a collectible trading company based out of Runnemede that has sold some of the biggest memorabilia items in sports history.

Before Ohtani even hit the homer, “people on social media have been talking about what they would do if they get the ball,” said Ken Goldin, a Cherry Hill, N.J., native who is the owner and founder of Goldin. “The first answer was contact Ken Goldin and the number two answer was contact Goldin Auctions.

“Interestingly enough, he contacted us. The home run was hit on [Thursday,] September 19. We had a message through our social media accounts. We then reached an agreement on the phone. ... On that Monday, we flew a security guard down there, met [Belanski ], picked it up, and flew it back to New Jersey.”

The prized ball went up for auction on Sept. 27, and the bidding will close Tuesday night. So far, there have been 25 bids and the top bidder has offered $2.1 million and would pay about $462,000 in fees in addition to the purchase.

Goldin said there are bidders from multiple continents looking to get their hands on the baseball, which did not come as a surprise considering the Japanese superstar’s worldwide renown.

“He is different than any other athlete that anybody has ever sold a collectible for because he is such an international personality,” Goldin added. “What he’s doing in baseball is incredibly historic.

“We are not only capturing history, but we are part of history, from the standpoint that as soon as the ball was hit, people were saying that the Dodgers offered this amount of money. Is the guy going to take it? Then nobody knew where the ball was. Now, obviously, the ball is up on Goldin.com for bidding.”

After the ball went up for auction, a lawsuit was filed by Max Matus, 18, of Broward County, Fla., who claimed that the baseball was taken out of his hand. A judge decided that the auction could proceed.

Two years ago, Goldin Auctions sold Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run baseball for $1.5 million. The highest selling price ever for a baseball is $3 million for the 70th home run ball hit by Mark McGwire in 1998.

With the current bid, Ohtani’s home run ball would be the second most valuable of all time.

“We ran [the auction] a little bit longer than anticipated,” Goldin said. “We have to be able to get people who want to bid credit approved. It’s not like somebody can go to Goldin, create an account, and place a $3 million bid, so we wanted to give extra time.

“Also, [Ohtani] is advancing in the playoffs, our auction closes Tuesday night, and on Friday is Game 1 of the World Series that he will be playing in. It really is tremendous to be able to have, quite frankly, the hottest item of the hottest personality in the world of sports right now.”