Thursday afternoon, Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani became the charter member of the 50-50 club with a monstrous game against the Miami Marlins (LA 20, MIA 4). Ohtani hit his 49th, 50th, and 51st home runs of the season, and also stole his 50th and 51st bases. All told, he went 6 for 6 with two doubles, three homers, two steals, and 10 RBI. That’s a good day’s work.
Here is Ohtani’s historic day. It is the first three-homer, two-steal game in baseball history:
Needless to say, the Dodgers and Ohtani (and the Hall of Fame?) would like to get the baseball that clinched the 50-50 club. They had no luck Thursday, however. The fan who caught the ball reportedly took it home rather than negotiate a trade.
Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run ball sold for $1.5 million at auction in 2022. Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball sold for $3 million. More recently, Albert Pujols‘ 700th home run ball sold for $360,000. Similarly, the 50-50 ball is a significant piece of history.
Ohtani is a global icon, and while the 50-50 ball may not fetch McGwire or even Judge money, it is worth a pretty penny. It’s not something you hand over for a signed bat and a selfie, you know? Even if the fan wants to return the ball to Ohtani and the Dodgers, it’s only smart to get proper value. Teams gouge fans with ticket prices. This is a rare opportunity to return the favor.
The Dodgers have nine games remaining this season, giving Ohtani some time to continue adding to his home run and stolen base totals.
