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Shohei Ohtani 50th HR ball bought by Taiwan company

Buyer reportedly is UC Capital, which plans to display the $4.4 million milestone ball in Taiwan

Cover Image for Shohei Ohtani 50th HR ball bought by Taiwan company
Shohei Ohtani's 50th HR ball ranks as the most valuable baseball in the long history of the sport. (Credit: Goldin Auctions)

A corporation from Taiwan bought Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball, Goldin Auctions founder and CEO Ken Goldin announced Thursday night.

The ball, which sold for $4,392,000 in the early hours of Wednesday morning, set the all-time record price for any baseball after surpassing the $3.05 million paid for Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball in 1999.

According to Goldin, bidders from four countries, including Ohtani’s home nation of Japan, competed for the ball. There were 40 total bids in the auction, which closed around 12:30 a.m. ET.

Japanese sports newspaper Sponichi reported Friday the company is UC Capital, a Taiwanese investment firm. The company plans to display the ball in Taiwan, with a "high possibility" it will be exhibited at the Taipei Dome, Sponichi reported.

In his post Thursday, Goldin added he’s currently unable to share more details, but more will be provided when the baseball season ends.

“A corporation in Taiwan who loves baseball and who loves Shoehi Ohtani and who would certainly look to share his treasures with the world has won the auction,” Goldin said in a video shared on the auction house’s social-media accounts. “Their identity will be revealed in person when they visit Goldin Auctions shortly after the World Series.”

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One of the underbidders on the milestone baseball is believed to have been Yusuke Tanaka, the president and CEO of Japanese e-commerce site Locondo. According to his posts on social media, Tanaka said he had hoped to win the ball and share it with the world before returning it to Ohtani.

Ohtani hit the historic homer Sept. 19 in the Dodgers' 20-4 rout of the Marlins at loanDepot Park. The home run made him the first major-leaguer to ever amass 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in the same season. It also came in one of the dominant individual hitting performances in history as Ohtani went 6-for-6 with three HRs, 10 RBIs and two steals.

Darren Rovell and Will Stern talk about why Shohei Ohtani's 50th ball sold for a record price.

A legal fight continues over the original ownership of the ball and the question of which party or parties will receive the proceeds from the auction. A judge in Miami ordered earlier this month Goldin could start the bidding, and a settlement was later reached between three parties to allow the auction to proceed.

Christian Belanski was the fan who wound up with the ball in the left-field stands and had it authenticated by MLB. However, 18-year-old Max Matus later filed a lawsuit saying he had possession of the ball, and it was stolen from him.

A third man named Joseph Davidoff filed a lawsuit Oct. 1 saying it was he who had the ball. It is not known when the next court hearing will be in either case.

Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.