A baseball card autographed by Shohei Ohtani and featuring a piece of the pants the Dodgers superstar wore while becoming the first MLB player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season has sold for more than $1 million.
The one-of-a-kind Topps Dynasty Black card that features an on-card signature in gold ink by Ohtani and the MLB logo patch from the pants he wore during his record-setting game against the Miami Marlins was sold by Heritage Auctions on Saturday night for $1,067,500. The name of the buyer has not been revealed.
That is by far the most money paid in a public auction for an Ohtani card. The previous record was the $533,140 paid last year for a card from the 2018 Bowman Chrome Rookie Autographs Orange Refractor set. While 25 of those cards exist, that one received a 10 from the Beckett Grading Service.
The record-setting card is one of three different cards from the 50-50 game that Topps used to launch its Dynasty Black series, which features one-of-one autographed cards with pieces of game-used memorabilia from specific, historic moments. One of those Ohtani 50-50 cards — which includes a tag from the batting gloves Ohtani wore while hitting his 50th home run and a laundry tag from the pants he wore during that game — received $173,240 at auction in February.
“Shohei Ohtani is currently the best player in the game, and this 1-of-1 card is tied to a significant historical moment as the first MLB player to join the 50/50 club in 2024,” Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage, told The Times in an email. “It is also the most desirable of the three 1-of-1 Dynasty black cards because of the logo patch.”
Ivy added: “Part of what makes this result remarkable is the fact that it was not a rookie card — they usually are among the most popular in the collecting community — and still set the world record.”
Earlier this month, the one-of-one major league rookie debut patch autograph card for Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes sold at auction for $1.11 million.
Ohtani entered the Sept. 19 game at loanDepot Park with 48 home runs and 49 steals. He wasted no time reaching 50 stolen bases, swiping third base in the first inning, then added No. 51 in the second inning. Then came home run No. 49 in the sixth inning, setting the stage for history to be made in the seventh.
After fouling off the first two pitches and laying off one in the dirt, Ohtani sent a hanging curveball by Marlins reliever Mike Baumann 391 feet and over the left-field wall. That ball was auctioned for $4.392 million, an amount that surpassed any sum paid for a baseball, in October.