The Ohtani 50-50 ball, one year later

[Gary Dunaier]

It's been a year since the Ohtani 50-50 home run ball sold for a record-setting $4.392 million dollars. As you probably know, the ball was bought by a Taiwanese investment firm, UC Capital.

You may also know that there was a court case between two fans who claim that they caught the ball, but both parties agreed to allow the auction to proceed and whoever wins the lawsuit gets the money.

What I don't know, and what I'm wondering, is if there's been any progress in the court case. There haven't been any updates at all, and I don't know if it's been settled and I wasn't paying attention, or if there just hasn't been anything to report.

Meanwhile, a couple of screenshots from the LA game broadcast of the moment Ohtani hit the home run (LAD at MIA, 9/19/24). First, Miami pitcher Mike Baumann has the ball behind his back as he gets ready to throw the pitch...



...and what makes this image so cool is that Baumann has no way of knowing that just a month later, that baseball he's holding would become a Treasured Historical Artifact that someone would pay over four million dollars for.

The second screenshot is the exact moment Ohtani made contact with the ball, give or take a second or two.



If it's not the exact moment, it's pretty darn close.