BASEBALL/Taiwan firm reveals it bought Ohtani 50th home run ball for over US$4 million

Taipei, Oct. 26 (CNA) A Taiwanese private investment company on Friday revealed that it has won the auction for the 50th home run ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers' Japanese slugger Shohei Ohtani.

The 50th home run ball hit by Ohtani was sold for US$4.392 million through an auction held by Goldin Auctions recently.

Ken Goldin, founder of the auctioning platform, said in a video on Instagram on Thursday (U.S. time) that the winning bidder was from Taiwan, but he kept the company's name under wraps before private investment firm UC Capital came forward to announce to Taiwanese people that it was the bid winner.

In a statement issued Friday, the Taiwanese firm said that the ball is like a holy grail to baseball fans around the world.

As such, the company felt honored to be able to secure the meaningful memorabilia for Taiwan, one that captured a moment in history.

"In the future, Shohei Ohtani will become more and more influential to baseball around the world," the company said. "We deeply believe that this decision is profound."

The Ohtani home run ball was hit during a 20-4 Dodgers victory over the Miami Marlins at Miami's LoanDepot Park on Sept. 19 (U.S. time) and established the Japanese star as the first in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season.

The ball's sale price was the highest ever for any ball in any sport, according to a post by Goldin Auctions on X, formerly known as Twitter.

It shattered the previous record of US$3.005 million set by Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball in 1998.

In Friday's statement, UC Capital said that it will be happy to work with institutions in Taiwan and Japan to put the ball on tour.

The company added that it would even be open to the idea of organizing charity shows so fans can get close and personal with the memorabilia.

"Aside from hoping [for the ball] to cultivate the development of Taiwan's baseball, [we] also hope that the world will be able to see Taiwan," it said.

According to the auctioning platform's description, "the [Ohtani] baseball exhibits excellent game use, with black scuffing and surface abrasions present throughout the white leather surface."

It also features an MLB Authenticated Hologram (YP431048, WSG) to verify its significance in baseball history.