In the most dramatic of fashion, Shohei Ohtani became the sole member of baseball's 50-50 club Thursday.
Ohtani hit three home runs, stole two bases and drove in 10 runs in his first career six-hit game as the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the Miami Marlins 20-4 at loanDepot Park.
His second blast of the night gave Ohtani 50 homers and 51 stolen bases. He notched his historic 50th stolen base in the first inning and then added another steal in the second.
In the ninth inning, Ohtani capped his career day with a two-run homer, his third blast of the game, moving his season total to 51 homers and 51 steals, with nine games remaining in the season. That shot to right field came with Miami second baseman Vidal Brujan on the mound.
Ohtani became the Dodgers' single-season home-run leader when he hit his 50th, moving past Shawn Green, who hit 49 HRs in 2001.
Per MLB's Sarah Langs, Ohtani became the first player with at least five hits, multiple homers and multiple steals in a single game since at least 1901.
The Dodgers now head back to L.A. for a six-game homestand before playing their final three games in Colorado. The win Thursday clinched a playoff berth for the Dodgers, the first for Ohtani in his seven-year career.
The moment fans rushed for Ohtani’s 50th HR ball ⚾️
— Mantel (@onMantel) September 20, 2024
How much do you think it’s worth? ???? pic.twitter.com/DGjXGKLkRr
Ohtani's 50th homer came on an opposite-field drive to left-center. The ball bounced off the facade of the left-field scoreboard and eluded a fan's reach as it appeared to land in the AutoNation Alley Deck below.
From there, a chaotic scramble of about a half-dozen people erupted as fans dove on the ground and underneath a table in an attempt to come away with the milestone.
cllct has yet to confirm the ball's whereabouts after it landed in that area, but it appeared to end up with a man wearing a black shirt.
The fan who wound up with the ball, reportedly could not reach a deal with the Dodgers and left the ballpark with the milestone piece of memorabilia, according to "Miami Herald" contributer Craig Mish.
When asked on MLB network whether he had the home run ball, Ohtani responded, "Not yet."
So, what sort of potential payday did that original fan miss out on by being unable to corral the ball?
Ken Goldin of Goldin Auctions, whose company sold Aaron Judge's American League-record 62nd home run ball for $1.5 million in 2022, estimates Ohtani's record ball, as well as his bat, would be valued at $250,000 each.
"This accomplishment will cement his place in history as a one-of-a-kind talent," Goldin said. "His items are in exceptionally high demand throughout the world, due to his universal appeal."
The fact Ohtani had such an epic game means the price rises for everything, said eBay power seller Rick Probstein, who said the bat and the jersey are worth $300,000 each in his opinion.
“It’s connected to one of the best games ever,” Probstein said.
David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions - who sold both Barry Bonds' and Alex Rodriguez's 500th home runs - estimates that the the ball would reach up to $500,000.
Authenticators were seen authenticating Ohtani's batting gloves from his career game.
Another expert placed the value on Ohtani's 50th home-run ball even higher.
"I just think that it's so unique and so special and there's just so much publicity that someone's gonna pay big big money for it," said Harlan Werner, a longtime L.A.-based memorabilia dealer and agent. "I think that seven figures is realistic."
What the Dodgers own of Ohtani's: Jersey, pants, socks, hat and helmet.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 19, 2024
What Ohtani owns: Batting gloves, bat, cleats, glove.
Major League Baseball confirmed to cllct earlier this week the league had a plan in place for Ohtani's 50th homer.
In most games during the season, there is no way to authenticate home runs. If a ball leaves the field for any reason, whether it be a home run, foul ball, errant throw, etc., it can't be authenticated because it left the line of sight of MLB authenticators.
But for special milestones, the league takes extra action.
Baseballs for Ohtani's at-bats were covertly marked, similarly to the process used when Aaron Judge set the AL mark in 2022.
Thursday's game was the first in which MLB started using the marked balls for Ohtani, and cllct confirmed the league began doing so after he hit his 49th homer in the sixth inning. His 50th homer came in the seventh.
According to MLB sources, security brought the fan with the ball to meet the authenticator in an undisclosed location Thursday night. The authenticator confirmed the authenticity of the ball with the hologram.
The record price paid for an Ohtani collectible is the $276,000 paid for signed his 2018 Chrome Red Refractor in a PSA 9, which sold once in 2022 and once in 2023 for the same price at PWCC.
The record price paid for any Ohtani game-used jersey is $228,600 for the jersey from his first grand slam, which Sotheby's sold in February 2023.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct.