Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers Watch Historic 50-50 Baseball Game Literally Leave the Stadium

Shohei Ohtani has lived up to the hype since arriving in MLB from Japan. Just when we thought he had nothing left to accomplish, he did something no player in history has done before: Join the 50-50 club. And he did it in the first year of his 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In Thursday’s game against the Miami Marlins, Ohtani recorded his 50th home run and 50th stolen base of the season after a monstrous home run to left-center field in the top of the seventh inning. With that, the ball would undoubtedly come back to Ohtani to cherish.

Unfortunately, this was not the case.

According to SportsGrid’s Craig Mish, the fan who caught Ohtani’s 50th home run of the season did not return the ball to the Dodgers. Instead, they left loanDepot Park with the ball.

And with that, the baseball became much more expensive to acquire.

The last time a historic home run left the stadium with a fan was in 2022, when the New York Yankees failed to retrieve Aaron Judge’s American League-record 62nd home run of the season. Instead, the fan who caught the baseball at Globe Life Field auctioned it off and received $1.5 million for it.

One wonders if Ohtani’s 50th home run of the season will meet the same fate: it will be auctioned off.

Ohtani had a ridiculous afternoon Thursday. The Dodgers’ designated hitter and favorite to win the National League MVP award this season went 6 for 6 with three homers, four runs and 10 RBIs in the 20-4 victory. The win clinched the Dodgers a playoff spot. Oh, and Ohtani has 51 homers and 51 stolen bases overall this season after that game.

Even if the Dodgers or Ohtani have the ball, the history books will remember him as the first player to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season.