If you ever doubted the market value of baseball apparel, Shohei Ohtani's pants just silenced the skeptics—at the price of over a million bucks.
In an auction result that could cause any bank account to tremble, a baseball card featuring a snippet of Ohtani’s trousers from his historic 50 home run, 50 stolen base milestone sold at Heritage Auctions for a staggering $1.07 million. Turns out fabric can fetch a fortune when worn by MLB’s top superstar.
This unique Topps Dynasty Black card isn't just your average piece of memorabilia—it proudly features Ohtani's autograph in shimmering gold ink alongside an MLB logo patch from his game pants against the Miami Marlins. As for the buyer? They're staying anonymous, probably counting their pennies after this wild shopping spree.
The pants-powered purchase easily surpassed the previous record for an Ohtani card, which stood at just over half a million for a rookie card from 2018. Clearly, these trousers have some serious star power.
And this wasn't the only card from Ohtani’s epic 50-50 game that made waves. Another edition featuring batting glove tags and yet another slice of Ohtani’s pants fetched $173,240 in a previous sale. Apparently, there's no limit to fans' love for game-used apparel.
Chris Ivy from Heritage Auctions highlighted the significance, noting, “Ohtani is baseball’s biggest draw, and this card perfectly captures a historic moment. Plus, fans can't resist that MLB logo.” Interestingly, the card’s massive value wasn't impacted by the typical rookie-card premium collectors usually chase.
Just recently, rookie pitcher Paul Skenes saw his card sell for $1.11 million, but let's face it—without pants involved, is it even comparable?
For those who missed Ohtani’s legendary performance: entering the Marlins' stadium with 48 homers and 49 steals, he swiftly snagged steals number 50 and 51 in his first two innings. Then, in dramatic fashion during the seventh inning, Ohtani blasted a 391-foot homer, cementing his place in baseball lore. That very home run ball later sold for an astonishing $4.39 million.
At this rate, don't be shocked if socks, hats, and even chewing gum hit the memorabilia market next. Collectors, consider yourselves warned—and your credit cards warmed up.