The Japanese national team uniform of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, who recently competed in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, sold for $1.5 million in an official MLB auction on Monday.
Ohtani wore the uniform during a first-round game against Taiwan at Tokyo Dome on March 6. The designated hitter, wearing No. 16 and batting in the leadoff spot, hit a grand slam in the second inning. The game ended early in the seventh inning, invoking the mercy rule as Japan had a 13-0 lead.
Japan was ultimately eliminated by a score of 8-5 in the semifinal round by eventual WBC winner Venezuela.
The auction began March 15 and a heated competition ensued, with the price eventually topping $1.5 million.
The staggering price tag stands in contrast to the uniform Ohtani wore during the 2023 WBC, when he would lead Japan to victory in a tense final against the US. At the time, the uniform he wore in a first-round game against Australia sold for $126,110.
In other sales, Ohtani's 50th home run ball in 2024 to become the first player in MLB history to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season sold for $4,392,000. That total surpassed the $3,005,000 paid for Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball from his 1998 season, which had been the highest auction price ever recorded for a baseball.
(Translated and edited with ChatGPT/The Korea Herald)
khnews@heraldcorp.com
![[Exclusive] Ateez to return in November](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/02/news-p.v1.20260902.76162fb0ba55493aad1c076f240d0750_R.jpg?type=h&h=120)