(Reuters) – Los Angeles Dodgers batter Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home-run ball has fetched the highest for price any ball from any sport in an auction after selling for $4.39 million, New Jersey-based auction house Goldin said early on Wednesday.
The ball, which marked the moment Ohtani became the first Major League Baseball player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, broke the record for most expensive baseball previously held by Mark McGwire’s 70th home-run ball from the 1998 season, which sold for $3 million in 1999.
The 50-50 ball is currently subject to a legal battle, with an 18-year-old fan suing to stop the auction last month claiming to be its rightful owner.
The auction went ahead after an agreement was reached earlier this month between Goldin and all parties in the Florida lawsuit, according to U.S. media reports.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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