An iconic Shohei Ohtani home-run ball that was expected to sell for millions this month ended up netting only six figures.
The baseball — which Ohtani smacked over the fences at Dodger Stadium during his legendary NLCS Game 4 performance in Los Angeles back in October — landed a mere $292,800 when bidding closed on Wednesday night’s auction.
Ken Goldin, who first put the ball on his Goldin block on Dec. 23, said last month he anticipated it going for at least $1 million.
The owner of the ball, David Flores, told The Post he previously turned down a $2 million offer for the memento before he ultimately decided to put it in Goldin’s hands.
Flores did not return The Post’s request for comment on the item’s final sale price.
Goldin auctions said in a statement following the sale that it was still “the highest selling home run baseball of 2025.” Goldin himself added that it’s “truly one of the greatest collectibles in the sport.”
Ohtani slugged the ball Flores’ way on Oct. 17, during the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ series-clinching victory over the Brewers. It marked the third home run of an epic night for the two-way star, who also threw six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts on the mound.
Flores said he was actually asleep when it first cracked off Ohtani’s bat.
“I heard the crowd [cheering],” he told The Post on Dec. 15, “so I look up, and the ball is coming right to me. And I knew from me playing baseball it was going to come my way.
“I was going to play the rebound. That’s how I caught the ball.”
Flores said ensuing offers for the ball were “crazy,” but he decided to hold off on selling it “just to make sure” he made the right choice.
He did note at the time he was at peace with whatever it ended up going for.
“Whatever happens,” he said, “I’ll be in a better place.”
Goldin said in mid-December he thought there was a chance the ball could get to around the $4.4 million mark that Ohtani’s 50th home-run ball fetched in an all-time record on his auction block in 2024.
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“This is a different ball,” Goldin said. “And we’ll see how crazy bidders are, right? Could it top it? It’s possible. Depending how rabid the guys are who want the ball. So we’ll see.”
The second home-run ball that Ohtani hit during the historic game — which many consider the greatest performance by an individual MLB player ever — sold for $270,000 at an auction in November.
