
If you have tickets to an outfield seat in the upcoming World Series, good luck. Catching home run balls hit by baseball’s first 50/50 player, Shohei Ohtani, is like hitting the lottery.
The auction for the home run ball that was his 50th in the regular season ended Tuesday night, going for a record $4.392 million. The final bid was $3.6 million, and when the 22% buyer’s premium was added, the final sale price was reached.
It is the most expensive baseball in history, topping the $3.005 million that was spent on Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball hit in 1998. The 62nd home run that Aaron Judge hit in 2022 to set an American League record sold for $1.5 million. On August 7, 2007, Barry Bonds hit his 756th career home run, breaking Hank Aaron’s record, and that ball sold for $752,467.
An Ohtani World Series home run ball probably won’t go for more than $4 million, but it will have value.
Shohei Ohtani Game 1 Home Run
There is also value in betting on Ohtani to hit a home run in Friday’s Game 1. He is paying +215 to hit one home run in the game, and that payout jumps to +1500 if he hits two home runs.
He hit three home runs in the same game that he hit No. 50. But only two other times this season did he hit more than one home run in a game.
Series Home Run Leader
Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge is the favorite to hit the most home runs in the World Series, paying +260. But Ohtani isn’t too far behind him at +300. In the Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Ohtani hit just a single home run. Against the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series, Ohtani hit two home runs.
Judge also hit two home runs in the League Championship Series, and he hasn’t hit more than two home runs in a postseason series since he hit three in the 2017 ALCS.
Ohtani vs. Judge
Instead of betting on Ohtani to lead the entire World Series, which also means he needs to outslug players like Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto, and Mookie Betts, you can just place a bet on who hits more between Ohtani and Judge.
They are paying even odds: -115 for a bet on Ohtani, and -115 for a bet on Judge.
If you want to place a bet on most total bases in the World Series and not just home runs, Ohtani is favored over Judge, paying -128 to +104 for the Yankees star.
Other Ohtani Props
Ohtani’s 59 stolen bases this season is 31 more than anyone else in the series. He is the obvious favorite to lead the World Series in stolen bases, paying +165.
Ohtani led the Dodgers with 130 RBI in the regular season, and he has 10 RBI this postseason. Judge had 144 RBI in the regular season, and Stanton is New York’s postseason RBI leader at 11. To finish the World Series with the most RBI, Judge and Stanton are tied at +400, and Ohtani is just behind them at +425.
For total hits in the World Series, Mookie Betts is the +425 favorite, followed by Ohtani at +450.
Ohtani MVP Favorite
Ohtani is the pre-World Series MVP favorite, paying +230. Judge is second at +500. It is important to note that in the last 10 World Series, only twice has the pre-series favorite gone on to win MVP – Madison Bumgarner in 2014 and Corey Seager last year.
Ohtani is the favorite, but there is good value further down the board with Stanton at +800, Betts at +900, and Tommy Edman, the NLCS MVP, paying +2500.

With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.