The last game of the National League Championship Series was record-breaking in more than one way! Ohtani smashed his third homer of the game during the same outing in which he started on the mound and struck out 10 batters. A Santa Fe Springs man walked away from Game 4 of the National League Championship Series with Shohei Ohtani’s third home run ball. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime souvenir from what many are calling one of the greatest postseason performances in MLB history.
Longtime Los Angeles Dodgers fan, David Flores, was in the right place at the right time, and now he could soon be a multi-millionaire. For Flores, a professional boxing coach from Santa Fe Springs, the catch has been nothing short of life-changing, and he’s now hoping to cash in on the historic piece of memorabilia.
“I knew it was going to ricochet off the people in front of me for some reason; my intuition told me that. When it did, I stayed nice and calm, and I caught the ball like a baby and just gripped it nice and tight,” Flores said. “I looked around me, and everybody was so happy and thrilled about what happened.”
How much is the baseball worth?
According to Michael Keys, the COO at SCP Auctions, the baseball could be worth several million dollars.
“The market will tell us, but my initial estimation on that ball, due to the historic relevance of what happened on Friday night. I think it’s three, four, five million dollars plus,” said Keys. “It was the most historic, I think, single player performance in any baseball game, let alone an NCLS-clenching game.”
When will the baseball be auctioned off?
Keys also explained that before Flores can see any money, experts will need to verify the footage showing him making the catch. A forensic team working with the auction company will handle the authentication, followed by a lie detector test, and only then can the ball hit the market.
Flores said he is hoping to build generational wealth for his family. He also wants to meet Ohtani and the rest of the team.
What’s next for the LA Dodgers?
With three home runs and 10 strikeouts, Shohei Ohtani carried the Dodgers back to the World Series for the second straight year! Angelenos, get ready to see the Commissioner’s Trophy brought home for the second year in a row.