Shohei Ohtani hit this ball during Round 1 of his majestic 2021 Home Run Derby performance, his first and only Home Run Derby to date. The 2021 American League Most Valuable Player crushed 28 home runs in his quarterfinals performance, falling to Juan Soto in a captivating swing-off after finishing regulation tied at 22 home runs. This ball is mlb authenticated VS907110, which can be entered into the mlb authentication database to see the details of the authentication, which states “Game-Used Ball” and “2021 Homerun Derby Round 1 Out, Shohei Ohtani, ” as well as Autographer Shohei Ohtani 17. Given that the authentication of the autograph was on the same day as the derby itself, this ball was likely one of the few balls Ohtani autographed before the Home Run Derby to be used in the Home Run Derby itself, the idea being that players in the Derby would sign a few balls beforehand and place those balls in the bucket that their pitcher pitched to them, and when they’d hit a ball into the stands for a home run during the Derby, fans who caught the ball would have a cool souvenir ball autographed by the player who hit it. Hence, because not all the balls used in the Derby were autographed by the player beforehand, that makes this ball incredibly unique! Also, the autograph is Ohtani’s complete signature along with his number 17. Since then, Ohtani has only been signing with an abbreviated signature and no longer adds “17″ to his autograph. This ball has multiple scuff marks and grass stains from where the ball hit the field at Coors Field after being clubbed by Ohtani. These marks add significant uniqueness and character to the ball. All in all, this is a remarkable historically significant and very cool ball autographed by Ohtani and hit by Ohtani in his first and only Home Run Derby. Ohtani is arguably the most talented and greatest baseball player who ever played the game, given how he is the only player to ever have a sustained career both pitching at a Cy Young Award level, and hitting at an MVP caliber level. He is a true unicorn, the likes of which we have never seen before and will likely never see again.
Tags: angels, autographed, ball, derby, first, game, home, ohtani, shohei, used
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