Who Will Buy Shohei Ohtani's Jersey Number 42... Must Ask at Least 100 Million Won

'Ohtani Autographed No. 42 Uniform'
"Bidding Will Quickly Increase as Much as Ohtani's Home Run Count"

Shohei Ohtani, a Japanese baseball star active in Major League Baseball (MLB), is running after hitting a double in the first inning during the U.S. mainland opening game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on the 28th of last month (local time). [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani (29, Los Angeles Dodgers) had the uniform he wore on last year's "Jackie Robinson Day" put up for auction.

US sports and entertainment media outlet TMZ Sports reported on the 11th (KST) that Ohtani's uniform up for auction is expected to sell for around $100,000 (approximately 136 million KRW). The uniform also features Ohtani's autograph.

The Major League Baseball office designates April 16 every year as "Jackie Robinson Day," during which all players wear the number 42 uniform, which has been permanently retired by all MLB teams. Jackie Robinson is recognized as the first Black player in MLB who broke the racial barrier.

Otani's number 42 uniform up for auction. [Image source=SCP Auction homepage]

Ohtani, who wore number 17 with the Los Angeles Angels last year and has kept number 17 after transferring to the Los Angeles Dodgers this year, makes the number 42 uniform he wore especially rare. The media outlet stated, "With three days left until the auction closes, the highest bid is currently $39,000 (about 53.2 million KRW), but the bid amount is expected to rise quickly, just like Ohtani's home run count."

The auction is being held by SCP Auction, a sports specialty auction company based in California, USA. SCP Auction currently also has the ball from Ohtani's 200th combined Japan-US home run, hit on June 24 last year against the Colorado Rockies, up for sale. The current bid for this ball is about $19,000 (approximately 26 million KRW).

Previously, the uniform Ohtani wore during the World Baseball Classic (WBC) game against Australia in March last year was sold for over 160 million KRW. The bidding started at $21,010 (about 28.66 million KRW), but after about 10 days of bidding, the uniform was finally sold for $126,110 (approximately 172 million KRW).