Shohei Ohtani’s historic Los Angeles Dodgers jersey from the 2025 Tokyo Series opener shattered 21st-century auction records, selling for $2,055,700 through The Realest. The landmark sale makes the rare piece of memorabilia the most expensive baseball jersey worn by a baseball player in the 21st century.
A Record-Breaking Uniform from Tokyo
The auction price eclipsed the previous benchmark held by Aaron Judge’s 2016 New York Yankees debut jersey, which sold for a reported $1.792 million. Ohtani wore the historic garment on March 18, 2025, during the Dodgers’ 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome. The game marked Ohtani’s first Major League Baseball game in his home country. He finished the contest going 2-for-5 with a double.
Shohei Ohtani's signed jersey from the 2025 Tokyo Series just sold for an eye-popping $2,055,700 at auction 🤯 https://t.co/LnsDROk9Mt
The uniform itself carried several unique physical markers that drove collector interest. It featured the league’s first gold MLB logo in the league’s history. Major League Baseball awarded the Logoman patch to just six players for the 2025 season following major award victories the previous year. Ohtani earned his after claiming the 2024 National League MVP award, a campaign where he became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season.
Ohtani autographed his jersey in kanji characters
While several of the special Logoman patches distributed across the league were subsequently removed and turned into trading cards, Ohtani’s jersey remained entirely intact.
Adding to its cultural significance, the superstar autographed the garment in kanji characters. This deliberate choice honored both his personal heritage and the city the 2025 season opener was played in. Scott Keeney, founder and CEO of The Realest—also known as DJ Skee—noted the unmatched nature of the item in a press release issued on Monday, Oct. 19.
| Player | Team | Milestone Event | Auction Sale Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shohei Ohtani | Los Angeles Dodgers | 2025 Tokyo Series Opener | $2,055,700 |
| Aaron Judge | New York Yankees | 2016 MLB Debut Home Run | $1,792,000 |
Auction house displayed jersey alongside Kobe Bryant item
Before closing the bidding, the auction house placed the Ohtani jersey on public display at ComplexCon in Los Angeles earlier this month. Organizers exhibited it alongside the last No. 8 jersey worn by Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals. According to the auction organizers, the winning bidder also secured a custom shrine featuring Japanese motifs that the jersey was displayed in.
A jersey Shohei Ohtani wore in the Dodgers' Tokyo series last year was just sold at auction for $2,055,700.That means someone paid more for one of Ohtani's jerseys than the Dodgers paid Ohtani this season.($68 million of Ohtani's $70 million annual salary is deferred.)
More on Shohei Ohtani
Someone paid more than $2 million to own a piece of Shohei Ohtani’s homecoming.His jersey from the March 18, 2025 Tokyo Series opener—his first official MLB game in Japan—sold for $2,055,700, including the buyer’s premium.The jersey features his signatures in Japanese and… pic.twitter.com/uDSA3URHHW
