The legend of Shohei Ohtani continues to grow.
The jersey that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar wore in the opening game of the 2025 Tokyo Series broke the record for most expensive jersey worn by a baseball player in the 21st century.
The jersey sold for $2,055,700 in an auction from The Realest, the company said in a press release on Monday, Oct. 19. The uniform featured the first gold MLB logo in the league's history. Ohtani was one of six players in 2025 to wear the Logoman patch, which was given to the winners of the previous campaign's major awards. He won the 2024 National League MVP after becoming the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season. Several of the patches were removed and turned into trading cards, so it is unique that this one remains intact.
The jersey, which was certified by The Realest's authentication program, also has a Tokyo Series patch and the Fernando Valenzuela patch the Dodgers wore that season after they won the 2024 World Series. It was autographed by the MLB superstar in kanji characters to further celebrate his heritage and the culture of the city the 2025 season opener was played in. It was Ohtani's first Major League Baseball game in his home country. He went 2-for-5 with a double in the Dodgers' 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome.
“The greatest collectibles are the ones that capture moments that can never be recreated, and this jersey represents exactly that,” Scott Keeney, also known as DJ Skee, who is the founder and CEO of The Realest, said in a statement. “Ohtani is redefining what’s possible in the collectibles market, and the global response to this jersey reinforces just how significant these historic artifacts have become."
The Realest put the Ohtani jersey on display at ComplexCon in Los Angeles earlier this month alongside the last No. 8 jersey that Kobe Bryant wore in the NBA Finals. The company said that the winner of the auction also received the custom shrine featuring Japanese motifs that the jersey was displayed in.
The previous record for most expensive baseball jersey worn in this century was held by a New York Yankees jersey that Aaron Judge wore in his MLB debut in 2016 when he hit a home run in his first at-bat. That jersey sold for a reported $1.792 million. It last went to auction in July at Sotheby's alongside Derek Jeter's game-worn jersey from "The Dive."
Earlier this year, Ohtani's game-worn and autographed New Balance cleats from the same Tokyo Series game were sold by The Realest for $440,055, making them the highest-selling baseball cleat ever. This number puts the shoes in the same conversation as sneakers worn by Michael Jordan.
Ohtani was the MLB Rookie of the Year in 2018 after he debuted with the Los Angeles Angels. He had two American League MVP seasons with the Anaheim-based team before joining the Dodgers in 2023, shattering history with a 10-year, $700 million deal. He won the National League MVP award twice and has two World Series titles with the Dodgers, and this summer he joined the 300 home run club.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani Dodgers jersey from Tokyo Series makes history