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This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/18/2020
Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani entered the 2018 season with massive expectations and the frequent appellation of “The Japanese Babe Ruth”. He more than lived up to the hype, hitting 22 homers with 61 RBI, a .285 average, and 10 stolen bases in only 326 at-bats and earning American League Rookie of the Year honors. On the mound, Ohtani flashed nasty stuff before an elbow injury forced the former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters ace to focus solely on batting. In 10 starts, Ohtani compiled a 4-2 record with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 51.2 innings.
2019 was another solid season for “The Japanese Babe Ruth” as he finished with a .286 average, 18 home runs and 62 RBI. Offered here is one of the road jerseys Ohtani wore during the 2019 season that has been photo matched to eight games by Sports Investors Authentication. The games include May 11, 14, 15; June 16, July 19, August 9, 10 and 19 where he combined to go 12-for-35 with seven runs scored, five RBI and two walks.
This size 48 Majestic gray button-down jersey features “ANGELS” sewn on across the chest in red, navy, white and gray tackle twill. Ohtani’s number “17” is sewn on the left-center chest in red and navy tackle twill. The Majestic size 48 tag is screen-printed on the bottom front left tail, while an additional Majestic bar code tag is printed vertically on the center front tail that reads “2019 48T S1”. The collar and sleeve ends have a single red piping sewn on, with the left sleeve having a circular Angeles logo patch and the right sleeve having the Angels’ “A” logo patch and the “MLB 150” patch. A special circular memorial patch with “SKAGGS 45” is sewn on the upper left chest in memory of fallen teammate Tyler Skaggs. The back of the jersey has “OHTANI” and his number “17” sewn on in red and navy tackle twill and the plastic MLB logo patch on the upper back neck. The jersey displays moderate game use with clear evidence that this jersey has been worn and washed many times – including puckering on the letters and numbers, along with loose threads. This jersey comes with a LOA from Sports Investors Authentication (191102G5), who have authenticated this jersey and photo matched it to eight games. Additionally, there is an MLB Authenticated hologram (VS001150) which classifies this jersey as Team Issued, a common designation from MLB when collecting items after the season.