In the realm of baseball collectibles, where enthusiasts typically vie for mint-condition rookie cards, bats wielded by legends, or autographed baseballs, a new player has magnificently stolen the spotlight — a pair of pants. Yes, you read that right. In an auction that left the sporting world with dropped jaws and emptied wallets, a piece of Shohei Ohtani’s game-worn trousers was clinched for an astronomical $1.07 million. This astonishing sale that unfolded at Heritage Auctions should serve as a stark reminder to baseball fans everywhere to never underestimate the monetary potential of apparel once it graces the body of a sporting demigod.

Why such a feverish fuss over fabric, you might wonder? We’re not talking about your run-of-the-mill khakis. These weren’t simply pants; they were the emblem of history — a wearable token from the game in which Shohei Ohtani etched his name indelibly into Major League Baseball’s ledger of legendary feats. It was in these very trousers that Ohtani achieved the unprecedented milestone of becoming MLB’s first player to amass 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. Pants power, indeed.

The million-dollar memorabilia in question is encapsulated on a Topps Dynasty Black card, which could very well be dubbed the Holy Grail of modern baseball collectibles. This card doesn’t merely capture an image; it narrates a tale of triumph in woven threads. Elegantly inscribed in gold by Ohtani himself, the card boasts a gleaming MLB logo patch, a tangible fragment surgically extracted from those iconic pants.

But the allure doesn’t end there. The anticipation surrounding the buyer’s identity, still withheld from the public’s voracious curiosity, adds a layer of intrigue to the pant-saga. The new owner remains shrouded in mystery, cloaked more securely than the sock-goblin responsible for mismatched pairs around the world.

As fate would have it, this trousered treasure shattered the previous price record for an Ohtani card, which lingered at a modest half-million dollars—a sum fetched by a 2018 rookie card. Evidently, in the realm of collectible riches, it’s not just the legends that thrive but also the laundry left in their wake.

Topps conjured not just one, but three distinct commemorative cards to honor Ohtani’s triumphant 50-50 game, each with its unique charm. Another card, embellished with tags from Ohtani’s batting gloves and an additional slice of pants, auctioned for a “paltry” $173,240 earlier this year. Apparently, for some aficionados, the tactile allure of gear that once touched greatness proves more tantalizing than the allure of trousers.

Chris Ivy, the maestro behind Heritage Auctions’ sports division, couldn’t emphasize enough the historical weight carried by the trousers: “Shohei Ohtani is baseball’s biggest rock star at the moment, and this card captures a genuinely historic moment—plus, people really dig that logo patch.” Interestingly, the card’s rookie-year roots were of no consequence, defying the conventional rookie-card rule that traditionally dominates the collector’s realm.

Such antics are not unfamiliar in the wild world of sports auctions. Just earlier in the month, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes saw his rookie card sell for $1.11 million—a formidable feat, but it lacked the pant-centric pizzazz that only Ohtani’s auction could claim.

For those intrigued by the mechanics of Ohtani’s sport-changing feat, it’s a narrative worthy of epic retelling. Arriving at LoanDepot Park, Ohtani’s stats were impressive but not yet sublime. Sitting comfortably at 48 home runs and 49 stolen bases, he embodied the calm before an inevitable baseball storm. By the time the second inning rolled around, Ohtani had swiped his 50th and 51st bases, an impressive lythe theft akin to a free-for-all at Costco’s sample aisle. And not too much later, in the seventh inning, he deftly turned a dull moment into a dazzling one by sending Marlins reliever Mike Baumann’s less-than-inspired curveball 391 feet, carving his stride into baseball laurels. That legendary homerun ball, if you must know, later fetched a dizzying sum of $4.39 million because, evidently, the depths to which collectors will reach to own a slice of Shohei’s saga seem boundless.

While collectors reconfigure their budgets and strategize on how to bankroll their next want-worthy acquisition, the wider world should brace for the time when socks, shoelaces, or even benign chewing gum wrappers will find their way into the collector’s crucible, validating the adage that in the niche world of baseball collectibles, no item of clothing or memorabilia is too mundane to attain glory. As the dust settles on this historic sale, and bank accounts collectively weep, one can only wonder which piece of sporting history will be next to defy expectations and rewrite the record books.

Shoehei Ohtani 50 50 Card Sells