Have you heard about the cheeky $69,420 price tag on a Shohei Ohtani bobblehead on eBay? This unique figure is creating quite a buzz following its giveaway at a Los Angeles Dodgers game. Even with no bids at the moment, the hype for these collectibles is undeniable!
On Wednesday night, the Dodgers distributed around 40,000 Ohtani bobbleheads featuring his dog Dekopin, known as “Decoy.” The rare gold version of the bobblehead drew particularly high resale bids, indicating its popularity among fans.
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While some listings soared into the five-figure range, one gold bobblehead started at under $1,000 and quickly climbed to over $1,100 by midday Thursday.
For those who missed out on the collectible, there was still a memorable moment when Ohtani’s dog “threw” the ceremonial first pitch to him, who then hit a home run in the first inning.
The attendance for the Dodgers vs. Orioles game topped 53,000, significantly higher than the average 48,000 fans the Dodgers see at home—especially impressive for a Wednesday night in August!
Fans started lining up for their bobbleheads as early as 11 a.m. for the 7:10 p.m. game, with about 20,000 eager attendees arriving four hours before the first pitch. Others managed to snag a bobblehead just before game time, reports noted.
There were some puzzling instances where fans collected multiple bobbleheads. A possible explanation? Fans who had tickets for groups might have been able to collect one for each ticket holder, while others could have bought multiple tickets and made several entries to gather more than one bobblehead.
@alannarizzo @realFRG I took my family to the Yamamoto bobblehead game. There were several people ahead of us who scanned their tix, collected their bobble heads (maybe 15-20) each, and left!
— Daddy Mac (@Dodgersfan1974) August 29, 2024
Why Didn’t Every Dodgers Fan Get a Bobblehead?
This season alone, the Dodgers have given away two Ohtani bobbleheads, with the first giveaway back in May generating a similar level of excitement.
Only a few teams, like the Yankees and Phillies, average over 40,000 fans per game, making the Dodgers’ limit of approximately 40,000 giveaways typical. Dodgers president Stan Kasten mentioned in an interview that many corporate sponsors may not be able to cover the cost of more than that.
In essence, while the demand for these bobbleheads is high, the limited supply is standard practice for promotional giveaways.