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The Dodgers handed out Shohei Ohtani bobbleheads at Thursday’s game
40,000 were produced, 1,700 of which were a special variant
They’re reselling for $300 to $1,200
During Thursday night’s game against the Reds, the L.A. Dodgers prepared a special event for their fans. It was a “Bobblehead Night”, and the main star was Shohei Ohtani. 40,000 fans would receive a unique collectible, and a select few would be lucky enough to walk out with a “gray jersey” Ohtani bobblehead. These are the real stars on the night, and resellers that managed to snag one are now flipping them for three or four times what their ticket cost. Let’s take a look.
It’s been a few months now, but the sting of seeing Shohei in a Dodgers uniform is still a little too raw. If you’re a Dodgers fan, good for you, but for the rest of us it’s like watching Luke turn to the Dark Side in real time. At least the Yankees didn’t get him.
And even if you don’t give a hoot about baseball, you’ve probably heard about Shohei Ohtani. He’s easily the most important player in the sport right now, potentially in any modern sport. His $700 million deal with the Dodgers is the biggest in baseball history, and it seems like the merch sales alone will pay it off in no time.
The Dodgers are holding various “Bobblehead Nights” at home games all throughout May. We’ve got Will Smith (the white one), Mookie Betts, and of course, Sho-time.
The first 40,000 fans through the gates at any of these Bobblehead Nights will receive a bobblehead of that night’s player. On Thursday, it was Shohei Ohtani.
Now, this is a big deal for a few reasons. For one, it’s Shohei; anything collectible with his name or face on it commands a premium, and these are no exception.
Perhaps more importantly, this is Shohei’s first bobblehead as a Dodger. If his 10 year deal holds up, it’ll likely be the first of many, and will always be the most valuable to a collector. This is not something any fan wanted to miss out on.
Unlike other promotional events, you did not need to buy a special ticket to receive a Shohei Ohtani bobblehead. Any ticketholder was eligible as long as they got in early enough. Thursday night’s game drew a season-record attendance of more than 53,000, so there were plenty who left emptyhanded.
What most fans didn’t know going in is that there was more than one bobblehead being given out. Of the 40,000 distributed, 1,700 of them were Shohei Ohtani “Gray Jersey” Bobbleheads.
As you can guess, these feature Shohei wearing the Dodgers’ gray road jersey instead of their usual home whites. The 1,700 is a reference to Shohei’s number 17, which he’s been wearing for years.
Otherwise the packaging, pose, expression, and details are identical to the standard white bobbleheads. You’d have to know what you’re looking for to tell the difference. Fortunately baseball fans are notoriously anal-retentive.
As far as we can tell, these bobbleheads started flipping before the game was even over. Several Redditors claimed after Thursday night’s game they were offered money by other fans for their bobbleheads.
Chances are that anyone who sold early made a bad call. Right now, Dodgers Shohei Ohtani Bobbleheads are reselling for upwards of $300. These are the standard variants that were handed out to most of the 40,000 fans who received a bobblehead.
If you chose to flip your bobblehead on eBay after the game you were able to pay for your ticket. But wait, things get even better.
Gray Jersey Shohei Ohtani Bobbleheads are reselling for an average price over $1,000 at the moment. Outside of the fanciest seats or a really outrageous tab at the stadium bar, flipping one of these will come out to a net profit. Getting paid to attend a Dodgers game is a pretty good deal in our opinion, especially if they lose.
This isn’t the first time Ohtani merch has gone for crazy prices. Last fall, Coors produced commemorative cans of their signature beer with a small black spot that referenced an incredible drive by Shohei.
Expect to see more bobbleheads and merch releases coming soon. Shohei Ohtani is the definition of generational talent, and we’re sure the Dodgers will be milking him (consensually) for all the years to come.
And if you want to start doing some milking (consensually) yourself, subscribe to our newsletter. We covered a similar promotion by the Braves around this time last year, and resellers were able to rake in some serious profits as well.
Expect to see these blow up on TikTok
Start calling your local Cinemark
