Inside The Dodgers

How Much Do Gold Shohei Ohtani-Decoy Bobbleheads Cost on Ebay?

J.P. Hoornstra|
Aug 28, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) walks through the dugout with his dog Decoy after delivering the first pitch before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 28, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) walks through the dugout with his dog Decoy after delivering the first pitch before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

In this story:

Los Angeles Dodgers

In Roald Dahl’s classic book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the title protagonist finds a golden ticket inside a candy bar wrapper. The ticket entitles him (and four other children who find tickets) to bring their families on a special tour of Willy Wonka's magical factory.

In real life, Charlie would've put the ticket on Ebay.

A Wonka-like scene played out at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday when the team gave away promotional bobbleheads featuring star Shohei Ohtani and his dog, Decoy, to the first 40,000 fans in attendance for the Dodgers' 7 p.m. game against the Baltimore Orioles.

More than eight hours before the first pitch, the line of fans waiting to enter the stadium nearly stretched out to the intersection of Vin Scully Ave. and Stadium Way:

Was it worth the wait?

In terms of dollars and cents, the answer is yes — at least, if you were lucky enough to snag one of the limited-edition golden bobbleheads. As of Thursday morning, the highest asking price on Ebay for a golden Shohei Ohtani/Decoy bobblehead was $20,000.

The picture of the $20,000 item from Ebay user sefor_92 depicts the golden bobblehead reflecting the sun's glare in a nearly empty Dodger Stadium. That suggests the seller indeed was among those who lined up early to get their bobblehead on Wednesday.

Too rich for your blood? Check out the identical $18,000 version, $17,000 version, or the $16,999 version. One seller listed a golden bobblehead for less than $1,000. That item had more than 1,000 views and three bids within 12 hours after Wednesday's first pitch.

It seems the unpopular choice among Dodger fans was to keep the bobblehead for themselves.

The bobbleheads were limited to the first 40,000 in attendance. Most were not coated in gold. But as the Ebay listings demonstrate, some among the announced crowd of 53,290 appeared to leave Wednesday's game with more than one bobblehead. Perhaps they came with one more than one family member.

Not for nothing, fans who missed out on the bobblehead giveaway were able to watch the Dodgers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-4. Not only did Ohtani lead off the game with a home run, he caught the ceremonial first pitch — from Decoy.

Every bobblehead has a price, whether you waited in line or bought it on Ebay.

But watching a dog fetch a baseball? Priceless.

Published
J.P. Hoornstra
J.P. HOORNSTRA

J.P. Hoornstra is an On SI Contributor. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers in California, J.P. covered MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Angels (occasionally of Anaheim) from 2012-23 for the Southern California News Group. His first book, The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All-Time, published in 2015. In 2016, he won an Associated Press Sports Editors award for breaking news coverage. He once recorded a keyboard solo on the same album as two of the original Doors.

Share on XFollow jphoornstra
Home/News