Japanese baseball player Shohei Ohtani reached an unprecedented 50 home runs and 50 steals in Major League Baseball this season, and his 50th home run was recently sold for a whopping $4.39 million (NT$140 million). Ken Goldin, the founder of the auction company, revealed that the buyer was not an American or a Japanese from Shohei Ohtani’s native country, but a buyer from Taiwan. As soon as the news came out, many people speculated that it was Koo Zhongliang of CITIC Group who has long been interested in baseball or Zhang Guowei of Xingyu Airlines, who sponsors Shohei Ohtani’s home team Dodgers, but the final answer was Youshi Capital, a quantitative trading company located in Taipei 101.
Unprecedented, Shohei Otani surrendered 50-50 epic season
Shohei Ohtani is well known for his two-sword throwing and fighting skills. Although many players were shooting and fighting two-sword styles in their school days, very few have been able to upgrade both skills to the professional level. Shohei Ohtani is one of the few, and he is at the top of the league in terms of pitching and hitting. Due to a torn arm ligament, Ohtani Shohei gave up his full-time pitching this season and posted an unprecedented record of 54 home runs, 59 steals, 197 hits, and 130 RBIs. His OPS+ of 190 means that he exceeds 90% of the players in the league.
The difficulty with 50-50 steals is that power players who are typically capable of 50-bombs aren't as nimble on baserunning speed. The successful run of 50 steals also proves Ohtani Shohei's superior explosive power.
Shohei Ohtani has also advanced to the World Series with the Dodgers this season, and is about to face the New York Yankees, who are well known to Taiwanese fans, and vows to win the championship. Shohei Ohtani went 6-6 against the Marlins on September 19th (U.S. time) (all six at-bats were hits), and had three homers in a single game. One of them is the record-breaking commemorative goal of 50 home goals and 50 steals, which is also the protagonist of this article.
Youshi Capital issued a statement: The AI system decided to take the commemorative ball
Although the auction company Goldin Auctions said it would announce the buyer information after the World Series, discussions have already started on the Internet. Japanese entrepreneur Yusuke Tanaka shared the auction process in his Youtube video and said that he really tried his best.
On Friday evening, Youshi Capital issued a statement:
"Excellent Capital focuses on investing in the industry and fulfilling corporate social responsibilities. This record-breaking 50th home commemorative ball is the Holy Grail in the minds of many baseball fans around the world, so we are honored to bring back this historically valuable baseball. Taiwan, sharing a moment in history.”
And it was revealed that the team’s decision to acquire this meaningful ball was actually based on AI’s price estimation. They stated:
"Our AI system continues to collect and calculate collectible objects in the world and retain beautiful things. In the future, Shohei Ohtani's influence on baseball around the world will continue to rise, and we are convinced that this decision is full of significance."
He also expressed his willingness to cooperate with organizations in Taiwan and Japan to arrange for the ball to be exhibited for public welfare.
Taiwan's top high-frequency program trader, U Style Capital is rumored to be making more than NT$200 million in monthly profits
In fact, Youshi Capital is not an unknown company. Its business is mainly program trading. It is headquartered in Taipei 101 and has 13 trading offices on three continents around the world. The well-known financial podcast Stock Cancer has stated several times in the program that Youshi Capital is Taiwan's top trading company. Its business covers stocks, futures options, individual stock periods, ETF subscription arbitrage, hedging, quantification, momentum and other strategies.
The characteristic of Youshi Capital is that it only uses its own funds for transactions and has never raised funds from outside. According to the official website, the company's annual trading volume is equivalent to the total trading volume of all customers of a medium-sized securities firm, or equivalent to the trading volume of the self-operated departments of the top three securities firms.
This article "AI decided to take the commemorative ball" Taiwan's top program trader purchased the 50th commemorative ball of Shohei Ohtani for NT$140 million. It first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.