Miami (AFP) – A Florida teenager has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Friday’s auction of Shohei Ohtani’s 50-50 home run ball, claiming he is the rightful owner of the prized baseball collectible which is tipped to fetch millions when it goes under the hammer. Max Matus, 18, says in a lawsuit that he successfully snaffled the ball after Ohtani blasted it into the stands at loanDepot Park last week to become the first player in history to rack up 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season.
However, Matus alleges in the lawsuit that the ball was wrestled off him by two fellow spectators, Chris Belanski and Kelvin Ramirez, who have put the collectible up for sale through auction house Goldin. Matus’s lawsuit, filed in Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit Court, seeks an injunction against Goldin to stop Friday’s auction of the ball from going ahead.
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Goldin, however, said Thursday they have no plans to call off the auction after reviewing the lawsuit and studying footage of the scramble for the ball. “We are aware of the case that has been filed,” Goldin said in a statement quoted by US media. “Having reviewed the allegations and images included in the lawsuit, and publicly available video from the game, Goldin plans to go live with the auction of the Ohtani 50/50 ball.”
Bidding for the ball is due to start Friday at an opening price of $500,000, although buyers have a chance to purchase the ball outright for $4.5 million between September 27 and October 9, according to the listing on the Goldin website. If bidding reaches $3 million before October 9, Goldin will remove the option to purchase it privately, and interested parties must bid for the baseball. The record price for a baseball is $3.05 million paid for Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball of 1998.
“This offered baseball is truly a one-of-a-kind specimen, a crowning piece for any game-used memorabilia collection,” the listing says. Ohtani’s 50th home run of the season came during a spectacular offensive outing for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Marlins in Miami on September 19. He had six hits in six at bats, including two doubles for a total of five extra-base hits. He drove in 10 runs, scored four and stole two bases to help the Dodgers clinch a post-season berth that will mark Ohtani’s first trip to the MLB playoffs.
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