Sale of Ohtani Home Run Ball Now Even More Complicated

UPDATE Oct 3, 2024 3:00 AM CDT

The sale of the baseball Shohei Ohtani hit for his 50th home run this season is now even more complicated after a second lawsuit was filed over ownership of the ball. Joseph Davidov claims in his suit that was able to "firmly and completely grab the ball in his left hand while it was on the ground, successfully obtaining possession of the 50/50 ball," before an unknown fan jumped over a railing and attacked Davidov, causing the ball to roll out of his grip and away, the AP reports. Named as defendants are Chris Belanski, the man who ultimately walked out of the stadium with the ball; Goldin Auctions, which is trying to sell it for Belanski; Max Matus, who filed the first lawsuit claiming ownership of the ball; and Kelvin Ramirez, who has also claimed ownership.

Sep 27, 2024 6:47 AM CDT

The baseball Shohei Ohtani hit to earn his 50th home run this season, making the LA Dodger the only player in the "50-50 club"—50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in one season—was set to go on the auction block Friday, with an opening bid of $500,000. There's a wrench in those plans now, however, after a teen filed suit to stop the sale, claiming he was the one who originally retrieved the ball, until someone else wrested it away.

• The suit: Lawyers for Max Matus say their client was the one at the Sept. 19 game between the Dodgers and Miami Marlins who first got the ball after Ohtani hit it, and they've filed a complaint in Florida against auction house Goldin; Chris Belanski, the fan who ended up leaving the stadium with the ball; and another individual in charge of marketing the ball, per cllct.
• Wrongful possession? Per the suit, Matus was at the game to celebrate his 18th birthday with some of his dad's colleagues and scrambled for the homer ball, along with others (apparent video here). The complaint notes Matus was able to "firmly grab the ball in his left hand, successfully obtaining possession," but that Belanski then "wrapped his legs around Max's arm and used his hands to wrangle the ball out of Max's hands, stealing the ball for himself." Belanski was the one who had the ball authenticated by MLB before leaving the stadium.

• Ruling: In an emergency hearing Thursday, a Miami-Dade County judge decided the auction can begin as planned, but that Goldin "will not sell, conceal, or transfer" the ball until after a hearing on Oct. 10, per the AP. Matus had sought a jury trial, accusing Belanski of battery.
• Goldin: The auction house says the sale will indeed kick off Friday, after examining photo and video evidence from the game. "While Goldin has been named as a party in the case, there are no allegations of wrongdoing by the company," Goldin says in a statement, per the Athletic. "We are excited to bring this item to the market."
• Team Matus: "Matus has suffered irreparable harm because of the nature of the unique, irreplaceable" ball, the suit alleges. Meanwhile, Greg Matus says of his son, per cllct: "He's not an aggressive person. He was a kid at a baseball game trying to catch a ball."

(More Shohei Ohtani stories.)