Judge denies attempt to stop auction of Ohtani 50/50 ball

Following a Florida judge's ruling on Thursday, Goldin Auctions will move forward with its scheduled auction of the coveted Shohei Ohtani 50/50 home run ball.

Max Matus, an 18-year-old fan who says he is the rightful owner of the ball, filed a civil lawsuit on Wednesday seeking an injunction to stop the auction, which is scheduled to open on Friday.

Matus' attorney, John Uustal, said Thursday the auction would begin Friday, but the judge had scheduled a full evidentiary hearing for Oct. 10 and the Ohtani ball could not be sold before that date.

“The judge asked us to find a solution,” Uustal, of the Kelley-Uustal law firm in Florida, told ESPN. “We asked for an injunction and said, 'If the ball is sold, there is no way to put the horse back in the stable and make it disappear' – and it would cause irreparable harm, so we want to stick to that.” Status quo.

Uustal said the auction house wanted to start the auction on Friday and keep the planned end date of October 16, but that the judge was prepared to hold a full hearing before the auction ended.

“So as long as it was absolutely clear until after that hearing that the ball actually couldn't be sold – which is now the case by court order – we were OK with that,” Uustal said. “So I think everyone is protected now. The court will make its decision based on our evidence on October 10.”

A spokesperson for Goldin told ESPN that the auction house is “very pleased to bring this item to market.”

The Matus lawsuit alleges that Chris Belanski “illegally and forcibly” obtained possession of the ball from Matus in the stands and that Belanski and Kelvin Ramirez hinted on social media about their plans to sell the ball. Belanski and Ramirez are both named in the lawsuit.

Matus' lawsuit states that on September 19, he was at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, celebrating his 18th birthday and recording the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins on his cell phone when Ohtani received his 50th home run scored. The suit says he was standing at the fence in left field when he saw the ball coming toward him. When he tried to retrieve it, he “successfully” grabbed it in his left hand and wanted to keep it, the suit says.

Matus says “a muscular, older man” then “trapped his arm between his legs and ripped the 50/50 ball from Max's left hand.” The lawsuit says Matus was the rightful owner of the ball before Belanski “forcibly took” him away.

“If defendants are permitted to sell the 50/50 Ball, plaintiff will suffer irreparable harm because the 50/50 Ball is a unique, one-of-a-kind item that cannot be replaced. Once the 50/50 ball is sold, “Plaintiff likely will not be able to recover it and no monetary damages will be sufficient to replace it,” the lawsuit states.

Video of the moment the ball landed in the stands was posted on social media.

Belanski and Ramirez could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit requested that the ball be kept in a secure location agreed upon by both parties pending the outcome of the litigation.

The opening bid on Goldin, now owned by eBay, is $500,000.

Ohtani is the only player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season. He hit three home runs and stole two bases in the same game against the Marlins on September 19, making baseball history.