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A legal dispute arises over Shohei Ohtani's historic home run ball

There is drama surrounding the rightful owner of Shohei Ohtani's historic 50th home run ball.

Last week, the Dodgers slugger made history when he became the first MLB player ever to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season.

The fan who caught the home run ball has since put it up for auction, but a lawsuit has now cast doubt on the ball's rightful owner.

There is a legal dispute over the rightful owner of Shohei Ohtani's historic 50th home run ball. AP

The website Cllct reports that Max Matus, an 18-year-old, has filed a lawsuit against Goldin Auctions, as well as Chris Belanski, the man who left Miami's LoanDepot Stadium with the ball, and Belanski's friend Kelvin Ramirez, who is helping him with marketing.

In the lawsuit, Matus claims the ball was taken from him via civil battery and that he should be declared the rightful owner.

Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a two-run home run, his 50th of the season, in the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park on September 19, 2024 in Miami, Florida. Ohtani is now the first MLB player to hit at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season. Getty Images

Matus' suit says he “successfully” grabbed the home run ball with his left hand before “a muscular, older man” trapped his arm “between his legs” and ripped the 50/50 ball from Max's left hand has. according to ESPN.

Video of the home run showed a fan narrowly missing the catch as a crowd developed beneath him at the Recess Sports Lounge, a quasi-nightclub near the left-field stands.

Matus filed for an injunction to stop the auction, which is scheduled to begin Friday at $500,000 and has a “buy it now” price of $4.5 million.

Goldin told Cllct it intended to continue the auction.

Fans fight over Shohei Ohtani's 50th home run ball. X

“We are aware of the case filed,” a company spokesperson told the outlet. “After reviewing the allegations and images contained in the lawsuit, as well as publicly available video of the game, Goldin plans to launch the Ohtani 50-50 Ball auction live. Although Goldin has been named as a party in the case, there are no allegations of wrongdoing on the part of the company.”

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