Young Fan Sues to Stop Potential Sale of Shohei Ohtani’s 50th Home-Run Ball

A week has now passed since Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hit his milestone 50th home run on Sept. 19. However, the saga of Ohtani’s milestone home run ball appears to have just begun.

Eighteen-year-old Max Matus has sued to block the potential sale of the ball via auction, claiming that he is its rightful owner and that he had the ball forcibly wrested from his possession. The suit appeared in court records Thursday and was reported upon by cllct and ESPN.

“We are aware of the case that has been filed,” a spokesperson for Goldin Auctions—a defendant in the lawsuit—said. “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. While Goldin has been named as a party in the case, there are no allegations of wrongdoing by the company.”

Goldin is scheduled to put the ball up for option Friday for no lower than $500,000.

Ohtani hit his 50th home run during a 20–4 Dodgers win over the Miami Marlins, making him the first player ever to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in one season. He went an astonishing 6-for-6 in the game with three home runs, driving in 10 of Los Angeles’s 20 runs in one of baseball’s all-time great individual performances.

In addition to Goldin, Matus’s lawsuit names Chris Belanski and Kelvin Ramirez. Belanski emerged with the ball and in tandem with Ramirez has signaled plans to sell it.