Ohtani's 50th home run ball ownership dispute broke out, the man who filed a lawsuit "He took away the ball I caught"
Sep 27, 2024
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ESPN said on the 27th (Korea time) that a fan who claims to be the real owner of Otani's 50-50 Home Run Ball filed a civil suit asking him to stop the auction of the ball that is about to begin '18-year-old Max Matters filed a lawsuit today in Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit Court seeking a temporary restraining order against auctioneer Goldin Auctions. Goldin is due to start a closed bid for the ball tomorrow, it reported.
On the 20th, Ohtani reached his 50th home run of the season by hitting a two-run homer to left-center in the top of the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida, and achieved a historic 50 home runs to 50 steals.
A dispute over ownership of the home run ball arose at a time when a male fan who picked it up at the time refused the $300,000 offered by the Dodgers and decided to contact Goldin to auction it. It is said that there are two people who are known to have asked Goldin for an auction, or the owner of the Home Run Ball.
ESPN said the lawsuit against Chris Vellanski and Kelvin Ramirez shows Vellanski obtained the ball by denying and coercing Matter from the stands. Velanski and Ramirez have said on social media that they plan to sell home run balls'
Asked by ESPN about the lawsuit, Goldin said in a press release that he was aware of the lawsuit. As a result of reviewing the contents, photos, and video of the game released in the lawsuit, we will proceed with Ohtani's 50-50 home run ball auction as planned. Our company's name appears in this lawsuit, but there is nothing Goldin did wrong.' This means that the two men who requested the auction decided that there was no problem with the ownership of the home run ball and Goldin's auction process.
According to ESPN, Matter visited Rondipo Park for his 18th birthday on the day of the game, and recorded Ohtani's 50th home run while recording the game on his mobile phone. It is claimed that Matter was standing near the left fence and caught the ball legally with his left hand after seeing that Ohtani's ball was coming toward him.
However, a muscular adult man put Matter's arm between his legs and stole the home run ball. So the ball is legally owned by Matter until Vellanski is taken away.
The lawsuit 'If the defendant can sell a 50-50 home run ball, the plaintiff will suffer irreversible damage because the ball is an irreplaceable and unique object. According to ESPN, if the ball is sold, the plaintiff is very unlikely to get it back and no financial damage can replace it.
According to ESPN, the ball is being kept in a safe place with the agreement of the litigants, and the trial schedule has not yet been released.
ESPN said the previous day 'Goldin's bid for this home run ball is $500,000. Those who want to purchase will have the opportunity to purchase it exclusively for $4.5 million (about W6 billion) from Sept. 28 to Oct. 10. However, if the $3 million mark is reached before Oct. 10, the closed-door bid will no longer be valid and stakeholders will have to compete publicly for the Home Run Ball. The auction will then run until 1 p.m. on Oct. 16,' it said.
If someone calls $4.5 million by October 10, the auction will end as it is, but if not, the auction will be extended by one week due to competition among those who have paid more than $3 million. If someone says they will buy the ball for $4.5 million, they can set a record for the highest home run ball price ever.
jhno@sportschosun.com
