Shohei Ohtani’s historic 50th home run ball faces legal battle ahead of auction

A baseball tied to a major milestone in sports history could become one of the most valuable pieces of athletic memorabilia ever sold — if the auction proceeds as planned. Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani made history on Thursday, Sept. 19, when he hit his 50th home run of the season, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to reach both 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season.

Ohtani's historic home run ball is expected to fetch up to $4.5 million when it goes to auction this week. However, 18-year-old Max Matus has filed a lawsuit to stop the auction, claiming he is the rightful owner of the ball.

In his suit, Matus alleges that two men, Chris Belanski and Kelvin Ramirez, "wrongfully and forcefully" took the ball from him after he caught it in the stands. The lawsuit seeks to block the auction and requests that the ball be kept in a secure, mutually agreed-upon location until the litigation is resolved.

Goldin Auctions, the auction house handling the sale, is also named in the lawsuit. In a statement to ESPN, the company said it had reviewed the lawsuit and publicly available video footage from the game and plans to proceed with the auction as scheduled. Meanwhile, a hearing on the matter has still yet to be scheduled.

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