MANILA, Philippines — A Florida teenager has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Friday’s auction of Shohei Ohtani’s 50-50 home run ball, claiming he is the rightful owner of the prized baseball collectible which is tipped to fetch millions when it goes under the hammer.
Max Matus, 18, says in a lawsuit that he successfully snaffled the ball after Ohtani blasted it into the stands at loan Depot Park last week to become the first player in history to rack up 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season. Bidding for the ball starts at $500,000.
However, Matus alleges the ball was wrestled off him by two fellow spectators, Chris Belanski and Kelvin Ramirez, who have put the collectible up for sale through auction house Goldin.