Attorney aims to stop auction for Shohei Ohtani's 50/50 ball
Believing he has a strong case, the attorney for the 18-year-old who claims he grabbed Shohei Ohtani's 50th home run ball first aims to stop the auction for the historic piece of sports memorabilia until the lawsuit has been resolved.
During a matchup against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19, the two-way Japanese superstar became the first person in Major League Baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. When Ohtani blasted his 50th homer, sending a shot over the left field wall, pure chaos ensued, with every nearby fan trying to be the lucky one to snag the historic item.
According to a lawsuit filed by John Urstal, Chris Belanski ended up possessing the baseball but only after he took it away from 18-year-old Max Matus.
"Max successfully grabbed the 50/50 ball in his left hand and intended to keep it," the lawsuit stated. "Unfortunately, a few seconds later, defendant Belananski — a muscular older man — trapped plaintiff's arm in between his legs and wrangled the 50/50 ball out of Max's left hand."
While online bidding started at $500,000 on Sept. 27, the sale cannot be finalized until Miami-Dade County Judge Spencer Eig rules on a motion for a temporary injunction.
"What we wanted was to make sure this ball would stay under the jurisdiction of the court and that it could not be sold before the court rules,'' Uustal said.
Matus also hopes a temporary injunction will prevent a sale until after the lawsuit is resolved.
"The normal procedure with a lawsuit is it takes some time — a year, year and a half, sometimes longer — to get to jury and have a jury rule," Uustal said.
