Max Matus, a young baseball enthusiast, is not about to let go easily of a prized possession – Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball. The ball that marked Ohtani’s impressive milestone is now at the center of a legal battle, with Matus taking legal action to halt its upcoming auction, set to kick off on Friday with bids starting at a hefty $500,000.
Matus claims that the ball, currently in the possession of fellow fan Chris Belanski, was unlawfully snatched from him during a game at loanDepot Park in Miami on September 19. According to Matus’s lawsuit filed in Florida, he had firmly secured the ball in his left hand when Belanski allegedly forcefully grabbed it away from him, with the assistance of his friend Kelvin Ramirez.
Despite Matus’s efforts to stop the auction and secure the ball in a neutral location until a resolution is reached, Goldin Auctions, the New Jersey-based auction house handling the sale, is determined to proceed. The court denied Matus’s request for a temporary restraining order, allowing the auction to move forward as scheduled.
Goldin Auctions, in response to the lawsuit, confirmed their intention to proceed with the sale, citing their review of the case and publicly available game footage. The legal battle will continue in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County as Matus’s legal team fights for a share of the proceeds should they win the case before the auction’s conclusion on October 16.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Goldin Auctions, Ken Goldin, revealed that Belanski had swiftly reached out to them the day after Ohtani’s record-breaking game to organize the auction. Despite a tempting $300,000 offer from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Belanski opted to turn it down in favor of the auction, setting the stage for a potentially lucrative sale.
The auction of Shohei Ohtani’s monumental 50th home run ball kicks off with a “buy-it-now” price of $4.5 million available until October 9. Should bids reach $3 million before that date, the buy-it-now option will be removed, paving the way for an intense bidding war leading up to the auction’s closure.
With interest soaring and the legal drama unfolding, the sale of Ohtani’s significant sports memorabilia promises to captivate collectors, baseball aficionados, and legal enthusiasts alike. The outcome of the legal dispute will be closely monitored as the auction progresses, adding an intriguing layer to the high-stakes proceedings. Get ready with your bids at Goldin Auctions!
