An 18-year-old has filed a lawsuit over the ownership of the ball Shohei Ohtani made baseball history with when he became the inaugural member of the 50-50 club.
On September 19, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar went where no player has gone before, hitting his 50th homer and stealing his 50th base of the season in a 20-4 win against the Miami Marlins.
The ball had been put up for auction by auctioneers Goldin, with bids starting at US$500,000 and collectors able to purchase it privately outright for US$4.5 million. The auction is set to begin on Friday at noon ET and end October 16.
However, in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Floridaâs 11th Judicial Circuit Court, 18-year-old Max Matus has claimed that he is in fact the rightful owner of the ball and is seeking âa temporary injunctionâ to prevent the âconcealing, absconding with or sellingâ of it.
Matus claims that he went to the Dodgers vs. Marlins game for his 18th birthday and caught the ball, according to the filing.
However, a few seconds later, the filing claims, Christian Zacek â one of the named defendants in the lawsuit as well as Goldin â trapped Matusâ âarm in between his legs and wrangled the 50/50 Ball out of Maxâs left hand.â
The filing adds: âIn so doing, Zacek wrongfully and forcefully obtained control of the ball and was escorted out of the stands by security, with the 50/50 Ball Plaintiff had possessed now in Zacekâs (wrongful) possession.â
The lawsuit includes screenshots from what it claims is video evidence from multiple fans of Zacek ripping the ball from Matusâ grasp before lifting the ball aloft.
Zacek indicated on social media that he intended to sell the ball, per the filing.
When contacted for comment, Matusâ representatives told CNN that the 18-year-old said: âI had the ball in my hand.â
John Uustal, founding partner in the law firm representing Matus, added: âThis is not some scrum on a football field where the law doesnât apply because the players have voluntarily agreed that they are allowed to hit each other. In the stands, once someone has the ball, itâs not legal for someone to take it. Max is a high school kid. It was his birthday. A bigger stronger adult canât take the ball away and pretend itâs his.â
When approached by CNN, a Goldin spokesperson said: âWe are aware of the case that has been filed. The judge in yesterdayâs hearing decided that the auction will continue as scheduled today. We are excited to bring this item to the market. While Goldin has been named as a party in the case, there are no allegations of wrongdoing by the company.â
CNN has contacted Zacekâs counsel for comment.
According to the lawsuit, Matus would be âirreparably harmedâ if the 50/50 ball is able to be sold, as it is a âunique one-of-a-kind item that cannot be replaced.â
âOnce the 50/50 Ball is sold, (Matus) will likely be unable to get it back and no monetary damages will be adequate to replace it.â
The situation bears similarities to what happened with Barry Bondsâ record-breaking 73rd home run ball in 2001.
Alex Popov was the first to get a glove on the ball after it sailed into the stands, but he later claimed in a lawsuit that it was torn from his hand by Patrick Hayashi, who emerged from a scrum of fans with the ball in hand. Hayashi said he found the ball rolling free in the minute-long melee.
In December 2002, a San Francisco judge ordered the two men to sell the ball and split the proceeds. The ball was eventually sold to comic book creator and producer Todd McFarlane who paid US$450,000 for it.