### 18-Year-Old Claims Ownership of Historic Shohei Ohtani Baseball in Lawsuit

An 18-year-old is staking a legal claim to ownership of the historic ball from Shohei Ohtani's groundbreaking entry into the 50-50 club. On September 19, Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hit his 50th home run and stole his 50th base of the season during a 20-4 victory over the Miami Marlins, making baseball history.

The ball in question was listed for auction by Goldin Auctioneers with an opening bid of $500,000 and a buy-it-now price set at $4.5 million. The auction is scheduled to start on Friday at noon ET and conclude on October 16.

However, in a recent lawsuit filed in Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit Court, Max Matus, a high school student who attended the Dodgers vs. Marlins game for his 18th birthday, asserts that he is the rightful owner of the ball. Matus is seeking a temporary injunction to prevent the ball from being sold, concealed, or taken away.

According to Matus, he caught the ball during the game, as stated in the lawsuit filing. Moments later, Matus claims that Chris Belanski—one of the three named defendants alongside Goldin and Kelvin Ramirez—trapped his arm and forcibly took the ball from him. The filing further states that security escorted Belanski out of the stands with the ball now in his possession.

The lawsuit includes screenshots purportedly from video evidence showing Belanski wrenching the ball from Matus' hand before triumphantly raising it. The filing also indicates that both Belanski and Ramirez expressed intentions to sell the ball on social media.

When contacted by CNN, Matus' representatives relayed that the teenager said, "I had the ball in my hand." John Uustal, founding partner of the law firm representing Matus, emphasized that the situation is different from a football scrum where physical contact is part of the game. Uustal stated, "In the stands, once someone has the ball, it's not legal for someone to take it. Max is a high school kid, it was his birthday. A bigger, stronger adult can't take the ball away and pretend it's his."

CNN reached out to Goldin for a comment and contacted Belanski's counsel. Attempts to reach Ramirez for comment were unsuccessful.

The lawsuit contends that Matus would be "irreparably harmed" if the ball is sold, labeling it as a "unique one-of-a-kind item that cannot be replaced." It further states that no amount of monetary compensation could make up for the loss of the 50/50 ball.

This case parallels a similar incident involving Barry Bonds’ record-breaking 73rd home run ball in 2001. In that scenario, Alex Popov initially had his glove on the ball but claimed in a lawsuit that Patrick Hayashi wrested it from him in a melee of fans. Eventually, a San Francisco judge ordered both parties to sell the ball and share the proceeds. The ball was sold to Todd McFarlane, known for his work in comic books, for $450,000.