Matus, a devoted 18-year-old baseball enthusiast, has ignited a legal showdown by filing a lawsuit to impede the upcoming auction of Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball. The fervently sought-after baseball, recognizing Ohtani’s remarkable milestone, is anticipated to incite bidding wars starting at an impressive $500,000.
The crux of the conflict lies in Matus’s contentions that, during a fateful game at loanDepot Park in Miami on September 19, the ball was unjustly snatched from his possession by another fan, Chris Belanski. Matus affirms that he originally secured the ball, proudly clutching it with his left hand to commemorate his 18th birthday when Belanski purportedly resorted to physical force to seize it from him. In a bid to prevent the auction, Matus has petitioned for the ball to be safeguarded in a mutually agreed secure location until the courts render a verdict.
Undeterred by legal entanglements, Goldin Auctions, the esteemed New Jersey-based auction house handling the sale of the coveted baseball, remains resolute in their decision to proceed with the auction. Despite Matus’s plea for a temporary restraining order being rebuffed by a Miami judge, Goldin Auctions stands firm in their plan to initiate the auction as scheduled.
In response to the lawsuit, Goldin Auctions released a statement to ESPN declaring their intent to launch the auction for the Ohtani 50th home run ball after careful review of the case’s details and publicly available game footage. The 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County has granted Matus’s legal team an opportunity to argue their case before the auction’s conclusion on October 16, raising the possibility of Matus receiving a portion of the proceeds from the ball’s sale.
Ken Goldin, the CEO of Goldin Auctions, divulged that Belanski swiftly reached out to the auction house the day following Ohtani’s monumental achievement to arrange the auction. Notably, a bid of $300,000 from the Los Angeles Dodgers was turned down by Belanski in favor of the auction route, according to reports from Fox Sports 640’s Andy Slater.
The auction will commence with a tempting “buy-it-now” price tag of $4.5 million, open for acquisition until October 9. Should bids reach the $3 million threshold prior to this deadline, the buy-it-now option will be rescinded, fueling the competitive bidding process that will persist until October 16. As the auction unfolds, Matus’s legal pursuit adds a captivating layer to the unfolding narrative of one of the year’s most momentous sports memorabilia auctions, captivating attention from collectors, baseball admirers, and legal pundits alike.
The stage is set for an exhilarating showdown as fervent bidders maneuver to acquire a piece of baseball history, with the legal wrangle only intensifying the intrigue surrounding the momentous sale of Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball.
