Auction for Shohei Ohtani’s 50/50 home run ball will continue amid lawsuit

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s 50/50 home run ball has reportedly been consigned to collectibles marketplace Goldin, and an auction for the coveted piece of MLB history is reportedly set to begin Friday despite a last-minute legal challenge.

Mere hours after the auction announcement, attorneys for 18-year-old Max Matus filed a lawsuit against Goldin, the person who got the home run ball, Chris Belanski, and Belanski’s friend who’s marketing the ball, Kelvin Ramirez, claiming that Matus is the rightful owner of the ball and lost it due to civil battery, according to Cllct Media.

This suit was reportedly filed in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Dade County, Florida. Matus’s lawyer told ESPN late Thursday that the circut court judge will allow the auction to continue, but the judge also scheduled a full evidentiary hearing in October and prohibited the ball from being sold before that date.

Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin said that the consigner, who is choosing to remain anonymous, was offered an unconfirmed amount of money for the historic ball by the Dodgers but chose to auction it instead.

“This was one of the easiest [consignments] ever,” Goldin told ESPN. “Ohtani [hits 50] on Thursday, literally Friday we heard from the guy, he contacted Goldin on his own through social media, flew a security guard down to Miami on Monday with a representative from Goldin, met him, flew back Monday.”

Shohei became the only player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season on Sept. 19, after hitting three homers and stealing two bases in a matchup against the Miami Marlins.

[Related: How Shohei Ohtani, without half his powers, rewrote MLB history again and went 50/50]

Those seeking to acquire this piece of history will have to dig deep into their pockets, as the opening bid with Goldin, now owned by eBay, is reportedly $500,000.

Details on the auction state that prospective buyers “will have a chance to purchase the baseball outright for $4,500,000 exclusively between September 27 to October 9. If bidding reaches $3,000,000 prior to October 9 however, the option to purchase privately will no longer be available, and interested parties must compete and bid for the baseball.” 

Extended bidding will begin at 10 p.m. ET on October 16.

Goldin understands what a hot commodity the historical ball is, and believes auctioning it as soon as possible is the best option.

“My viewpoint was that the auction route as quickly as possible was the best,” Goldin said. “It’s timely; the Dodgers going to the playoffs, Ohtani is easily going to be the Most Valuable Player, let’s do this while Ohtani is on everybody’s mind — and, what was also very important to the consigner, is the worldwide and global reach that both Goldin and eBay have. It’s certainly possible someone outside the United States is going to win this baseball.”

According to ESPN, the current record paid for a baseball is $3.05 million for Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball in 1999 by comic book creator and McFarlane Toys empire magnate Todd McFarlane.

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