By Reinaldo Oliveros
27 Sep 2024, 08:23 AM EDT
Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball from the 50/50 record will be auctioned after a legal fight. This week Max Matus, the alleged owner of the ball, had filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary injunction to stop the auction, which is scheduled to begin Friday.
The judge ordered a full evidentiary hearing for October 10 so Ohtani’s 50th home run ball cannot be sold before that date.
“We were asking for an emergency precautionary measure, saying: ‘If the ball is sold, there is no way to return the horse to the stable, and there would be irreparable harm, so we want to maintain the status quo,” said John Uustal, attorney for Max Matus.
The auction house wanted to start bidding this Friday, but the judge was willing to have all the hearings before the end of said auction, which would be October 16.
“If defendants are allowed to sell the ball 50/50, plaintiff will suffer irreparable harm.” as the 50/50 ball is a one-of-a-kind item that cannot be replaced. Once the 50/50 ball is sold, Plaintiff will likely be unable to recover it and no monetary compensation will be sufficient to replace it,” the lawsuit reads.
Why was Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run lawsuit started?
Matus’ lawsuit alleges that he was in left field at Miami’s Loan Depot Park recording Ohtani’s 50th home run with his phone. He then explains that he caught the ball, but an older, muscular man ripped the ball out of his hands.
The guys who took the ball away from Matus, Chris Belanski and Kelvin Ramirez, wanted to sell the ball right away. Now she is sheltered in a place awaiting the sentence.
“So, as long as it was absolutely clear that the ball could not be sold, which is now the case, by court order, until after this hearing, so we were okay with that,” Uustal said. “I think everyone is protected now. The court will make its decision based on our evidence on October 10.”
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