18-year-old files lawsuit over ownership of Shohei Ohtani’s historic 50-50 ball, seeks to prevent auction

By Ben Morse, CNN

(CNN) — 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 $500,000 and collectors able to purchase it privately outright for $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 Florida’s 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 “a temporary injunction” to prevent the “concealing, absconding with or selling” 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 – one of the named defendants in the lawsuit as well as Goldin – trapped Matus’ “arm in between his legs and wrangled the 50/50 Ball out of Max’s left hand.” 

The filing adds: “In 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 Zacek’s (wrongful) possession.” 

The lawsuit includes screenshots from what it claims is video evidence from multiple fans of Zacek ripping the ball from Matus’ 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, Matus’ representatives told CNN that the 18-year-old said: “I had the ball in my hand.”

John Uustal, founding partner in the law firm representing Matus, added: “This is not some scrum on a football field where the law doesn’t apply because the players have voluntarily agreed that they are allowed to hit each other. 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.”

When approached by CNN, a Goldin spokesperson said: “We are aware of the case that has been filed. The judge in yesterday’s 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.”

CNN has contacted Zacek’s counsel for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Matus would be “irreparably harmed” if the 50/50 ball is able to be sold, as it is a “unique one-of-a-kind item that cannot be replaced.”

“Once 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.” 

The situation bears similarities to what happened with Barry Bonds’ 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 $450,000 for it.

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Update: This story has been updated to reflect an amended legal filing from Matus, removing the names of a defendant who was dismissed from the suit and another who was misidentified in the initial legal filing.