A Florida judge ruled Thursday that Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball will head to auction Friday, as scheduled, following claims the owner of the ball took it from another fan.
Attorneys for 18-year-old Max Matus filed a lawsuit Wednesday after Goldin Auctions CEO Ken Goldin announced the ball would be auctioned, with a starting bid of $500,000.
While the judge in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Dade County denied the attempt to press hold on the auction, the ruling also said the ball cannot be sold until after the next court hearing Oct. 10, according to Andy Slater of FOX Sports 640 South Florida.
The court will allow Matus' attorneys to make their case at that hearing before the auction is scheduled to conclude Oct. 16. If they eventually prevail, Matus could take profits from the sale itself.
The lawsuit, which was filed against Goldin, the owner of the ball, named in the suit as Chris Belanski, and the man marketing the ball, Kelvin Ramirez, alleges Matus is the rightful owner because the ball was taken from him as a result of civil battery.
"We are aware of the case that has been filed," a Goldin spokesperson said earlier Thursday. "Having reviewed the allegations and images included in the lawsuit, and publicly available video from the game, Goldin plans to go live with the auction of the Ohtani 50-50 ball. While Goldin has been named as a party in the case, there are no allegations of wrongdoing by the company."
Goldin initially said it would include a provision that would allow the ball to be purchased immediately for $4.5 million at any point up until Oct. 9 — but the judge's ruling now prohibits such a transaction.
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Matus turned 18 last Thursday and went to the Dodgers-Marlins game with his father's colleagues from a real-estate firm in Miami.
Ohtani, seeking to become the first player to have 50 home runs and 50 steals, hit home run No. 49 in the sixth inning. In the seventh inning, Ohtani crushed the ball to left-center field, where the employees were standing. After the ball was missed by one of his father's co-workers, Max, standing below, went after the ball.
The suit says Matus was able to "firmly grab the ball in his left hand, successfully obtaining possession of the 50-50 ball."
Ohtani currently has 53 homers and 56 steals, with four games remaining in the regular season.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.