The online auction for Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball has only four days left, with the highest bid currently at $1.8 million.
This auction is facing some legal issues. Christian Zacek walked out of Miami’s LoanDepot Park with the ball after getting it in the left-field stands. Max Matus and Joseph Davidov each claim they were the first to grab the ball in separate lawsuits.
Ohtani made history by being the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, reaching this milestone on September 19 when he hit his second of three homers against the Marlins.
Zacek was initially identified as Chris Belanski in the lawsuits. Matus’ updated lawsuit, which was obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, now lists Zacek as the defendant and removes Goldin Auctions from the case.
“The contract with Goldin to sell the ball is with Christian Zacek,” said Matus’ attorney, John Uustal, in a statement. “It is apparently the same person at the ballpark, who may have been listed as Belanski at the stadium.
“He has been hard to identify and locate since a few days after the game. But regardless, the court now has control over the auction proceeds, and our lawsuit is against Zacek, who signed the contract with Goldin.”
All parties involved in the legal issues have agreed that the auction should continue.
“This agreement provides certainty to potential buyers that the historic 50/50 baseball will be sold free and clear of any legal claims against the future buyer,” Zacek’s attorneys said in a statement.
“We believe that this agreement shows everyone’s recognition of this monumental achievement and will allow the full value of this historic 50/50 baseball to be fully recognized at the auction.”
Matus’ lawsuit claims that he gained possession of the Ohtani ball before Zacek took it away while he was celebrating his 18th birthday. Davidov states in his suit that he was able to “firmly and completely grab the ball in his left hand while it was on the ground, successfully obtaining possession of the 50/50 ball.”
Davidov is seeking more than $50,000 in damages. The winning bid for Ohtani’s ball is at $1.8 million, but the buyer will need to pay nearly $2.2 million after adding fees. The auction ends on Tuesday.
