The auction for Shohei Ohtani’s potentially valuable 50th home run ball can continue while a legal dispute over who owns the money from it is still going on.
Chris Belanski is the person who walked away from the stadium with the historic baseball after catching it in the left field stands at loanDepot Park in Miami. Max Matus and Joseph Davidov both say in separate lawsuits that they grabbed the ball first.
Attorney John Uustal, who represents Matus, confirmed on Monday that everyone involved agreed to let the auction move forward. An evidentiary hearing that was set for October 10 has been canceled.
“The parties have agreed that there’s no uncertainty the auction will happen,” Uustal said. “There was a certain amount of momentum and reality surrounding our decision. It took some compromise, but we believe it’s the best move.”
Bidding for the baseball through Goldin Auctions is currently at $1.5 million, but the winner would pay $1.83 million after adding fees. The agreement made on Monday was partly to reassure potential bidders that they would be able to keep the baseball without facing legal issues.
Bids will be accepted until October 22.
ESPN was the first to report updates on the case. Uustal stated that no new hearings have been scheduled.
Ohtani made history by becoming the first player in baseball to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, achieving this milestone on September 19 with his homer against the Marlins in Miami.
Matus’ lawsuit claims that he, a Florida resident celebrating his 18th birthday, caught the Ohtani ball before Belanski took it from him. The presentation on October 10 was supposed to include video of the scramble for the ball in the stands.
