Second fan files lawsuit claiming ownership of Shohei Ohtani’s 50-50 baseball

MIAMI (AP) — The claim to Shohei Ohtani’s potentially lucrative 50th home run ball became more complicated this week when a second fan filed a lawsuit claiming he owned the historic baseball.

According to online records, Joseph Davidov’s most recent lawsuit was filed in the 11th Circuit in Florida. The defendants are Chris Belanski, Kelvin Ramirez, Max Matus and Goldin Auctions. Belanski is the man who left the stadium with the baseball. Matus — who filed the first lawsuit last week — and Ramirez have also claimed ownership of the ball.

Ohtani became the first player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases, reaching that mark on September 19 with his home run in Miami against the Marlins. Bidding for the baseball via Goldin Auctions is currently at $1.464 million.

Due to a ruling related to Matus’ lawsuit, the ball cannot be officially sold until after a hearing scheduled for October 10.

Davidov claims in his lawsuit that he “was able to grasp the ball firmly and completely with his left hand while on the ground, successfully taking possession of the ball 50/50.”

The lawsuit continues: “An unknown fan mistakenly jumped over the railing, jumped on Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s arm, and attacked Plaintiff, causing the 50/50 ball to become dislodged and roll into the hands of Defendant Chris Belanski .”

Davidov is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.

The first lawsuit alleges that Matus, a Florida resident celebrating his 18th birthday, came into possession of the Ohtani ball before Belanski took it away from him. Part of Matus’ lawyer’s presentation on October 10 will be a video of the fight for the ball in the stands.

“Max successfully grabbed the 50/50 ball with his left hand and wanted to keep it,” the lawsuit states. “Unfortunately, a few seconds later, defendant Belanski – a muscular, older man – trapped plaintiff’s arm between his legs and ripped the 50/50 ball out of Max’s left hand.”

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