Florida teen files lawsuit, claims he caught Shohei Ohtani 50th home run ball

A Florida man filed a lawsuit Thursday aimed at stopping the planned auction of the ball Shohei Ohtani hit for his 50th home run, claiming it was wrested from him and he is the owner.

Max Matus is seeking an injunction to stop the auction, scheduled to be conducted Friday by Goldin Auctions.

Matus said he was in the crowd at loanDepot Park in Miami, celebrating his 18th birthday on Sept. 19, when the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar hit the historic home run in a 20-4 win over the Marlins. In the game, Ohtani homered three times and stole two bases to become the first player in baseball history to hit the 50-home run/50 stolen base in a season milestone.

In the lawsuit, Matus contends he grabbed the ball in his left hand after it went over the left-field fence. It was briefly in his possession before a man identified as Chris Belanski “wrapped his legs around Max’s arm and used his hands to wrangle the ball out of Max’s hand, stealing the ball for himself.”

The suit names the auction house, Belanski and Kelvin Ramirez, a Belanski friend, as defendants in the case filed in Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Dade County.

The filing includes photos taken by other fans that Matus contends support his claim, including one that shows Belanski showing off the ball in front of a stunned Matus.

Goldin, which has set the opening bid at $500,000 US, told collectible media site cllct it intends to go through with the auction. Anyone who wants to buy the ball outright can do so for $4.5 million until Oct. 9.

“We are aware of the case that has been filed,” a Goldin spokesperson told cllct. “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.”

Matus’s case also asks the court to order the ball be kept in a secure location and to prevent Goldin, Belanski or Ramirez from selling it.

“Max has suffered irreparable harm because of the nature of the unique, irreplaceable 50/50 ball,” the lawsuit reads. “Ohtani is currently the best baseball player in the country, and this ball represents a new record established by Ohtani.

“As a result, there is no adequate remedy at law that can replace this unique and extraordinary 50/50 ball.”

WATCH | Dodgers’ Ohtani 1st player to go 50-50 in MLB history:

Franco charged with sexual abuse of minor

A judge in the Dominican Republic on Thursday ordered shortstop Wander Franco to stand trial on charges of sexual abuse of a minor, per reports.

From his courtroom in Puerto Plata, Judge Pascual Valenzuela ruled there was enough evidence against Franco to warrant a trial. No date was set for what will be a bench trial.

Franco, 23, was two-thirds of the way through an all-star season for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2023 when he was placed on administrative leave last August as officials in the Dominican Republic launched an investigation into allegations of a sexual relationship with a minor. He has not returned to the Rays.

Charges were filed this past July, and the Rays moved Franco to the restricted list, which came without pay. Under an agreement reached with the MLB Players’ Association, Franco would be paid his salary while on administrative leave, but he would not receive any money should he be charged.

According to ESPN, Franco faces up to 20 years in prison for charges of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation against a minor and human trafficking.

He is also under investigation by Major League Baseball.

Franco signed an 11-year, $182-million US contract extension with the Rays in November 2001. He was due to earn $2.45 million in each of 2023 and 2024, with the value rising annually until the yearly pay reached $25.45 million in 2028 and through the life of the contract.

Also Thursday, ESPN reported the father of the girl involved in the case reached an agreement to withdraw a complaint he had filed against Franco. Terms were not disclosed.

Sac fly lifts Tigers to 5th straight win

Justyn-Henry Malloy’s eighth-inning sacrifice fly helped the Detroit Tigers rally from a 3-0 deficit to move closer to the post-season with a 4-3 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon.

“We do believe in what we can accomplish,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Whether that’s magic, whether that’s momentum, whether that’s mojo, whether that’s vibe, whatever, we love it and we want more of it.”

Detroit, which has won five straight, is tied with Kansas City for the second and third American League wildcard spots, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins.

“We’re bringing the energy right now,” said rookie Colt Keith, who drove in two runs and scored another. “We have such a good team. I love this group.”

The Tigers trailed 3-2 with one out in the eighth, but Riley Greene singled off Garrett Cleavinger (7-5) and Matt Vierling drew a walk.

Keith tied the game with an RBI single, bringing up Malloy, the last position player on the Tigers bench — to pinch hit for Kerry Carpenter. He lifted a fly ball to medium centre-field and Vierling easily beat Jose Siri’s throw.

Beau Brieske (4-4) got the win with two innings of relief. Jason Foley pitched the ninth for his 27th save.

Detroit remains at home for three games against the Chicago White Sox, knowing two wins will clinch the franchise’s first post-season spot in 10 years. They have not announced their rotation for the final series, since it will depend on the playoff race.