What is the controversy surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s 50/50 HR ball? All you need to know

Shohei Ohtani's 50-50 home run ball has become a major talking point after a fan has filed a lawsuit over the rights to the ball. The historic item is going to be up for auction at Goldins Auctions and initial bids have started.

Shohei Ohtani inaugurated the 50-50 club, becoming the first player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs and as many stolen bases this season. His record-breaking feat came against the Miami Marlins last Friday in a game where he hit three homers and drove in 10 runs.

The second of his three home runs reached the left field stands, where 18-year-old Marlins fan Max Matus, who was attending the game along with his father on his 18th birthday, along with other fans, rushed towards the ball.

As per the lawsuit filed by him, Matus "successfully grabbed" the ball before an older man, Chris Belanski, allegedly trapped his legs around his arms and took away the ball from him.

In a widely circulated video, Matus wearing a red Marlins shirt seems to have the ball in his hands before Belanski takes it away. A bemused Matus tries to ask for the ball back but only receives a high-five from the latter.

Goldin Auctions procured the ball from Belanski and his friend Kelvin Ramirez. They contacted the auction house from Instagram on Friday, who then sent a representative along with a security guard, who got the ball and flew it away from Miami on Monday.

Goldin Auctions going ahead with auction despite lawsuit

The lawsuit is scheduled to have its first hearing on October 10th. There was also an attempt to stop the auction but that was denied by a judge.

"We are aware of the case that has been filed," Goldin Auctions said in the statement. "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."

The auction started with an initial bid of $500,000 and as of this Friday, the highest bid stood at $720,000.

If the auction reaches $3,000,000 before October 9th, then it will go private with bidders competing for the prized memorabilia. Already it is the fifth-highest bid that a baseball has received in history.