We could be looking at Popov vs. Hayashi 2.0 in Miami.
When Shohei Ohtani became the first player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, he created the most chaotic dash for that historic ball in the left-field club seating at LoanDepot Park. As fans dove over tables and chairs, one fan did ultimately come away with the baseball — and potentially a massive pay day.
But on the eve of an auction expected to draw a seven-figure sales price, one fan is suing to stop the proceedings.
According to Yahoo! Sports, 18-year-old Max Matus claimed that he had the baseball before Chris Belanski forcibly took the ball out of his hands.
I talked to @kaylanknit who took this video and described exactly what happened. https://t.co/TUAacNko8H pic.twitter.com/UmHiMG3Kg8
— Matt Nahigian (@mattnahigian) September 26, 2024
Matus was in the red Marlins jersey as there was a scramble for the ball. Though we can’t see who was actually in possession of the ball, Belanski did trap Matus’ hand between his legs and eventually came away with the ball.
And while the auction house plans to proceed with the sale (unless a court quickly intervenes), there is legal precedent that could lead to Belanski and Matus splitting the sale.
When Barry Bonds hit his 73rd home run in 2001, the fan who initially caught the ball — Alex Popov — was mobbed until the baseball came loose. Patrick Hayashi was quickly able to scoop up the loose ball and hide it. A legal battle ensued and we eventually had this decision, via sportico.com:
After weighing the dueling arguments, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Kevin McCarthy reasoned that “neither can present a superior argument as against the other.” McCarthy determined that both men acted lawfully, intended to possess the ball and had physical contact with the ball. Although Hayashi left the ballpark with the ball and although Popov couldn’t “demonstrate full control” of that ball, Popov nonetheless obtained a “pre-possessory interest.”
Ultimately the judge held the two men’s “legal claims are of equal quality, and they are equally entitled to the ball.” McCarthy then ordered Popov and Hayashi to sell their ball (since neither could own it on his own) and split the proceeds. Comic book creator Todd McFarlane bought the ball for $450,000 in an auction held in 2003.
Without that Popov vs. Hayashi decision, we probably would have been left with a court deciding the process of a catch as if it was the NFL replay center. We’ll have to see if Miami-Dade County views the dispute the same way as Judge Kevin McCarthy did 23 years ago. But at the very least, there’s similar precedent.
