Fan Who Caught Ohtani’s 1st HR Pressured to Give it Back

[cardsin47]

[QUOTE=JustRachel;19390118

[rogueriver]

I was kind of siding with him on the whole gambling thing, but after the lies he just told I don’t believe him at all.....He has lost a lot of respect and I bet if a poll was taken today most people would not believe him, unless they have a ton of his cards for sale

[Bcr]

I know we are in the era of outrage culture on the news and social media, but here's a stark reminder that not everything we read/hear is true.

Common sense goes a long way:
https://twitter.com/MarkPriorRBW/sta...37345483210876

[majestik101]

Originally Posted by majestik101

Originally Posted by ottobord

The story I see is his parents made a huge mistake. It's a horrible story then and now. That ball is worth a fortune.

Ohtani traded a bat for the ball. I hope the parents had some POMO and sold the bat on Craigslist.

[BigMac]

Originally Posted by majestik101

Flashback to Ohtani's first HR in the Bigs back in 2018

My how times have changed in 6 years

So many great things in this story. Great PR and feel goods all around.

imagine giving up life changing money because u wanted to do the right thing as a fan.. couldnt be me

[asujbl]

Ohtani would be handing me a bag with 100K in cash in there before I’d give him the ball

[bub838]

Originally Posted by rogueriver

I was kind of siding with him on the whole gambling thing, but after the lies he just told I don’t believe him at all.....He has lost a lot of respect and I bet if a poll was taken today most people would not believe him, unless they have a ton of his cards for sale

The majority of baseball fans probably don’t care and just want to see him hit dingers.

[oldgoldy97]

He might rather hit the slots.

Still up for debate.

[marl1220]

Originally Posted by asujbl

Ohtani would be handing me a bag with 100K in cash in there before I’d give him the ball

And he probably would have if she demanded it and stuck to her guns.

[JohnnyHatesJazz]

Originally Posted by majestik101

Flashback to Ohtani's first HR in the Bigs back in 2018

My how times have changed in 6 years

So many great things in this story. Great PR and feel goods all around.

And now I wonder if that bat is legit. I want a follow up interview 6 years later.

“You know your parents could have got 200k for that ball right?”

[johnlocke36]

Originally Posted by cardsin47

If it gets hit in the stands — finders keepers
Decades of precedent

it would be the opposite, lots of times bats go into stands and fans rarely get to keep them, instead usually traded for something else. In reality the negative PR from not allowing a fan to keep a foul.HR ball would just be worth way less then whatever they could pay out to make fan happy.

[cardsin47]

[QUOTE=johnlocke36;19390476

[boxbuster7]

Originally Posted by cardsin47

Is this like the financial viability of a wax box, where you spilt hairs and fight me on something simple? I’m not strong enough ( tonight ) to go thru that again….

If a fan gets a ball hit in the stands, it’s THEIR ball

Lookup the barry bonds 73rd home run ball. The guys eventually split the $450k even though one guy got it first

[JWBlue]

If was pressured like that for a few autos....I would walk away.

[JWBlue]

Originally Posted by marl1220

And he probably would have if she demanded it and stuck to her guns.

I think so too. It is clear he doesn't care about $$$.

[cardsin47]

“When a foul ball or home run is hit into the stands, the fan who catches it is generally allowed to keep the ball as a souvenir.”

[johnlocke36]

Originally Posted by cardsin47

“When a foul ball or home run is hit into the stands, the fan who catches it is generally allowed to keep the ball as a souvenir.”

from the same source you quoted...

"Game Circumstances: In rare cases, game circumstances such as milestone home runs, no-hitters, or other significant events may prompt MLB or the teams to request the return of the baseball in exchange for a different game-used ball, memorabilia, or other tokens of appreciation."

[Asian62150]

Honestly, MLB could have even made this a thing.

"Come to the ball park and catch ____ player's significant HR ball and get ____ prize!"

Maybe you'll catch a player's very 1st HR. Maybe you'll catch the 1000th HR hit this year. Or the 25,000th HR in Dodgers history. Or the 500,000th HR in MLB history (no idea how many have ever been hit).

Just get fans out to the ball park and do something to potentially make that trip even more memorable.

Instead...we get these stories of teams trying to play hardball with fans.

[majestik101]

Originally Posted by cardsin47

“When a foul ball or home run is hit into the stands, the fan who catches it is generally allowed to keep the ball as a souvenir.”

Bolded

adv., definition: in most cases; usually.

Reading between the lines:

Unless the Dodgers are involved then all bets are off.

[Callmethevreez]

I'd call the police and then I'd call a lawyer. They are not taking advantage of me.

[Boredlawyer]

Devil's advocate-how much is the negative PR actually worth?

Has anyone here stopped going to the MLB game because security directors are pricks? Maybe the club misses out on a whole $30 of revenue because the miffed fan didn't come back?

Clubs don't want to set a precedent that everytime a fan catches a baseball, they get held over the barrel by a fan who expects life changing money.

There's also the angle that offering these payouts for milestone balls puts fans in the danger and opens up the door to liability. What happens when a 28 year old backup catcher hits his first home run, and the fans are expecting a five figure payout? The combination of significant money and inebriated fans is going to lead to problems.

It's not without nuance. For the $700mm boy I'm expecting a lot more than a few hats.

[Asian62150]

https://nypost.com/2024/04/05/sports...tani-home-run/

"The Dodgers realize they gave the fan who caught Shohei Ohtani’s first home run ball with the team a raw deal and sought to make amends."

How wonderful of the Dodgers to realize the error of their ways. Must have been their first rodeo concerning a milestone piece of memorabilia.

[Trueblue]

That closure makes too much sense for blowout. Need reasons to be angry here

[fulltritty]

Originally Posted by Bcr

I know we are in the era of outrage culture on the news and social media, but here's a stark reminder that not everything we read/hear is true.

Common sense goes a long way:
https://twitter.com/MarkPriorRBW/sta...37345483210876

Then maybe he needs to speak English like he can because the interpreters the Dodgers have retained for him are terrible.

[fulltritty]

Originally Posted by Trueblue

That closure makes too much sense for blowout. Need reasons to be angry here

The only reason they are wanting to make amends now is because of all the bad publicity this has generated for them. If no one talked about it or was angry, do you actually think they would have done something more?