The Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly attempted to retrieve the ball from Shohei Ohtani's first home run by subtly threatening the fan who caught it.
Lifelong Dodgers fan Ambar Roman, alongside her husband Alexis Valenzuela, caught the historic ball.
This memorable catch came from the play, resulting in the decisive final run, a seventh-inning solo shot, during the Dodgers' 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, April 3 at Dodger Stadium.
Broadcast footage captured the couple celebrating after the catch, but unfortunately, their euphoria took a downturn moments later.
Roman stated that security separated her from her husband as she began negotiating with the team regarding the ball's fate, which is customary for significant home run balls.
Dodgers give lowball gift to fan who caught historic Shohei Ohtani home run ball
Roman stated that aside from pressuring her to make a quick decision, team officials included the threat of refusing to authenticate the baseball if she decided to keep it.
This lack of authentication could significantly devalue the ball, essentially rendering it worthless and forcing her to accept the Dodgers' offer of two signed hats, a bat, and a ball.
The minimum value of Ohtani's home run ball is about $100,000, as per Chris Ivey, director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers gave Roman the items valued at $1,000 each.
"It's not necessarily that we wanted a million. Just something nice. Take care of your fans. Especially when they got something that's way more valuable," Valenzuela said.
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