The art of negotiation was apparently lost on the fan who caught Shohei Ohtani’s historic home run ball on Wednesday night.
Ohtani blasted his first homer as a Los Angeles Dodger during Wednesday’s 5-4 win over the rival San Francisco Giants. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the two-time MVP Ohtani took Giants left-hander Taylor Rogers deep into the L.A. night, cracking a 3-1 offering 430 feet into right-center.
Shohei Ohtani crushes his first home run as a Dodger! pic.twitter.com/Riq4vqqeDr
— MLB (@MLB) April 4, 2024
The home broadcast also showed the lucky fan who came down with Ohtani’s dinger — an excited woman wearing Dodgers gear.
The luckiest fan in the world comes up with the ball after Shohei Ohtani’s first home run at Dodger Stadium 👏
🎥: @SportsNetLA pic.twitter.com/wBBdYCiWlP
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) April 4, 2024
After the game, Ohtani told reporters that he was able to get the baseball back from the fan. He said that he gave the fan another ball, two caps, a bat, and a quick chat in exchange for it.
Shohei Ohtani got the ball from his first #Dodgers home run. Traded a bat, two caps and another baseball for it.
"I was able to talk to the fan and get the ball back. Obviously, it's a very special ball. A lot of feelings toward it. I'm very grateful it's back."
— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) April 4, 2024
While that may have been all that the woman wanted for the ball, that still seems like a pretty meager return for a such a significant home run ball off the bat of an all-time super-talent like Ohtani. Even if she wasn’t looking to hold out for money, asking for Dodgers season tickets or something similar would have made for a much better deal.
The fan does still walk away with the memory of a lifetime (plus it is possible that Ohtani autographed some of the items that he gave her). But given what other such historic baseballs have gone for in the recent past, perhaps a bag was fumbled there.
