Catching a home run ball at a game is a special moment. Catching an iconic ball, well — that’s like hitting the lottery. Diehard fan Ambar Roman was lucky enough to snag Shohei Ohtani’s first home run ball as a Dodger, a ball that’s estimated to be worth as much as $100,000 only to allegedly be swarmed by security, isolated from her husband, and pressured into giving up the ball for next to nothing.
This is at the center of a new report from The Athletic outlining what happened when Ohtani’s first ball landed at Roman’s feet on Wednesday night. The woman, and her husband Alexis Valenzuela had no intention of trying to extort Ohtani to make money off the ball. According to them they were always happy to have the ball returned to the Dodgers star, but it’s how team security acted with them that was beyond the pale.
The husband and wife say that as soon as it became clear Roman had the ball the couple were escorted from their seats and swarmed by security trying to get the ball for Ohtani. This isn’t unusual, as teams routinely dispatch security to handle the exchange of notable memorabilia like the Ohtani ball. This normally results in fans giving up a piece of history in exchange for a bounty of merchandise, and typically a meet-and-greet with the player in question.
It’s a deal that ensures players keep special mementos from their career, while fans get an experience they’ll never forget.
However, when it comes to the Ohtani ball it was different. Team representatives allegedly opened with a stunning low-ball offer of two signed ballcaps, then went about physically blocking Roman from speaking about the offer with her husband. The woman alleges that when she asked if there was anything more the team could offer a team representative chirped that the team would authenticate the ball, effectively destroying its value on the secondary market — should the pair decide to leave Dodger stadium.
After feeling pressured into accepting an offer from the team Roman eventually walked away with two signed hats, a signed ball, and a signed bat from Ohtani — and no meeting. The estimated value of their haul: $5,000. It’s not nothing, but it’s a far cry from the $100,000 the ball could have fetched at auction.
Still, Roman and Valenzuela say it really wasn’t about the money.
“We’re not trying to extort anyone. It’s not that we’re money hungry,” Valenzuela said. “It’s just that it’s a special moment, it’s a special ball. I just think it’s fair for it to be equally rewarded.”
“I was just disappointed that a team that I hold so dear pulled a quote-unquote quick one on us.”
The Dodgers told The Athletic that they’re open to further discussing the transaction with the fans, but that’t not really the point here. Getting more for the ball is the lowest possible bar the team could clear here. This is a multi-billion dollar organization that could easily afford giving up more for the ball.
The big issue is having protocols in place designed to low-ball and pressure fans out of items like the Ohtani ball. Instead of celebrating the moment and fostering goodwill, security is somehow under the instruction to do whatever it takes to get the item — even if it means separating a couple like it’s a police interrogation.
Assuming everything occurred as Roman and Valenzuela said this is a practice that needs to change, and they need a lot more than two hats, a ball, and a bat.
