[Ardaya] Andy Pages was handed the ball from his first career HR in the clubhouse as he spoke with reporters. The fan who caught Shohei Ohtani’s homer No. 176 to pass Hideki Matsui opted to keep the ball, which was authenticated.
Andy Pages was handed the ball from his first career HR in the clubhouse as he spoke with reporters.
The fan who caught Shohei Ohtani's homer No. 176 to pass Hideki Matsui opted to keep the ball, which was authenticated.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) April 21, 2024
11 comments
Good! Glad to see both of those outcomes.
According to this [tweet](https://twitter.com/YamadaSANSPO/status/1782173674692293031), he was offered a trade with an autographed ball but he opted to keep it and this was his first time attending a baseball game. There was also another round of negotiation after the game.
If there’s any positive outcome to the Ohtani first home run fiasco, it’s that it shined a light on the way teams tend to bully fans into giving up balls. Nice to see they’ve started authenticating regardless of whether they get the ball back (though I think they still prefer to keep eyes on it).
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Why people think they will get rich off a stupid HR ball is beyond me.
I wager Ippei will find this fan and offer something veeeeery worth his while……
Did Dodger security separate him from his wife and that’s why he could not make his decision? We should all cry so he can get a better deal.
rich japanese collectors funding dodger fan retirements will be a thing.
While Ohtani’s home run ball is special in the fact that he passed Matsui, one could make the argument that every home run he hits from now to whatever just adds on to the record for home runs by a Japanese born player. Which is probably why there doesn’t seem to be the heightened level of urgency to get this ball, while also considering the situation that happened last time.
I personally hate the fact that the Player has to negotiate to get something that should already be his.
The player is the one that worked his whole life to get certain accomplishments, why does he have to pay some random to get something that’s a result of his hard work.
I would give Ohtani’s ball back, but I’d make some weird request. Maybe I get to take batting practice against Ohtani when he’s pitching again so I can see what it’s like to face major League pitching. Or maybe be a ball boy during a playoff game or something…