A South Carolina baseball fan is suing the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers over superstar Shohei Ohtani’s record-breaking 51st stolen base, claiming he is the rightful owner of the coveted item — and wants a federal judge to force the team to turn it over.
“The facts are very simple,” said attorney Richard Roth, who represents the fan The independent. “He is entitled to that basis, and we are going to get the basis back, or we are going to get the value of the basis. And the basis is now very valuable.”
The dispute dates back to mid-September, when Ohtani was about to become the first-ever member of Major League Baseball’s 50/50 club by hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases in a single season. Because Ohtani had recorded 48 home runs and 49 stolen bases at that point, Greenville, South Carolina medical department manager James Gossett knew it was highly likely that “Shotime” would soon make history.
Major League Baseball teams swap out their bases a few times per game, replacing each with new white ones. The used bases, along with all manner of balls, bats, helmets and more, can then be sold as ‘game-used’ collectibles. Daily bases can sell for less than $100; Ohtani’s 50th stolen base, if it were ever to hit the market, could potentially go for unprecedented amounts of money.
Gossett knew that if Ohtani stole his 50th base, the memento would be removed from the game and given to him. But other bases to be used during the game were listed at $2,500.
On September 18, about a half hour before the Dodgers were to play the second of three away games against the Miami Marlins, Gossett’s lawsuit says he emailed the Marlins’ game-used memorabilia sales department about the purchase of a piece to add to his personal collection.
He told the Marlins representative: “What I want is the base from which Ohtani starts when he steals[s] number 50. I know he wants the base he stole… But I want the base he came from. This is for a special gift for someone, thank you. Please let me know we are doing well. If that’s tonight or tomorrow, that’s the base I want and I’ll pay the $2500.
After some back and forth, the salesperson replied, “Understood. If it happens today or tomorrow, yes.”
“Okay, thanks. So it’s a done deal and mine if he does it today or tomorrow, right?’ Gossett wrote back, according to the complaint.
“Yes sir!” the representative told Gossett. “The only reason I’m not sending you an invoice now is because we would prefer that to happen first. This way we don’t have to make a refund afterwards.”
The September 18 game passed without a stolen base for Ohtani. However, in the first inning of the September 19 game, Ohtani stole third base – starting from second base – for his 50th steal of the season.
A delighted Gossett immediately emailed the Marlins game-used memorabilia representative and wrote, “Yes, he did it!!!! Ohhh my. 1st inning, 2nd base. Please email me back to make sure you get your hands on that bag.”
“The second base at the time of number 50 has been pulled away and reserved for you,” the Marlins representative responded, according to the lawsuit. “I’ll bill later tonight.”
Still, something apparently got lost in translation, and according to Gossett’s suit, second base, the base Ohtani left on his way to third base, was inexplicably never taken off the field for him. In the next inning, Ohtani singled and then stole second base, immediately turning the previously ‘regular’ base into Ohtani’s 51st stolen base.
Ohtani would later hit his 49th, 50th and 51st home runs in the same game, and what has been called the greatest single-game performance since the invention of the sport.
On September 20, Gossett, unaware that his base had not been removed after number 50 was stolen, sent an email to the Marlins to find out why he had not yet received an invoice for it.
“Good morning Kevin, I regret to inform you that the base you were interested in, 2nd base at the time of Ohtani’s 50th steal, is not available for purchase,” the game-used seller wrote back. “The base went to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The reason for this was that base #51 would then be stolen an inning later. I was not previously informed that the ball club would receive SB#51, nor that the vacated base in steal #50 would also be steal #51. Let me know if I can help you with anything else. Thank you.”
Gossett and the Marlins “had a contract for the sale of the base,” according to the lawsuit, which accuses the Marlins of breaching that contract and the Dodgers of interfering.
“The base was wrongfully retained by the Los Angeles Dodgers who acquired possession of the base from its original owner, the Marlins,” the lawsuit states, which demands that the base be transferred to Gossett and notes that Ohtani’s 50th home run ball of the same game sold at auction last month for an eye-watering $4.4 million. (His 51st home run ball cost ‘only’ $427,000.)
If the Marlins had properly taken second base out of the game after Ohtani’s 50th stolen base, “it would have been a different base for No. 51,” and this dispute would not have existed, Roth said. The independent.
A Dodgers official said Thursday that the team had no comment. The Marlins did not respond to a request for comment.
“The bottom line is there was a contract,” Roth said. “The Marlins said, ‘We have a deal, we’ll send you an invoice,’ and the next thing [my client] know, they say, ‘You know what, we give [the base] to the Dodgers.” That’s nonsense. You can’t do that.”
