Comments by "bengolfs1" (@bengolfs1) on "Dodgers offer fan 2 signed hats, bat, ball for Shohei Ohtani's home run ball" video.

Here's the thing: The Dodgers appeared to pull yet another classless move by telling her they were not going to authenticate it--essentially rendering the ball worthless the minute they leave the stadium--unless they traded it in for much less valuable memorabilia. I would have left the stadium immediately and told the Dodgers FU: Let the unauthenticated ball's value go to zero.
26
@HJ-jy7fw Dodgers are completely classless. My guess is the team/league was expecting Shohei to hit his 1st HR at any time, and used balls that were already secretly marked for authentication purposes. They lied to her just to get the ball in their possession. Cheap move.
9
@HJ-jy7fw ...which proves that championships cannot be bought but must be earned. Dodgers shamelessly tried to buy a world series this off-season, and I'm just hoping they fail again.
4
NatalieR-nu5bp The deal is done. I would have insisted on field level season tickets for the next two years AT LEAST. Otherwise I would have left with the ball and it would have been worthless. I'll bet some employee of the Dodgers would have stopped them from leaving and agreed to the deal. Eff the Dodgers.
3
@RunForPeace-hk1cu I would have taken close-up pictures of the ball and doing whatever I could to show provenance--maybe getting names of the fans surrounding me. I would have asked for field level season tickets for the next 3-4 years; and if they said no, I would have walked out. I'll bet they would have stopped me before I left...
3
NatalieR-nu5bp Why wouldn't it be true? That baseball is historical in its own way and may wind up in the hall-of-fame some day. Management said they would not authenticate it, which means the value drops to zero once they leave the stadium. These two got suckered into making an egregious deal. My guess is that couple would have received six figure offers had it been authenticated and they were allowed to leave with it.
2
@ElLuis3 And they would have escorted you off the premises. I would have taken as many close-up photos of the ball as possible, showing scuff marks and every detail. Also, I would have asked for names of other fans around you. Anything to show proof it is the real thing when/if she tries to sell it.
1
NatalieR-nu5bp I heard what the Dodgers did. But it's still not a fair deal. This couple are friendly and appear to be really nice people--which are usually the first ones to get taken advantage of. I would have insisted on much more.
1
@ElLuis3 If someone is going to pay $100,000 for a baseball, there can be no doubt about its authenticity. The minute she left the stadium without authenticating it, there are doubts. I'm sure MLB used pre-authenticated balls with special DNA embedded in them and a proprietary process of confirming its authenticity. They just didn't tell this woman.
1