Shohei Ohtani had a historic day on Thursday, blasting three home runs and stealing two bases to create MLB's 50/50 club. Ohtani stole two bases before hitting a home run, so the second homer officially made him the first member of the 50/50 club. One lucky fan caught the coveted 50/50 ball.
This is not surprising, because the majority of home run balls are caught. Some fan ends up with the souvenir often, but this happened to be a historic home run that caused a pretty wild scene.
Some video surfaced of the home run, with fans screaming as the ball headed towards them in the left-field stands. Given that Ohtani is a left-handed batter, the fans were stunned that he went opposite field. One fan went down under the seats to grab it, triumphantly hoisting it into the air once he had it. The surrounding fans cheered and congratulated him.
Of course, this baseball happens to have major significance. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani himself, and MLB could have it for various reasons. Understandably, security came to escort this fan away. They rushed him out of the stands to a private spot.
Presumably, this was to work on getting the ball back. Fans do not have to give historic baseballs back, but the team and player will often try to trade things. Ohtani's first home run hit as a Dodger was traded for a boatload of rewards after a bit of controversy, and it seems that the team wanted to try and get this ball back as well.
Dodgers clinch on the back of Shohei Ohtani
Any time a player on an MLB team has a day like Shohei Ohtani did, which isn't often, it usually yields positive results. It's hard for a team to have a player record six hits, three home runs, two doubles, two steals, and 10 RBIs and still lose.
The LA Dodgers didn't, as they dominated the Miami Marlins 20-4. The win and performance by Ohtani were huge and also got them into the playoffs. This was more of a technicality since they were creeping closer to a berth every day, but the 91-62 Dodgers are officially in now.
They have not yet wrapped up the division, as the San Diego Padres are just four games back right now.