When Shohei Ohtani hit his first home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers this week, he sent a ball flying into the stands, where a lucky fan scooped it up.
The excitement was short-lived, however, because the woman who managed to collect the coveted $100k souvenir says she was soon "pressured" to give it up to Ohtani, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The Major League Baseball player circled the bases during the seventh inning of Wednesday's game against the San Francisco Giants after hurling the ball toward the crowd.
Ambar Roman, 28, said a flurry of fans at Dodger Stadium scrambled to get their hands on the milestone marker, but she emerged victorious.
“Sitting in the pavilion, you always hope that you’ll be able to catch a ball,” Roman told The Athletic. “But never in a million years would I have thought it would have been his ball.”
Yet things quickly took a turn when a parade of security personnel approached and urged Roman to give up the ball, wedging themselves between her and her husband, Alexis Valenzuela.
"They didn’t want him to influence my decision. At least that’s how I took it,” she said, adding that "it was a lot of pressure.”
“They really took advantage of her,” Valenzuela, 28, said. “There were a bunch of (security) guys around her. They wouldn’t let me talk to her or give her any advice. There was no way for us to leave. They had her pretty much cornered in the back.”
The guards reportedly told the couple they would "reward them" for handing over the historic catch, offering them items signed by Ohtani in exchange for the ball.
Fans who catch important home run balls typically engage in negotiations with the team for a fair trade involving memorabilia and a meet-and-greet with the player. But Roman and Valenzuela felt undervalued and pressured by the Dodgers' approach, they said.
“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.”
Ultimately, the couple left the stadium with two signed hats, a signed bat, and a ball, feeling somewhat slighted. According to the auction house that valued the home-run ball at upwards of $100k, the items the couple went home with were likely worth about $1,000 each, according to The Athletic.
Roman and Valenzuela also said they never had the chance to meet Ohtani, despite the player making statements that suggest otherwise.
“I was able to talk to the fan, and was able to get it back,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “Obviously it’s a very special ball, a lot of feelings toward it, I’m very grateful that it’s back.”
The home run was the Japanese pro player's first since he signed a record $700 million free-agent contract with the team last year. The Dodgers defeated the Giants in a 5-4 victory, per ESPN.
The couple from Whittier, Calif, was left disheartened by the experience involving one of their favorite players.
“I was just disappointed that a team that I hold so dear pulled a 'quick one' on us," Valenzuela said.