Dodgers reconcile with spectators who saw Shohei Ohtani catch a ball; procedure will be reviewed

The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to make things right. A day after two fans said the team pressured them into surrendering Shohei Ohtani’s first home run ball for an unfair return, the team asked them back for a do-over.

A Dodgers official said Ambar Roman and her husband, Alexis Valenzuela, have been invited to an on-field experience at Dodger Stadium. Roman confirmed that they will be back on April 12 — her birthday — when they will be permitted on the field before watching the game from seats at the field club level.

“I for sure appreciate them reaching out to me. … I appreciate that I’m going to get to meet everyone. Not just (Ohtani),” Roman told The Athletic. “Whatever I do want to take to get autographed will get autographed.”

The team also said it will review its ballpark processes for retrieving milestone baseballs.

“It’s something very important. I wouldn’t want the next person that this happened to to go through the same thing,” Roman said. “It wasn’t cool as a Dodgers fan. If it took for this to happen to me for them to change it, that’s great.”

Roman told The Athletic on Thursday that following her retrieval of the home run ball, security staff separated her from her husband and made an underwhelming offer in exchange for the ball. Roman also said team officials told them they’d refuse to authenticate the baseball, should she opt to take it home.

The couple eventually left with two hats, a bat and a ball, all signed by Ohtani. The couple never met or spoke with Ohtani, who now is on the board as a Dodger after hitting 171 homers during his Angels tenure. As part of the new plan, the Dodgers’ will authenticate their merchandise when they return on April 12.

“We’re not trying to extort anyone. It’s not that we’re money hungry,” Valenzuela said Thursday. “It’s just that it’s a special moment. It’s a special ball. I just think it’s fair to be equally rewarded.”

Roman, who made the trade, said she had no regrets about making the deal. She was happy that Ohtani could get his ball back. But she was unhappy with how the Dodgers team personnel handled the situation. The team took its lumps on social media, and the Dodgers encouraged her to spread the word that there was a happily-ever-after.

The offer of VIP treatment served as an olive branch.

“I’m glad I’m getting something out of it,” she said. “I would never be able to sit in those (field club) seats, so it’s something special, something I’m going to remember.”

Related Posts

“[Greg Norman] Would Go Absolutely Apesh*t at Me”: Ex-Caddie, Who Claimed Tiger Woods Treated Him Like a “Slave”, Once Revealed

You might know Steve Williams as a former caddie for Tiger Woods. He was on Woods’s bag from 1999 to 2011. During their time together, Woods won 63 PGA…

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s golf league announces new recruit who will play defining role

TGL, the tech-infused golf league being pioneered by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, will launch in just a few months and fans have been given a glimpse…

Amanda Balionis reveals she was left shaking over Tiger Woods interview which caused her to lose sleep

Amanda Balionis revealed that she was visibly shaking when she first interviewed Tiger Woods early into her days as a reporter for the PGA Tour. Speaking to Links Magazine, Balionis…

Tom Kim issues apology after criticism from golf fans for breaking unwritten PGA Tour rule

Tom Kim has issued an apology after the PGA Tour star was criticized for hitting his putter into a green during the final round of the FedEx…

‘Losing to [Phil Mickelson] Doesn’t Feel Very Good’: Tiger Woods Exposed Tense Equation With LIV Golfer Years Before Their Rift

In the field of golf, there is no doubt that one of the most exciting rivalries that has been witnessed is that between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Their rivalry…

Oregon football head coach Dan Lanning receives Tiger Woods text about hole-in-one

Dan Lanning recently made his first hole-in-one at the Pebble Beach Par-3 course. Dan Lanning and his Oregon football team will begin their 2024 season on August 31st at home…