Exclusive: Dodger Fan Who Caught Shohei Ohtani Home Run Says She Was Pressured to Give Up Ball

Ambar Roman has been to loads of Dodger video games prior to now. The Whittier resident stated she goes to five to six video games each season, generally in the best pavilion, however not all the time. She had by no means had caught a ball earlier than Wednesday.

Then, in a matter of seconds, one ball landed at her ft and altered her life.

In an unique interview with Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain, Roman mentioned the bizarre night that transpired after she wound up with Shohei Ohtani’s first common season house run as a Dodger on Wednesday night time.

“Family and friends of ours that have been at house watching the sport, they noticed all of it go down,” Roman stated. “They noticed us on TV. Instantly we have been getting texts, calls from everyone.”

The enjoyable half was over nearly as quickly because it started.

“Safety got here up and hand-signaled me to go to them. At first I’m considering I did one thing improper,” Roman stated. “They stated ‘no, we wish to reward you for catching the ball.’ … They took us all the way down to proper subsequent to the bullpen, the gate, to go in there. That’s the place that they had us. At that time they didn’t enable my husband or the good friend that we have been with to go together with me. They stated they needed to keep again.”

It’s commonplace process for Dodger Stadium safety to ask any fan who catches a big house run ball what they might need in alternate for the ball.

Roman stated she requested the safety guard on the scene if he may have Ohtani autograph the ball so she may preserve it.

“They usually have been like no, in case you’re going to maintain it, he’s not prepared to signal for it and we gained’t authenticate it for you,” Roman stated.

Sometimes Main League Baseball – not the house crew – employs at the very least two authenticators on-site at each recreation for the aim of authenticating recreation balls.

“That’s after I requested, ‘what’s he prepared to commerce me for it?’ At first what they provided was two signed baseball caps,” Roman stated. “I requested, ‘what else can I get?’ That’s after they threw in a bat and one other ball.”

Roman requested if she may meet Ohtani. She was instructed that wasn’t potential, and the 2 by no means met.

Ohtani was later quoted within the English-language media as saying he met with Roman after the sport. Nonetheless, Japanese reporters on-site stated Ohtani by no means specified whether or not he spoke to the fan personally or whether or not the crew spoke to the fan.

Since much less historic Ohtani memorabilia routinely auctions for 4 figures, some consultants have speculated the ball Roman caught would have been value six figures. Roman stated she doesn’t remorse the phrases of her alternate.

“So far as regrets, I actually don’t remorse it,” she stated. “Simply the expertise of all of it, as a lifetime Dodger fan, that meant a lot. I’m actually grateful with what I bought. … It makes you assume rattling, did I actually miss out on these hundred thousand {dollars} however what’s accomplished is finished.

“As a Dodger fan, I anticipated perhaps just a little bit extra heat, I ought to say, from them,” Roman stated. “But it surely was simply actually unhappy I wanted to decide proper then and there.”

Photograph Credit score: Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY Community

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