Chris Russo Blasts Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani For Treatment of Fan Who Caught Home Run Ball

Chris Russo was on one Friday, as he laid into the Los Angeles Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani for their treatment of the fan who caught the star's first home run ball with the franchise. According to a report from The Athletic, the fan who ended up with the ball was separated from her husband then strong-armed into giving it up for far less than it was worth. Russo couldn't believe it and went off on the organization and the player.

On top of the franchise essentially forcing the fan, Ambar Roman, to surrender the milestone ball, Ohtani told reporters he had met with her. He hadn't. It was a straight up lie.

Mad Dog wasn't having it:

That is an all-time rant from Russo and, frankly, he's right. The Dodgers are worth an estimated $5.45 billion and they're penny-pinching a fan. The ball is worth an estimated $100,000 and the team refused to authenticate it if Roman didn't give it up. That would have essentially made it worthless. In the end Roman wound up with two signed hats, a signed hat and a ball. Which is a horrible return for an important piece of memorabilia.

The backlash against the Dodgers has been forceful and it appears the franchise is quickly trying to make this story go away by attempting to make peace with Roman. Still, people will remember the organization's first reaction. Trying to make it right in hindsight is still a bad look.