A fan caught Dodgers rookie Freeland’s first home run ball and wants to trade it for Shohei Ohtani’s autograph.

Alex Freeland, a rookie for the Los Angeles Dodgers, recently hit his first major league home run during an away game against the San Diego Padres. When the team wanted to retrieve the ball, the fan who caught it requested a ball signed by Shohei Ohtani in exchange.

According to Kirk Kenney of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Eric Saldana, who caught the ball, and his friends were Dodgers fans attending the game on the road. He mentioned that it was his first time catching a game ball.

Shortly after Saldana caught the ball, Dodgers staff approached his seat expressing their desire to get back this memorable home run ball. Being from Anaheim, home of the Los Angeles Angels, he said, “I asked them for a ball signed by Shohei Ohtani, but they declined.”

In the end, the Dodgers offered a signed ball and a signed bat from Freeland as a trade, which Saldana accepted: “That’s fine, it’s a good deal. The bat looks great, unused, like it just came from the store.”

However, Saldana only received the signed ball and bat after the game. Reporter Kenney explained that MLB rules require all balls given to fans to be handed over post-game. This policy stems from a controversial match on August 10, 1995, when the Dodgers gave 14,000 fans commemorative balls during a home game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Disputed umpire calls led to Dodgers players Eric Karros and Raul Mondesi being ejected. Angry Dodgers fans threw the balls onto the field, causing three game interruptions, and ultimately the game was forfeited to the Cardinals. This remains the only MLB game forfeiture in the past 46 years.