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Old 01-07-2005, 01:32 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Greedy players get greedier and greedier

Granted assinine fans who refuse to give important balls back to baseball players reaching milestones suck. And I truly believe that the person who gets the ball should be rewarded in some form to keep the person from e-baying the item.

But I read this and am fucking disgusted. Players get paid enough, even the fucking scrubs get paid more in 1 year than I may see in a lifetime. What this tells me is if a ballplayer (already making millions) is going to use the ball for money, then he either doesn't know how to save, is not much of a team player, OR needs money so badly that any dimestore hood could probably pay him to throw games.

Baseball is embroiled in enough controversy (steroids, DC, etc) that it doesn't need this.

The player should turn the ball over to the REDSOX as he is an employee of the team, the ball is a tool from the job and therefore belongs to his employer. That ball IS baseball history and if the Bosox didn't want it, to frame and display for fans (which would be stupid if they didn't), I'm sure COOPERSTOWN wanted it.

This guy is committing career suicide. This just furthers my belief that players are saying to the fans, "fuck you, greed rules and I am going to get every penny out of my career I can even if it does fuck with my team and you."

Or this is all just sour grapes because he sucked and believed he should have had more playing time.

Sell the damn ring you got.... sure that will be worth more than the baseball ever will be.

===============================

Sox first baseman keeps ball gloved for last Series out


January 7, 2005
BOSTON (AP) -- Red Sox fans have seen the video over and over again. A ground ball to pitcher Keith Foulke. He tosses it underhand to backup first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who raises it high as Boston celebrates its first World Series championship in 86 years.

Mientkiewicz still hasn't let go of the ball. But now the Red Sox want it back.

Calling the ball, ``my retirement fund,'' Mientkiewicz stored it in a safe deposit box. Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino said Thursday he's going to ask Mientkiewicz to return it to the team.

``We want it to be part of Red Sox archives or museums so it can be shared with the fans,'' Lucchino told The Boston Globe. ``We would hope he would understand the historical nature of it.''

Mientkiewicz seems to understand it very well, which is exactly why he held on to it.

Historic baseballs have recently fetched impressive sums. The baseball Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk banged off the foul pole in the 1975 World Series sold for $113,373. The ball Barry Bonds hit for his 73rd home run went for $450,000. The most expensive baseball of all time is Mark McGwire's 70th homer, which went for $3 million.

Mientkiewicz said he thinks the Boston World Series ball has more value than a home run ball.

``Those are important and all, don't get me wrong, but there are always going to be more home runs,'' he said. ``This is something that took 86 years, and 86 years is a long time. Personally, I went through hell and back this year. But winning the World Series is something I'm going to remember for a long time.''

Mientkiewicz came to Boston from Minnesota in the three-team midseason deal that sent Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs.

Mientkiewicz, who batted .215 for Boston, was used primarily as a late innings defensive replacement, and the former Gold Glove first baseman has indicated his unhappiness with the role.

Boston broke its championship drought by beating the New York Yankees in seven games in the American League Championship Series, then sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in four games in the World Series.

After the game, Mientkiewicz said he put the ball in his locker, then gave it to his wife, Jodi, who put it in her purse. The next day, the ball was authenticated by Major League Baseball.

Carmine Tiso, spokesman for MLB, told the Globe that Mientkiewicz owns the baseball, though Joe Januszewski, Red Sox director of corporate partnerships, said he thinks the team owns it.

Mientkiewicz couldn't be reached for comment Thursday by the Globe after Lucchino said the club wanted the ball back. But on Wednesday, he left no doubt that he believes the ball belongs to him.

``I know this ball has a lot of sentimental value,'' Mientkiewicz said. ``I hope I don't have to use it for the money. It would be cool if we have kids someday to have it stay in our family for a long time. But I can be bought. I'm thinking, there's four years at Florida State for one of my kids. At least.''


LINK: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns
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Old 01-07-2005, 01:41 PM   #2 (permalink)
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Excuse the threadjack, but I really wanted to post Denis Leary doing a fake Mastercard ad for the Red Sox victory (off of the Comedy Central website). Please carry on.
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Old 01-07-2005, 01:46 PM   #3 (permalink)
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I heard about this fiasco with the ball. What an asshole.

Quote:
``I know this ball has a lot of sentimental value,'' Mientkiewicz said. ``I hope I don't have to use it for the money. It would be cool if we have kids someday to have it stay in our family for a long time. But I can be bought. I'm thinking, there's four years at Florida State for one of my kids. At least.''
He made 2.8M last year. That is 17,283/game. He can pay for four years at FSU with the money he made in 4 days.
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Old 01-07-2005, 01:47 PM   #4 (permalink)
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average salary in baseball is around 2 million dollars a year.
i believe the average baseball career is 8 or 9 years (which is much longer than other professional sports).
add to that, contracts in the mlb are guaranteed (i.e. you'll get your money, unlike the nfl, where you must make the team each season, and at that you have to make it halfway through the season to ensure you get all your contract says it will, but i digress).


baseball's are provided by major league baseball, not the team, if i'm not mistaken. this would mean the baseball is the property of the mlb, not the red sox. as many baseballs end up in fans hands, there is no charge to the fans (which is different from the nfl and the nba, which charges players the cost of the ball if given to a fan as a "souvenir"). i'm not sure if teams buy a certain amount of mlb branded baseballs for every game, or if each team puts in the same amount of money to buy a billion balls (over exaggerated of course) for the entire league.

in any event, mlb said he owns the ball.

i've never seen/heard of the mlb or a team trying to get a ball back for free. it would seem that if the red sox indeed want it, they need to ante up the money to get it back from the guy.

unfortunately for the player, it may hurt his career, as it won't look good within the red sox organization. while i understand that players make a lot of money, the other side is that the teams is making gobs of money (remember, they do pay these high salaries!).
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Old 01-07-2005, 01:48 PM   #5 (permalink)
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He caught the ball, he kept control of the ball, Major League Baseball says it's his ball, so I think it's his ball to do with what he wishes.
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Old 01-07-2005, 02:00 PM   #6 (permalink)
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It seems he is not going to return the ball. Calling it his "retirement fund", and even mentioning that he can be bought at the right price. At first glance you would think this is an asshole move, but I'm not so sure. He was only on this team for a few months, and is in the end of his career. It's not likely he will ever see a big contract again, and it's not even certain he will still be in the league in the next few years. The man has to start considering the future for his family, and if this ball can provide some security, and even MLB states the ball is his, I think he has every right to want money for it. It would be different if he had been apart of the team for awhile, or if he was a player in his prime with opportunities for large contracts in the future.
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Old 01-07-2005, 02:14 PM   #7 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Redlemon
Excuse the threadjack, but I really wanted to post Denis Leary doing a fake Mastercard ad for the Red Sox victory (off of the Comedy Central website). Please carry on.
I've never seen that before, it's fucking brilliant
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Old 01-07-2005, 03:05 PM   #8 (permalink)
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Meh, if your part of the team you should give up the ball. If you have a safety deposit box for a ball you can have a safety deposit box for the sacks of money you are raking in.

Last edited by blitz.fenix; 01-07-2005 at 06:34 PM..
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Old 01-07-2005, 06:10 PM   #9 (permalink)
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Anything that fucks the bosox I say go fot it.
I think he should give it to the Yankees just so they can add the money get for it to pay a fraction of theirt players salaries.
Now that would be neato!
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Old 01-07-2005, 06:20 PM   #10 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djtestudo
He caught the ball, he kept control of the ball, Major League Baseball says it's his ball, so I think it's his ball to do with what he wishes.
IF he wer a FAN this would be true.But as a player I would believe it's a whole different set of rules. I'm sure 20 years ago, the guy who picked up the dribbler Rose hit for 4192 could have said "it's my ball, I'm keeping it for retirement." Same thing you describe. That player caught it, had control over it, it bacame a dead ball. BUT it was in the field of play and therefore still property of MLB.

What about Rick Manning when he caught the fly ball, allowing Len Barker to pitch a perfect game? HE didn't keep the ball.

What usually happens in these eventful situations is MLB gets the ball back, the player or team requests the ball from MLB and they are given the ball. But as far as I know as long as the ball is on the playing field it remains the property of baseball.

As far as Mientkiewicz, he's 30, be 31 in June. He's had a solid career and had he not done this probably could have had a few more strong years and decent contracts left.

I'm sorry this sets a nasty precedence for the game if they allow him to keep or if they pay for the ball. It says ANY player can keep any ball once the ball is declared dead. I remember players used to toss the 3rd out ball into the stands for fans, as they ran into the dugout. But MLB put an end to it saying that the ball was property of the game.

Baseball is a team sport, do you think the person getting the ball for Big Unit's perfect game thought, "I have my kids college paid for with this"? Hell no, they probably gave the ball to him, happily.

Even if the SOX get A BALL back from this guy now, how will they know it is the real thing? Hell, he could keep it and in retirement say, he gave the SOX the wrong ball and though he is sorry, the "real ball" is now on E-Bay.

Players get paid enough this is bullshit. Like I said it shows no loyalty (not that there is much anyway) and in his own words it says a player can be bought therefore, how do we know if he is up and bases are loaded with 1 out that the dribbler he hits to the mound for a DP was legit or a payoff move to throw a game? How do we know that simple error he made that cost the SOX a game was just an error and not some payoff to throw a game?

Again in his own words he says he has a price and can be bought.

These players are paid to PLAY THE GAME, they should not be keeping monumental balls. It WAS HIS JOB to catch out #3, he did his job.
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Last edited by pan6467; 01-07-2005 at 06:32 PM..
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Old 01-07-2005, 09:19 PM   #11 (permalink)
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cut off Denis Leary's left nut?!?!?

brilliant!!!!!
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Old 01-09-2005, 03:13 AM   #12 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pan6467
IF he wer a FAN this would be true.But as a player I would believe it's a whole different set of rules. I'm sure 20 years ago, the guy who picked up the dribbler Rose hit for 4192 could have said "it's my ball, I'm keeping it for retirement." Same thing you describe. That player caught it, had control over it, it bacame a dead ball. BUT it was in the field of play and therefore still property of MLB.

What about Rick Manning when he caught the fly ball, allowing Len Barker to pitch a perfect game? HE didn't keep the ball.

What usually happens in these eventful situations is MLB gets the ball back, the player or team requests the ball from MLB and they are given the ball. But as far as I know as long as the ball is on the playing field it remains the property of baseball.

As far as Mientkiewicz, he's 30, be 31 in June. He's had a solid career and had he not done this probably could have had a few more strong years and decent contracts left.

I'm sorry this sets a nasty precedence for the game if they allow him to keep or if they pay for the ball. It says ANY player can keep any ball once the ball is declared dead. I remember players used to toss the 3rd out ball into the stands for fans, as they ran into the dugout. But MLB put an end to it saying that the ball was property of the game.

Baseball is a team sport, do you think the person getting the ball for Big Unit's perfect game thought, "I have my kids college paid for with this"? Hell no, they probably gave the ball to him, happily.

Even if the SOX get A BALL back from this guy now, how will they know it is the real thing? Hell, he could keep it and in retirement say, he gave the SOX the wrong ball and though he is sorry, the "real ball" is now on E-Bay.

Players get paid enough this is bullshit. Like I said it shows no loyalty (not that there is much anyway) and in his own words it says a player can be bought therefore, how do we know if he is up and bases are loaded with 1 out that the dribbler he hits to the mound for a DP was legit or a payoff move to throw a game? How do we know that simple error he made that cost the SOX a game was just an error and not some payoff to throw a game?

Again in his own words he says he has a price and can be bought.

These players are paid to PLAY THE GAME, they should not be keeping monumental balls. It WAS HIS JOB to catch out #3, he did his job.
pretty sure all the balls are marked by MLB so they know what ball it is, and as for whether he should keep it i really don't know, there were some other comments about this that he ws just joking around and he kept it so that it would be on display somewhere, and not sold..
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Old 01-09-2005, 02:40 PM   #13 (permalink)
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First off, in his defense, he was not serious about the retirement fund. He is aware at his salary stance and how much money he makes. He did not want to make a big deal about it but the writer of the story did.
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Old 01-09-2005, 08:24 PM   #14 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by uncle_el

baseball's are provided by major league baseball, not the team, if i'm not mistaken. this would mean the baseball is the property of the mlb, not the red sox.
Actually each home team provides 6 dozen balls for each game.

Quote:
Originally Posted by djtestudo
He caught the ball, he kept control of the ball, Major League Baseball says it's his ball, so I think it's his ball to do with what he wishes.
Yes but he caught the ball during the game on the field of play. It's not like the ball left the premises during the game like a home run. If it was still in play it belongs to the team that provided it, until they do not want it. What if someone took one of the bases, it was on the field and the Red Sox provided it, so it is theirs. Besides what about all of the balls that were used during the game that got thrown out after being fouled off? The only thing special about this one is that it was the last ball used. Big Deal!
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Old 01-09-2005, 10:19 PM   #15 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hard8s
Yes but he caught the ball during the game on the field of play. It's not like the ball left the premises during the game like a home run. If it was still in play it belongs to the team that provided it, until they do not want it. What if someone took one of the bases, it was on the field and the Red Sox provided it, so it is theirs. Besides what about all of the balls that were used during the game that got thrown out after being fouled off? The only thing special about this one is that it was the last ball used. Big Deal!
Didn't the Cardinals provide those balls then? Also, are those the rules for the World Series, or just regular season? There could be a difference.
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Old 01-11-2005, 03:51 PM   #16 (permalink)
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If the owner wants the ball back so bad then he should just pay the guy and get it over with. Like it or not, the 1st baseman appears to have legal ownership of the baseball so there is no use in getting worked up about the situation. I'm sure the owner of the team knows this because he's a business man and shouldn't let his emotions get in the way of his dealings. I would guess that he's trying to turn public sentiment against the player in question in order to pressure him into giving the ball up for free. Shit, you know the owner is going to make money off of the ball if he gets it back. It will probably go into a museum of some sort where people can pay $5 a pop to get a glance of it. It's all about money, don't be fooled.
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Old 01-13-2005, 01:31 PM   #17 (permalink)
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I see no problem him keeping it if he want a momento, he probably has very few momento as an average player, but selling it, I think the Sox should offer him a reasonable amount and he should take it.
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Old 01-15-2005, 07:40 PM   #18 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hard8s
Actually each home team provides 6 dozen balls for each game.



Yes but he caught the ball during the game on the field of play. It's not like the ball left the premises during the game like a home run. If it was still in play it belongs to the team that provided it, until they do not want it. What if someone took one of the bases, it was on the field and the Red Sox provided it, so it is theirs. Besides what about all of the balls that were used during the game that got thrown out after being fouled off? The only thing special about this one is that it was the last ball used. Big Deal!
Actually technically he gave it to a third party, his wife.

If you are a player and you make a play, you can give the ball to anyone in the stands or in the field. I think that works in this situation. It's not his ball, he gave it to his wife.
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Old 01-17-2005, 03:02 PM   #19 (permalink)
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It is pathetic that he kept ball considering how much the player makes each year. How greedy can you get, does anyone think about the team first before themeselves. The player didn't even play their all season, just for a short period of time before the playoffs. Get a life.
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Old 01-17-2005, 03:20 PM   #20 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drakers
It is pathetic that he kept ball considering how much the player makes each year. How greedy can you get, does anyone think about the team first before themeselves. The player didn't even play their all season, just for a short period of time before the playoffs. Get a life.

From what I hear, the counter arguement can be "Does the owners think of the players" in the case of the Bosox
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Old 01-19-2005, 07:56 AM   #21 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djtestudo
He caught the ball, he kept control of the ball, Major League Baseball says it's his ball, so I think it's his ball to do with what he wishes.
Although this may be true, it cannot be argued that his attitude, even after recognizing the historic nature of the item, is somewhat pathetic and immature.

It was already mentoined in this thread that he made over $2 million last year, wouldn't THAT get his kid through 4 years at FSU. Or even fucking Harvard for that matter?

It's just indicative of the new pursuit of happiness through personal fortune, and I think it sucks. Kiss social responsibility good bye, it's all cash from here on in.

Bling, bling...

Peace,

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