Yankee/MLB Coercion

[Swoboda4]

At yesterdays Yankee game ,as Jeter's homerun entered the seating between the right field fence and stands,MLB and yankee officials in golf shirts were at the ready. My friend who's a NYPD cop on the paid(O/T) detail told me the following. The ball hit the arm of a kid in the front of the bleechers and bounced down into the folding seat area in front. An older man in his 50's got the ball. Security approached the man and offered him 4 tickets to the last Yankee home game. Answer:no The 4 tickets ,meet Jeter and a bat signed by Jeter. Answer:no. Then the golf shirt wearing offical(who's an ex-correction officer) stated the following to the fan. If you don't make the trade,we'll authenticate another ball put a mlb sticker on it and you'll have nothing. Nobody will believe you. The fan then made the trade.

[BaseballGM]

If this is true it is very disturbing. However, I personally feel that this approach was probably done by this individual's own doing. It's hard to believe that MLB would support this type of behavior. Maybe an over-zealous security guy employed by the Yankees.

[Swoboda4]

My friend said he's seen this before. The unifomed cop approached the fan later and offered to make a police report for found property to strengthen the fans case that in fact it was his ball but the fan declined. The fan felt he was extorted out of keeping the ball for what it represented

[metsbats]

Strange that when Bonds historic homer was caught, the fan who caught it was rushed by security out of the stands. For MLB or Yankee personnel to make an offer on the spot in front of everyone is highly suspicious.

David

[Swoboda4]

David,it happened. My friend,the cop,was going to pull the security guy aside and away from the fan. Another Burns security cop told my friend that these guys are "negotiators".Their job is to get the ball back,period. Nice time to be had at the ballpark with your kids. Grab a once in a lifetime baseball in the stands and the KGB grabs you. He also was told that MLB authentication is considering not focusing in on homeruns caught in the stands for this very reason.
Too much for me.

[metsbats]

David,it happened. My friend,the cop,was going to pull the security guy aside and away from the fan. Another Burns security cop told my friend that these guys are "negotiators".Their job is to get the ball back,period. Nice time to be had at the ballpark with your kids. Grab a once in a lifetime baseball in the stands and the KGB grabs you. He also was told that MLB authentication is considering not focusing in on homeruns caught in the stands for this very reason.
Too much for me.


I did some research on the internet. It seems Burn Security was and may still be employed by the Yankees. This blurb is from an NYC Parks Dept audit report from 2003.

This surely points to the "negotiators" being employed by the Yankees.

David

[metsbats]

http://www.nysun.com/new-york/red-sox-fan-sues-yankees-over-assault/83291/


As of 2008 Burns is still the Yankees security company.

Does not look good for the Yankees and Burns regarding this last incident.

Wonder if MLB approves of these tactics.

David

[bigtime59]

They're the Yankee$
And they'll do what they want to
Do what they want to
Do what they want to...
Get in their way and they'll do it to you!

(To the tune of "It's My Party")

Just when you think you couldn't hate an organization more, the Yankee$ step up and give you yet another reason!

Eff 'em!

Mark
bigtime39@aol.com

[sylbry]

A somewhat related story about the Indians negotiator.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070614&content_id=2026146&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Here are some excerpt from the story:

Once he's spotted the ball's owner, Danburg takes the fan to a quiet area away from the hubbub and peer pressure and begins his pitch. He starts simply by saying that the player has hit a meaningful home run and would like the memento in exchange for an autographed ball.


"Will the ball really be that meaningful to you?" Danburg remembers telling him. "Wouldn't it be nice, if you were hitting the home run, that you could tell your grandchildren about this ball? And wouldn't it look nice above your fireplace to have a signed ball by Travis Hafner, rather than a ball that nobody knows is real? That ball is going to mean a whole lot more to Travis than it will ever mean to you."


So Danburg got the OK to throw in a signed Hafner bat, which would be the final offer. The club never surrenders more than a ball and a signed bat, and this instance would be no different. A deal had to be made now.



Yet, this knowledge doesn't make the ones that get away any easier to take. This was true for Danburg in 2002, when he was unable to reclaim Jim Thome's club-record 51st home run ball. "I was upset," Danburg said. "I was sorry for the person who kept the ball and I was sorry for Jim. It really had me thinking what I could have done differently."

[thomecollector]

A somewhat related story about the Indians negotiator.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070614&content_id=2026146&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Here are some excerpt from the story:

Once he's spotted the ball's owner, Danburg takes the fan to a quiet area away from the hubbub and peer pressure and begins his pitch. He starts simply by saying that the player has hit a meaningful home run and would like the memento in exchange for an autographed ball.


"Will the ball really be that meaningful to you?" Danburg remembers telling him. "Wouldn't it be nice, if you were hitting the home run, that you could tell your grandchildren about this ball? And wouldn't it look nice above your fireplace to have a signed ball by Travis Hafner, rather than a ball that nobody knows is real? That ball is going to mean a whole lot more to Travis than it will ever mean to you."


So Danburg got the OK to throw in a signed Hafner bat, which would be the final offer. The club never surrenders more than a ball and a signed bat, and this instance would be no different. A deal had to be made now.



Yet, this knowledge doesn't make the ones that get away any easier to take. This was true for Danburg in 2002, when he was unable to reclaim Jim Thome's club-record 51st home run ball. "I was upset," Danburg said. "I was sorry for the person who kept the ball and I was sorry for Jim. It really had me thinking what I could have done differently."

I was at those games where Thome hit those homers to tie/pass Belle. He got the #52 ball back . I was setting a few rows over from where it landed. A couple of old ladies got it, and gave it back. I ask Jim if he was disappointed not getting #51 back. He said No. What a way to play your last game............:D

[mwbosoxfan]

Then the golf shirt wearing offical(who's an ex-correction officer) stated the following to the fan. If you don't make the trade,we'll authenticate another ball put a mlb sticker on it and you'll have nothing. Nobody will believe you. The fan then made the trade.

Since there were multiple witnesses to this incident, I’d like to see some news outlet get the corroborating stories and report it. If the sources checked out, I would think MLB or at least the Yankees would have some answering to do. Since it is actually MLB’s hologram and authentication service, this raises more questions to the validity of the program. Maybe when the FBI is done with Mastro, they should check this out. :D

[markfd]

I'll believe it when I see it as an AP story corroborated from multiple sources.

[metsbats]

Thanks for the stories on the negotiators guys. I mis-understood and thought it was Burns Security that were trying to negotiate the ball.

Nevertheless, the differences between the tactics of the Indians negotiator and the Yankee negotiator is night and day.

There certainly is a difference between asking nicely and appealing to someone's human side verses threatening to put a MLB hologram on another ball anyway which will make the real ball useless to you,etc approach.

It's just unethical and classless.

No wonder they call it the Evil Empire.

David

[kobak8]

I witnessed the negotiation, a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I was sitting in the bleacher platform, the area where the ball was hit. I am still kicking myself for not moving the twenty feet to my right and trying for the ball. The negotiation took place between the family and the negotiator in the area at the entrance of the bleacher platform which is not very secluded. Several fans were within 20 feet of the process. It is at the very end of the bleacher concourse. I was shoulder width away from the negotiation being very nosey. In my recollection, there were no police officers in the immediate vicinity. The original offer was a signed ball, signed bat and four tickets to the final game. That offer was turned down with a request for a game bat which the negotiator assumed the fan meant the bat Jeter used to hit the ball. Negotiator said "no way". After the fan asked if it was possible to get tickets to the new Yankee Stadium the negotiator said no plans have been made for those tickets yet. They then settled on the signed ball, signed bat, four tickets to the final game and a meeting with Derek in the dugout after the game. There was no mention of authenticating another ball that I heard. Is it possible I missed it, unlikely but possible. Do the Yankees owe this person more? The Yankees don't owe them much at all. Derek Jeter wants the ball back, the man in the black shirt negotiated on his behalf. No media was present for the negotiation, if the story did get picked up it would be third hand information. Why would Derek even want an MLB hologram on his ball? Did Derek tell the negotiator to trick the fan? Not much sense there. Not sure how the Yankees end up being the bad guy here either.

[Swoboda4]

Your a "negotiator" for the Yankees. Your job is to get the ball. You go back to your boss and fill him in on the outcome. You tell him the guy wanted to keep Derek Jeter's home run ball. If you keep on telling your boss things like that, how long will you be working for the Yankees? Not long my game used collecting friend, not long.
As far as no uniform cops around. Anyone who frequents the right field bleechers at Yankee Stadium knows there's NYPD uniform cops there,in the bleecher area. Most may not know their off duty working the "detail" or game. Many come from the 44th Precinct. I think you get the drift I know what I'm talking about.
Still doubt it? Catch any meaningfull baseball hit in Yankee Stadium and try to walk out. It will feel like you shot the President and you tried to walk away,and the secret service just surrounded you. You'll next observe their not smiling,followed by another saying into a walkie talkie ,"they have the "subject"and the ball". A bad movie or dream? No Yankee Stadium.