Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

[cjw]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

I picked up Shawn Green's 15 th and final home run ball of the season In 1995. It was his first full season in the bigs and while picking up some supplies in a stadium storage room on field level of the stadium ( I was working in a stadium hotel restaurant then) the ball went over the fence and bounced to me.

Security was around but nobody motioned for me to give it back or really seemed to care. After my shift and the game (still in my hotel suit) I headed for the clubhouse entrance. I had the opportunity to go in the clubhouse a few times over the years, dropping off food and packages and picking up luggage etc. I told the security fellow what I had and asked if Shawn would want it?

To my surprise, Shawn came right out. He looked at the ball, asked if he could have it and asked if I wanted a bat in exchange. I said sure! It forged an excellent casual relationship with him and opened up a few doors to mmet and hang out with additional players over the years (dinners with him and Carlos Delgado, drinks with Cal Ripken Jr, showing Jose Cruz Jr. gorgeous sister in law the clubs of Toronto one weekend!

I guess my point is - if the oppounity arrises, treat the player and/or the negotiator with the same respect you would want and you will prob get more than you hoped for. Now, if it was a 500th homerun ball etc., I am no fool, I would make it clear that i wanted nothing more than to get the ball to the player but the financial options the opportunity offered would be too great to ignore.

[slambam]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

I think I'd ask to meet the player and have a bat. I'd be lucky enough to catch the HR, and I came with nothing, so anything I leave with is a bonus. If it is a superstars milestone HR I may ask for something more, but at the same time, I think they would understand.

[Dach0sen0ne]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

I'd probably give the ball back, but if they wanted to give me something I'm not going to say no. I will say, if it was somebody's 74th HR of the season, I better be taking batting practice the next day.

[sox83cubs84]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

Chris:

It's not been since Day One, but it has been the last 9-10 years...and it wasn't like I got him more than once a year before that.

Dave Miedema

[xpress34]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

Chris:

It's not been since Day One, but it has been the last 9-10 years...and it wasn't like I got him more than once a year before that.

Dave Miedema

Dave -

Some guys are just that way... I can't explain it... when Todd did sign for me, he had a 6th sense about stuff. I wouldn't mention GU, but every time I gave him a GU item to sign, he would ask my name again and personalize it - but ONLY on GU pieces. It was kind of weird.

Some guys though appreciate that you followed them early - Matt Holliday is my guy. When I unveiled his 2000 ST jersey (his 1st MLB ST) when he came up in 2004, he went out of his way to come talk to me. I have picked up other odd/unique pieces over the years and so Matt knows I collect his stuff. he has yet to see me present the same item twice to him for a sig - including basbeall's - they are each unique: 2007 ASG, 2007 ASG HRD, 2007 ASG HRD Gold Band, 2006 ASG, 2008 ASG, 2007 WS, etc, etc. and so Matt has never denied signing for me if I have something for him.

Having only met Thome once (at the porta potty at Field 5 at Hi Corbett during a 'B' game in Spring Training) I have no real opinion or input on him or his habits.

All the best -

Chris

[xpress34]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

Chris,

How was the meet and greet with EY Jr? Did he seem happy and appreciative that he got the ball back? Were you glad about your decision in the end.

On Helton, maybe that's the feeling that players have when they see a person on many occasion. "I already got you." Maybe that's what is happening with Dave on Thome too.

Joel -

EY Jr was cordial and gracious, but we didn't really have time to chat (Rockies personnel kind of rushed the meeting) so my request for a Bat or Batting Gloves was after the fact when I've seen EY since - another reason I'm not too worked up about it.

All the best -

Chris

[xpress34]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

I just found this PM in my box:

Chris,

$10,000?
Season tickets?

If you're going to ruin a perfectly civil and interesting post regarding game home runs, get your facts right, dude!

The facts, man. The facts!

"Happy"
__________________
http:thehappyyoungster.mlblogs.com
happyyoungster.com

I'm guessing he's the one who caught Coughlan's HR???

Yes, I may have exaggerated a bit to drive home my point, but he did ask for another player's gear and tickets, etc.

I stand by my original statement that asking for gear from someone other than the player involved in hitting the home run is rude, classless and tasteless.

- Chris

[cliffjmp33]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

Chris, went to "Happy's" site and seems he did catch the #1 hr off him. Below is the article about it. As you can tell there are conflicting stories as to what happens between the "hitter" and "catcher".

Thursday, May 14, 2009
Coghlan mad after buying back ball
Associated Press

MILWAUKEE -- The joy Florida Marlins rookie Chris Coghlan felt after hitting his first major league home run was tempered slightly by the hardball negotiations he went through to reclaim the souvenir.
Coghlan's home run was caught Wednesday night by a Milwaukee Brewers fan who refers to himself as "The Happy Youngster" and claims on his blog to have caught nearly 50 homers.
And while Coghlan said the fan was willing to give the ball back, the man's original asking price was a lot higher than the Marlins rookie outfielder anticipated.
"He wasn't the most polite or respectful guy about the whole process," Coghlan said Thursday. "He told me he goes around a lot and catches these balls and holds them for ransom -- even though he doesn't say that he does, it seems that way."
But the fan, Nick Yohanek, insisted Coghlan could have been more respectful to him.
"I explained that ballhawking is my hobby and that what I was asking in return was fair," Yohanek said Thursday, in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "I told him I make $50,000 a year working in law enforcement and that I didn't feel like I was asking for too much. He responded, 'Good for you.' Real classy. Way to respect law enforcement. Way to respect a fan."
Players who achieve personal milestones often want to keep the ball as a souvenir, and in all but the most high-profile cases -- such as a record-setting home run ball that might fetch big money at an auction -- it has become standard practice for the player to give the fan who caught it a souvenir such as a signed bat in return.
Coghlan said he gave the fan a signed bat and took a photo with him after Wednesday's game. As Coghlan discovered, that only seemed like a starting point for further negotiations.
"Then he wanted other things that I didn't think [were] fair," Coghlan said.
Coghlan said the fan also asked for tickets to one of the Marlins' upcoming games against the New York Yankees, along with a ball and signed bat from Coghlan's more famous Marlins teammate, Hanley Ramirez.
"I was trying to be as nice and respectful as I could," Coghlan said. "But I told him he could only get one."
Yohanek, who says he has caught a total of 49 home runs, offered a significantly different version of the episode.
Yohanek said his negotiations for the ball began with several members of the Marlins' staff -- and after his request for a Ramirez bat was turned down, he requested tickets not for the Yankees series, but for a Brewers-Marlins series at Florida in June.
"I had wanted to attend this series anyway," Yohanek said. "Considering [Marlins] attendance is barely over 15,000 nightly, I didn't feel like this was too much to ask."
Yohanek said he eventually handed over the ball for the promise of tickets to the Brewers-Marlins series, a bat with the inscription "To Nick, thanks for catching my 1st home run," and a photo with Coghlan.
"While posing for the photo, he said, 'You gonna give me the ball, man, or what?" Yohanek said. "After he was given the home run ball, he stormed off without a word. Only to return and say, 'Why y'all gotta hold my ball for ransom?' I hold balls for ransom? Those are Chris Coghlan's words, not mine."

[Fnazxc0114]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

I would have kept the ball regardless if it was his first or 500th hr. Why would i want something that is g/u that i can buy in the first place.

[ballhawknet]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

I just found this PM in my box:



I'm guessing he's the one who caught Coughlan's HR???

Yes, I may have exaggerated a bit to drive home my point, but he did ask for another player's gear and tickets, etc.

I stand by my original statement that asking for gear from someone other than the player involved in hitting the home run is rude, classless and tasteless.

- Chris

Have to put in my 2 cents here ..

1. You didn't exaggerate , saying he asked for 5 bats when he only asked for 2 would be exaggerating . I don't know where you got the 10 grand idea but someone , maybe not you , made it up.

2. rude, classless and tasteless ? wow , that is quite the statement for someone who asked a player for his and a teammates bat. Not sure I would ever accuse someone of that let alone someone who spends his life protecting others.

3. If I were a rookie and I wanted my hr back , I would completely understand a fan wanting a bat from HIS favorite player or another more
popular player .

[xpress34]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

Have to put in my 2 cents here ..

1. You didn't exaggerate , saying he asked for 5 bats when he only asked for 2 would be exaggerating . I don't know where you got the 10 grand idea but someone , maybe not you , made it up.

2. rude, classless and tasteless ? wow , that is quite the statement for someone who asked a player for his and a teammates bat. Not sure I would ever accuse someone of that let alone someone who spends his life protecting others.

3. If I were a rookie and I wanted my hr back , I would completely understand a fan wanting a bat from HIS favorite player or another more
popular player .

BH -

1st - and not to beat a dying horse here, but Ramirez didn't hit the HR, Coughlan did. I stand by my statement that asking for another player's gear in exchange is simply wrong. It's a slap in the face of the player who hit the ball. My reasoning behind this is that it's as if your not even acknowledging the player who hit the homerun because you're more focused on getting an item from somebody else.

2nd - I understand he is a Police Officer. I spent 12 years of my life in the USAF protecting my country and now have a disability for the rest of my life out of it, so I don't really see the point of adding that statement. He's not the only person here or who ballhawks who is either a cop or military, so that really has no bearing on my statement.

Finally - I have thought about this a lot... the ONLY exception I could possibly understand might be asking for the team rep to get you a GU Team signed Ball. It's not another player specific item and all they have to do is have a GU ball passed through the dugout before the game ends.

As always, this is my .02 and I said earlier - if I offended anyone else, my apologies.

- Chris

[godwulf]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

I picked up Shawn Green's 15 th and final home run ball of the season In 1995. It was his first full season in the bigs and while picking up some supplies in a stadium storage room on field level of the stadium ( I was working in a stadium hotel restaurant then) the ball went over the fence and bounced to me. ...

This story really sounds like Shawn. He's just one of the most steady, mellow guys in The Game. I always liked what he did after every home run he hit - tossed his batting gloves to a kid, as he was coming back to the dugout.

As to the general question posed in this thread...there are just too many variables to make it possible (for me, anyway) to formulate a set answer.

Is it a guy I like, and whose career I follow? In other words, would I really even WANT one of his bats or jerseys, for any reason other than to maybe sell it? I don't know - personally, I think asking for anything beyond a signed ball and a bat is just...the word "undignified" comes to mind, but that's just me.

When it comes to asking for autographs, being a 56-year-old graybeard, myself, I find that a player who initially seems to be eyeing you suspiciously, like he thinks you're just getting signatures to sell, will usually warm up and relax a bit if you ask a question or make some comment that shows you're a true fan, not just a business guy. The guys who just wordlessly hand a player a stack of cards to sign, without so much as a smile or a spoken request, just embarass the s*#% out of me.

[xpress34]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

Got in my GU Helmet and GU Jersey that Eric Young Jr was wearing/using September 8, 2009 when he hit his 1st (and still ONLY) MLB Home Run last year that I caught at Coors Field.

I took them down and got them signed yesterday at Coors Field before the game!!!



On the side is a GU/AU MiLB bat of his, an MiLB GU practice ball AU, my ticket AU from the game where I caught his HR and the ball he signed and exchanged with my GU/AU from the Sept 8, 2009 game.

Here are some better shots of the Jersey and Helmet by themselves:












Enjoy!!!

- Chris

[sox83cubs84]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

You get a Glenn Quagmire "GIGGIDY-GIGGIDY" for that beaut. Nice pickup. I hope that I can get a bat or a cap from him when the Rox visit Chicago in 2011.

Dave Miedema

[LastingsMilledge85]

Re: Player wants HR ball you just caught: what would you do?

Chris,

BPH has the same style as the GU jersey EY pants from 2009. There is a possibility that it could be from the same game.