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January 07, 2005
That takes balls
Doug Mientkiewicz, backup 1st baseman for the Red Sox, is holding onto the baseball that recorded the final out in the World Series. He says it's his, but the Red Sox want it back.
I'm kind of split on this issue. Mientkiewicz comes across as an ass (alliteration, anyone?) based on the quotes in the linked article. But the issue of on the field ownership isn't really defined as far as I know. Who's to say it *isn't* his. It is kind of an unexplored area. There's already been some long drawn out court cases on ownership of baseballs that have left the field and entered the stands. But this one is kind of weird.
But I'd like to think that the *right* thing to do is to give the ball to the Red Sox or the Hall of Fame. But I don't think he's going to do the right thing. Baseball is already so mercenary with the way free agents jump from team to team. Mientkiewicz (besides having an unpronounceable last name) joined the team mid-season and was only used as a defensive utility play. Something he wasn't happy about. There are some guys who are concerned with the good of the game. They can see that they are part of a bigger whole that makes up "Baseball". Some guys can't. I'm putting Minky in the "Can't" category.
Posted by aellis at January 7, 2005 04:29 PM