POLL: Give it back or sell it, jeter ball

[Topnotchsy]

"Definition of GREED

: a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed"


How is holding out for a million dollars NOT being greedy? I understand some of you could use the money, but you buy tickets to see your favorite team play....end up catching a home run ball and now you suddenly are entitled to a million dollars?

I am and will always be a huge baseball fan...I would definitely give that baseball back for Jeter to have. It is a milestone he will never forget and that ball will probably end up in Cooperstown someday. Now, I am not saying I would give him the ball with nothing in return but I would be more than happy [if I were a Yankee fan] with what the fan received for giving the ball back. (Which IMO is awesome, much respect)

So you are assuming that anyone who would sell the ball automatically wants the money for selfish reasons? The fact that the person rightly owns the ball, and may actually need the money means that he is selfish for not giving away something that is rightly his to someone who almost certainly has many times more money than he does?

I'm honestly a little disgusted with some of the comments and would love to hear what the people who are bashing those who would sell the ball actually do with the money they do have? Are they giving large percentages to charities and other causes? Making real sacrifices to make the world a better place? Or are they sitting on their high horses, speculating about a situation that they probably cannot honestly imagine, ignoring the basics of capitalism, and throwing generalizations and insults.

 

[TBTwinsFan]

I would have given it back, but requested these:

A ball from that game
A signed jersey/bat
A pair of tickets to an upcoming game (seating doesn't matter).

I would not have kept it though, or sold it to anyone via eBay or anywhere else like that.

I will only keep baseballs if they aren't important to a player or team (such as a milestone or record breaking homer)

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

I'd sell it. No brainer.

And people, please stop saying you'd give it back to a player. It was never their property to begin with

It was never your property to begin with, either.

I am not surprised by the poll, but there are a lot of money grubbers on here. For me, I go to a game to enjoy the game, not to try and cash-in. I would gladly hand the ball-over, no strings attached, knowing that I did my part in a players history.

IMO that's totally uncalled for. Not giving back hundreds of thousands of dollars that are rightfully yours so that a ballplayer who is worth hundreds of millions and is perfectly able to buy it himself if he so chooses IMO does not make someone a "money-grubber." If someone wants to really do something positive they can donate it to charity or something along those lines.

I don't think there's anything uncalled for here. The 'leaching off of/extorting others who can afford it mentality' and the 'lotto mentality' aren't things to be proud of when they're used as an excuse to avoid earning a living through good, honest work.

I think we'd all agree that if the guy was truly destitute, the Yankees would've found out and taken extra measures for a variety of reasons. Kudos for the guy for being a role model here.

On that note, I have a hard time thinking this ball is worth a quarter mil to begin with.

I guess we look at this in completely different ways. The ball is the rightful property of the one who caught it, and therefore I think he is entitled to sell it for what it is worth. I don't see how that is extorting any more than selling baseball cards to people who are willing to pay for them. To me that is capitalism.

As for using them as an excuse not to earn an honest living, again I am not sure where you are getting that. No one said they would sell it so that they can drop out of work (though even if someone did I would not see the issue.)

The way I see it, you have a person who decided to give Derek Jeter a donation worth somewhere between $250,000-$1,000,000. I can see why the move is considered classy, but I do not see why doing otherwise would be considered greedy or anything of the sort (honestly I find it a little insulting that you've generalized your feelings toward anyone who has posted they would sell the ball including making some major assumptions about the people.)

Sure, a money-grubber - one obsessed with accumulating money - might feel insulted if they had a conscience...this is one of the primary themes, if not THE primary theme, of this thread, isn't it? Are all capitalists, as you describe them, money-grubbers? I don't think so, but maybe you or others use the terms interchangeably as there's no consensus opinion on the definition of the word capitalism.

But your post above was in response to Bradical's. He just said there were a lot of money-grubbers here. For better or worse I don't think anyone (aside from you apparently even though admittedly you're acting like one here to an extent, perhaps to prove some point) would, or even could, argue with this statement - although I'm not passing judgment on someone trying to make a living (I don't think Bradical is either). With this in mind, perhaps re-reading my post will make better sense to you.

Sure, everyone knows some people would sell their grandmother, but only a money-grubber would never think selling their grandmother a bad thing. Hopefully you wouldn't think selling grandma a good thing either, but if you did you shouldn't feel insulted if someone called you out on it... because aside from other money grubbers nobody would care. And who really cares about money-grubbers anyway?

 

[packbusta]

Excellent point made by both sides, but personally I would sell the ball. The argument that I could put my family in a better place is the one I subscribe to. Besides, I think only Chris Levy could afford not to sell it :twisted:

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

So you are assuming that anyone who would sell the ball automatically wants the money for selfish reasons? The fact that the person rightly owns the ball, and may actually need the money means that he is selfish for not giving away something that is rightly his to someone who almost certainly has many times more money than he does?

I'm honestly a little disgusted with some of the comments and would love to hear what the people who are bashing those who would sell the ball actually do with the money they do have? Are they giving large percentages to charities and other causes? Making real sacrifices to make the world a better place? Or are they sitting on their high horses, speculating about a situation that they probably cannot honestly imagine, ignoring the basics of capitalism, and throwing generalizations and insults.

The people that should be bashed should be the ones that would sell for any amount of money for any reason other than to make an honest living.

 

[seitas]

I would sell it to Jeter and give him the same discount he gave the yankees in the off season. Was he greedy when he went for every $ he could get?

 

[scotty21690]

First of all Topnotchy, I am not bashing anyone who is going to sell the ball. If you want to sell the ball, that is your choice. HOWEVER, if you are holding out....FOR A MILLION DOLLARS....then yes, you are definitely being greedy.


Just because I am curious, let's run through this scenario (not directed towards anyone):

Let's say you are a father and you take your 8 year old son to a Yankee game, his first ever baseball game he has ever been to. He is having a great time and even better, the home team is winning. Middle of the game, his favorite player is AB and hits a towering shot high and deep towards where you two are sitting. Your son holds his plastic Sandlot glove out [lol] and the ball lands in it. Your son if the happiest kid in the whole world, just catching a home run ball by his favorite player. One issue - the ball just so happens to be this players 3,000th hit, making it a very valuable piece of memorabilia. Your son is ecstatic, and tells you that he is keeping the ball forever so he can remember this game. What do you do? Do you let him keep the ball, or do you persuade him to give you the ball so it can be sold?...Bait and switch? lol

I am not a father, but am curious to see what others might do in this situation. I understand it's easy for most people to say they will sell it, and probably would...but situations like this make you think about it for a second.

 

[BrewerSuperCollector]

First of all Topnotchy, I am not bashing anyone who is going to sell the ball. If you want to sell the ball, that is your choice. HOWEVER, if you are holding out....FOR A MILLION DOLLARS....then yes, you are definitely being greedy.


Just because I am curious, let's run through this scenario (not directed towards anyone):

Let's say you are a father and you take your 8 year old son to a Yankee game, his first ever baseball game he has ever been to. He is having a great time and even better, the home team is winning. Middle of the game, his favorite player is AB and hits a towering shot high and deep towards where you two are sitting. Your son holds his plastic Sandlot glove out [lol] and the ball lands in it. Your son if the happiest kid in the whole world, just catching a home run ball by his favorite player. One issue - the ball just so happens to be this players 3,000th hit, making it a very valuable piece of memorabilia. Your son is ecstatic, and tells you that he is keeping the ball forever so he can remember this game. What do you do? Do you let him keep the ball, or do you persuade him to give you the ball so it can be sold?...Bait and switch? lol

I am not a father, but am curious to see what others might do in this situation. I understand it's easy for most people to say they will sell it, and probably would...but situations like this make you think about it for a second.

As a father of 2 little girls(sex doesn't matter), I'd have to sell that ball. I'm their parent not their friend, and being a parent means having to make some tough decisions. If that ball is worth 250K, that money can set my kids up for the better part of their early life. College tuitions are going up 5% every year. I'll buy my daughter anything she wants in the gift shop to remember the game.

Jeter can make 250K plus doing a 30 second commercial.

 

[Jedi500]

I would say to the yanks 3 seasons of front row home plate or yanks side dugout first row. And if they say no then I would personally want to keep it but rather have the seats and enjoy some games

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

As a father of 2 little girls(sex doesn't matter), I'd have to sell that ball. I'm their parent not their friend, and being a parent means having to make some tough decisions. If that ball is worth 250K, that money can set my kids up for the better part of their early life. College tuitions are going up 5% every year. I'll buy my daughter anything she wants in the gift shop to remember the game.

Jeter can make 250K plus doing a 30 second commercial.

I see this as something someone reasonable would/could say. But hypothetically speaking, would every penny go to your kids PLUS the amount you would have spent on them if you didn't come into the $250K?

Maybe the correct and more telling question for this thread should be at what *amount* would you sell the ball for, and people should not be allowed to say 'whatever the market bears' because that would have zero to do with your needs, only what someone *else* would be willing to pay for it.

It would be interesting to see the exact amount, if any, a general baseball fan, Yankee fan, Jeter fan would sell (sell out?) for.

 

[BrewerSuperCollector]

As a father of 2 little girls(sex doesn't matter), I'd have to sell that ball. I'm their parent not their friend, and being a parent means having to make some tough decisions. If that ball is worth 250K, that money can set my kids up for the better part of their early life. College tuitions are going up 5% every year. I'll buy my daughter anything she wants in the gift shop to remember the game.

Jeter can make 250K plus doing a 30 second commercial.

I see this as something someone reasonable would/could say. But hypothetically speaking, would every penny go to your kids PLUS the amount you would have spent on them if you didn't come into the $250K?

Maybe the correct and more telling question for this thread should be at what *amount* would you sell the ball for, and people should not be allowed to say 'whatever the market bears' because that would have zero to do with your needs, only what someone *else* would be willing to pay for it.

It would be interesting to see the exact amount, if any, a general baseball fan, Yankee fan, Jeter fan would sell (sell out?) for.

For the most part every penny would go into their account. Maybe a couple bucks would be taken out to make a Disneyland trip more exciting than I otherwise would like to afford.

I tell people now that I'd like to and plan on retiring at 57. But, now with your children being able to be on your insurance through the age of 26 I don't know if I will/can. My daughters could be married and still be on my insurance. How crazy is that.

My girls are 2 and 4, and my wife and I discuss regularly whether to put our kids in a Catholic grade school or not. Our public school system is rated in the top half of a percent every year the way it is. Would that 40K for both kids be better served paying for college.

 

[fengzhang]

First of all Topnotchy, I am not bashing anyone who is going to sell the ball. If you want to sell the ball, that is your choice. HOWEVER, if you are holding out....FOR A MILLION DOLLARS....then yes, you are definitely being greedy.


Just because I am curious, let's run through this scenario (not directed towards anyone):

Let's say you are a father and you take your 8 year old son to a Yankee game, his first ever baseball game he has ever been to. He is having a great time and even better, the home team is winning. Middle of the game, his favorite player is AB and hits a towering shot high and deep towards where you two are sitting. Your son holds his plastic Sandlot glove out [lol] and the ball lands in it. Your son if the happiest kid in the whole world, just catching a home run ball by his favorite player. One issue - the ball just so happens to be this players 3,000th hit, making it a very valuable piece of memorabilia. Your son is ecstatic, and tells you that he is keeping the ball forever so he can remember this game. What do you do? Do you let him keep the ball, or do you persuade him to give you the ball so it can be sold?...Bait and switch? lol

I am not a father, but am curious to see what others might do in this situation. I understand it's easy for most people to say they will sell it, and probably would...but situations like this make you think about it for a second.

Pretty easy decision. I'd sell it. Use the money for their college fund or buy them a $10 toy that they'd probably be equally happy with.

I agree with 100% of what Topnotchy had to say. Why not just sell the ball to Jeter for 250k or something? That's a few days worth of salary for Jeter. I'm sure he'd gladly pay that for a momentous ball. And 250k for the common man goes a long way to paying off the house, putting your kid through college, etc. It's ridiculous to call a guy making 25k a year a money grubber for selling a ball that is rightfully his rather than give it for free to a man getting paid $20 million a year to play a kid's game.

 

[ballerskrip]

I keep asking myself the same question over and over again. Why "give" the ball to the richest franchise in America, and one of the highest paid players over the last 20 years. They have more money than god. What would $100K mean to them? Or even $200k? For a guy who is selling cell phones and is struggling to make ends meet, yeah, the guy should have SOLD THE BALL.

Why feel pity for Derek Jeter? Seriously. The dude has $200-$300 million in the bank, is gonna marry one of the hittest women in America, is a HOF, etc etc etc. If he has to pony up the cash for the ball, so be it.

The average person, myself included could do some amazing things with $100-200K, such as pay off debt, pay off your car, put it towards a house mortgage.

I just can't understand how anyone could bash a person who would sell the ball.

skrip

 

[ballerskrip]

I agree with 100% of what Topnotchy had to say. Why not just sell the ball to Jeter for 250k or something? That's a few days worth of salary for Jeter. I'm sure he'd gladly pay that for a momentous ball. And 250k for the common man goes a long way to paying off the house, putting your kid through college, etc. It's ridiculous to call a guy making 25k a year a money grubber for selling a ball that is rightfully his rather than give it for free to a man getting paid $20 million a year to play a kid's game.

+1 on all points.....

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

For the most part every penny would go into their account. Maybe a couple bucks would be taken out to make a Disneyland trip more exciting than I otherwise would like to afford.

I tell people now that I'd like to and plan on retiring at 57. But, now with your children being able to be on your insurance through the age of 26 I don't know if I will/can. My daughters could be married and still be on my insurance. How crazy is that.

My girls are 2 and 4, and my wife and I discuss regularly whether to put our kids in a Catholic grade school or not. Our public school system is rated in the top half of a percent every year the way it is. Would that 40K for both kids be better served paying for college.

Its always interesting to see someone's plans, sorry I wasn't trying to pry at all Given it already takes about $160K to raise just one kid already, your daughters would be well cared for!

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

I just can't understand how anyone could bash a person who would sell the ball.

We all know, but its real easy to bash someone for the right reasons because (hopefully not surprisingly...) many people aren't obsessed with accumulating money.

How much would you sell the ball for? I don't mean what the market would bear... which is a homer answer, but how much would you *personally* need to sell it?

 

[ballerskrip]

I just can't understand how anyone could bash a person who would sell the ball.

We all know, but its real easy to bash someone for the right reasons because (hopefully not surprisingly...) many people aren't obsessed with accumulating money.

How much would you sell the ball for? I don't mean what the market would bear... which is a homer answer, but how much would you *personally* need to sell it?

I am not one who os obsessed with accumulating money. I actually should probably worry about it more. BUT, I also think about have zero car payments, and paying off almost all of my mortgage. That would certainly increase the quality of life for my wife and I, and for our future kids. I would think that $150-$200K is reasonable for that ball.

skrip

 

[yankees23657]

I would give the ball back. The opportunity to meet Jeter would be awesome! The experience that followed for the guy that caught it would probably outweigh any check received.

 

[Anthony K.]

I would give the ball back. The opportunity to meet Jeter would be awesome! The experience that followed for the guy that caught it would probably outweigh any check received.

If you think the experience of meeting a simple human being who is just extraordinary at something would outweigh paying off debt, helping you purchase a car and have money set aside for your children to go to college.

I, on the other hand, don't.

I would enjoy meeting a player, but at the same time, I would also enjoy paying off part of my mortgage, putting a large lump sum away for my son to attend college (since the price of a college education is rising exponentially compared to the salary a right out of college graduate receives) and then having money stashed in savings as a slush/emergency fund.

That's just me (and it seems others) though.

 

[MOFNY]

Auction house. Sell. Collect money.