The Curse Ball

[CaolinaJoe]

The Red Sox want Doug Mientkeiwicz to give the final out ball back. I think they should compensate him for the ball if they want it.

He said he's saving it as a "retirement fund". This ball could be worth millions if auctioned off now. They should pay him to get the ball back.

What do you think?

[DEAD!]

I say if the Sox want the ball, they should pay him for it. Heck a fan can hold possession to a home-run ball, why can't a player hold on to the game-winning ball?

[CC97]

I'm sure if I kept something from work, and they asked for it back, I wouldn't ask for money

[OMMF]

I'm sure if I kept something from work, and they asked for it back, I wouldn't ask for money

Luckily the only balls going into the stands at SkyDome are fouls.

[DEAD!]

I'm sure if I kept something from work, and they asked for it back, I wouldn't ask for money

Luckily the only balls going into the stands at SkyDome are fouls.

Just the ones that the Jays hit

[NJTank]

Doug Mientkeiwicz is a player making a 7-figure salary who just got a sweet World Seires bonus and will be gettinga ring thats his compensation thats the teams ball.

[Saintsfan]

Wjhat do the Sox want to do with the ball? If they want to display it, mientkiewicz could 'lend' it to the Sox and if he needs to sell it at a later date he can. but if you havd the ball would you be happy about just giving it back?

[jkrdevil]

Well, MLB ruled that the ball was property of Mientkeiwicz and he was free to do want he wants to with it. He doesn't have to give the ball back.

It's amazing he was able to hold onto it during the celebration.

[tmorss9]

This is pretty much a creation of Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy. He called Mientkiewicz to talk about the 1st base situation. Doug wouldn't talk about it, but did talk about the ball, and mentioned in jest that he was keeping the ball to put one of his kids through school. He meant it as a joke. He is now on record as saying he'd be more than happy to loan it to the Sox, sho want to make this part of a display. He actually offered it to the Hall of Fame, but they wanted outright possession of it, so he just kept it. Honestly, it's his ball to do with it what he pleases, but I do believe he will loan it to the team, IMHO.

[NJTank]

Its cheap hes big leaguer and will be the anser to a trivia question who caught the last out. He shoudl do teh right thing and give it to the team, it belongs on display for all teh fans of Boston to see.

[FiddySicks]

ok its time for me to rant and rave...... YOU JUST WON THE WORLD SERIES, WHO THE F@#K CARES WHERE THE FINAL OUT BALL IS!!!!! God would people get over it! stop blowing up baseballs when you loose and stop casing them when you win!!!!!! if you loose its not the balls fault, its yours for choking in the last two innings. if you win you did it because you either faught real damn hard and/or you got real damn lucky. anyone that worships a piece of rubber woll and leather lost it a long time ago. you got the rings, you got the trophies, let it go............................ ahhh that felt good. ok im done now and im sorry to any red sox fans. congrats for winning the series.

[STL FANATIC]

I don't understand how the Red Sox have any claim to this ball.

Either it's the Cardinals ball because this took place at Busch Stadium and the home team supplies the balls, or it's Mientkiewicz's.

Also, here's a look at what he said after the reporter created this...

http://www.bostondirtdogs.com/

Mientkievascz:  "I should never have called [reporter Shaughnessy] back, and I did and I didn?t want to... First of all he (Foulke) wasn?t going to throw it to me, I?m yelling at him, ?throw me the ball!? I want to be on Sports Illustrated too. He threw me the ball and I held on to it. I held onto the one when we won against the Yankees too. Derek had pitched such a good game, he?s gotta have that ball. I gave it to him after all that he had been through, and I was going to give him this one, and I thought, ?this is crazy, I?m a baseball buff, it?s something I want to hang on to.?

?The funny thing about all this, all this came up now. I?ve been telling everybody since the minute we won that I had it. No one has contacted me, no one has said two words to me about this ball.

?The whole thing about me wanting to sell it, I was saying it laughing. The other guy (Shaughnessy), he was laughing. I thought it was going to be a light-hearted article, I was just joking around with him and kidding about it and the whole thing about I can be bought, it was all in jest, it was one of those things. I?ve tried to keep my mouth shut all winter, but when someone backs me into a corner that way, I?m going to come out fighting. If someone portrays me as as someone I?m not, I?m going to have a problem with that. Red Sox fans have not had a chance to know me, to know my personality. The last thing I am is money crazy but I?m also not going to give the thing away either. Not in the near future (does he have plans to sell the baseball)? I would like to keep it. I?ll be more than happy to loan it out, that?s part of baseball history. That?s why I had it authenticated?? -- Doug Mientkiewicz with WEEI's Dale and Neumy

Doug says: "If they want to show it to fans, I?d be happy to. In fact, I?d show it off myself. I was furious when I came home after lifting weights, and got all these messages, people calling my mom, my sister. It?s out of control."

Doug's wife:  "It?s amazing that we?ve had it for three months, we?ve told lots of other media sources that have asked ?where?s the ball?? we told them we had it authenticated, we told them it?s with us in Miami, no one?s ever said anything, no one from the Red Sox has ever said ?we?re glad you kept that ball? nothing? I had to just drive home with it, I drove home from Boston and I was scared to death because I had it in the car. As we got back I put it in the same safety deposit box that we have the Olympic medal in and the irony is Doug can?t even get into that box because it?s registered under my name and his mother?s name, so you can?t even really blame Doug, blame me. He (Lucchino) has to go through me.

"He had it in the clubhouse (after the game) and I asked him, I said ?do you still have the ball?? and he said ?yeah? and I said ?let me put it in my purse so it doesn?t get lost in here because I don?t know if any of you guys were in there, there was a lot of media in there, and it was chaotic when they won. I just kept it in my purse. And the next day MLB actually approached Doug and said ?if you want to authenticate it, we?ve got people here and we?ll register it to you, and it will be registered under your name and everything, so he went ahead and did it.

"We do not have any intention of selling this ball. We?ve actually had people who have asked to buy it and we?ve said no to them. They went through our agent. There was one offer that was very, very low and I think the highest offer was $25,000 maybe I believe. No one has ever asked us to put it anywhere... I don?t understand the timing of it at all, we?ve had it for three months, I would have thought somebody would have contacted us right afterwards, he had it authenticated at Fenway, it?s not like they didn?t know he had the ball, but nobody had said anything and then Shaughnessy called actually to talk about the whole Kevin Millar trade thing, and Doug didn?t want to comment on that so they just started talking about the ball."

"It?s sad that everybody?s dealing with this, and this is this national issue today when the Red Sox could have just come and said we have this museum, or we?d like to do this with it, and do we have your permission, you could still retain ownership. I mean it would have been ?yes, yes? here it is. The ball would have already been there probably by now? but that?s not the way things unfolded.

[Saintsfan]

So its just a reporter trying to make a name for himself then?

[DEAD!]

The only Shaughnessy I care about is Meghann.