Mother sues for Ryan Howards 200th Ball

[jemagee]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-phillies-howardball&prov=ap&type=lgns

Put on your psychic caps...do we think the 12 year old girl was really upset that she didn't get neat SWAG and to keep the 200th HR ball?  Did the mother want to get her back such a significant memento from her formative years...or did someone see a chance for maybe a quick payoff because the phillies/howard wouldn't want to give up the ball?

[rickortreat]

Howard may have wanted the ball for himself, and an autographed ball from him in a documented exchange is probably worth as much! Not a big deal really, but it is rare for a player to get back his homers. That's sort of the idea of hitting one out.

Nice that the Phillies gave it back. How can anyone prove if that was really it though?  LOL!

[jemagee]

Howard may have wanted the ball for himself, and an autographed ball from him in a documented exchange is probably worth as much! Not a big deal really, but it is rare for a player to get back his homers. That's sort of the idea of hitting one out.

Nice that the Phillies gave it back. How can anyone prove if that was really it though?  LOL!

"Milestone" Home run balls have been exchanged recently a lot - guys first home run - a milestone like this - person who caught it is ushered into the locker room and gets some SWAG - it still just smells like a money grab to me

[westkoast]

Howard may have wanted the ball for himself, and an autographed ball from him in a documented exchange is probably worth as much! Not a big deal really, but it is rare for a player to get back his homers. That's sort of the idea of hitting one out.

Nice that the Phillies gave it back. How can anyone prove if that was really it though?  LOL!

"Milestone" Home run balls have been exchanged recently a lot - guys first home run - a milestone like this - person who caught it is ushered into the locker room and gets some SWAG - it still just smells like a money grab to me

Yea they usually will trade them something else for it.  Whether its a trip to the locker room, tickets, etc.

I'll go with 'Money Grab' for 500, Alex.

[Joe Vancil]

Money-grab.

It would be appropriate for the Phillies/Howard to make some sort of exchange to get the ball;  something *NICE* - not just your typical, "Here's an autographed jersey and ball, kid" - but ultimately, once the ball is handed off, you shouldn't be able to sue to get it back.

[jemagee]

The question I have is not whether or not she should be able to sue (this is america, find the right lawyer and or judge you sadly can sue for anything)...I wonder if she ASKED for the ball back first and then sued or just jumped to suing...and what kind of damages was she looking for?

[Reality]

Howard may have wanted the ball for himself, and an autographed ball from him in a documented exchange is probably worth as much!

Is it?  I'm out of the sports collectables game but i would think the actual Homer Ball is worth much more then the exchanger.
The girl who agreed to the swap was 12 years old?  Was her Mom or adult rep present at the swap negotiations?

Yes of course it's about the money but is the girls mom wrong for it?
I wanna hear the ball value comparisons.

[jemagee]

I doubt Ryan Howards 200th home run ball is worth that much money...even if he did get there the fastest (atbats I think, not age, but I wonder if plate appearances he was the fastest).

Was her Mom or adult rep present at the swap negotiations?

If the girl was sent into the locker room alone - then that just raises more issues about the fitness of her parents/guardians I would think.

This isn't about a 12 year old girls memory - or moment in life - it's about money pure and simple...anyone who believes otherwise is selling snake oil

[Joe Vancil]

I doubt Ryan Howards 200th home run ball is worth that much money...even if he did get there the fastest (atbats I think, not age, but I wonder if plate appearances he was the fastest).

Was her Mom or adult rep present at the swap negotiations?

If the girl was sent into the locker room alone - then that just raises more issues about the fitness of her parents/guardians I would think.

This isn't about a 12 year old girls memory - or moment in life - it's about money pure and simple...anyone who believes otherwise is selling snake oil

Not quite willing to go that far, jem.  I would like for a 12-year-old to have her adult advocate (parents or whoever took her to the game) present for the initial exchange.  NOT having them there is pretty sleazy-sounding....

Ultimately, though, it's the girl's choice....not even that of her parents, in my opinion....

(Then again, I tend to do the Don Quixote thing on the subject of youth rights....)

[jemagee]

Ultimately, though, it's the girl's choice....not even that of her parents, in my opinion....

A 12 year old girl (or boy) going into a sports teams locker room after a major sporting event - no they shouldn't have the choice whether or not accompanied by their parent or 'adult supervisor' who took them to the game - and I doubt thea team itself would allow the child in there alone just because of the possibility of a legal entanglement.

It's possible that the 12 year old girl went into the phillies locker room alone - but i find it highly doubtful that it happened - because the phillies would want to cover their hides just in case.

PS - I tend to think 12 year olds are morons - I tend to think 16 year olds are morons - i think once a child hits puberty some sort of device should be devised that prevents them from getting pregnant or impregnating anyone until they are at least 25 - so not sure where that puts me on the childrens rights spectrum - but I live in santa barbara - I see 16 year olds who can't afford a car pissed off cause they don't have kids yet - so I'm not sure I want them making their own decisions any time soon.

[westkoast]

Howard may have wanted the ball for himself, and an autographed ball from him in a documented exchange is probably worth as much!

Is it?  I'm out of the sports collectables game but i would think the actual Homer Ball is worth much more then the exchanger.
The girl who agreed to the swap was 12 years old?  Was her Mom or adult rep present at the swap negotiations?

Yes of course it's about the money but is the girls mom wrong for it?
I wanna hear the ball value comparisons.

With out a piece of paper verifying where the ball was from, it's not worth much.  I could actually have Ryan Howard sign a ball for me but I couldn't get good money for it at a collectibles store/broker if it did not have the paper to back it up.

An autographed ball from Ryan Howard that was verified to be from him would be worth more than saying you had his '200th home run' baseball.  Quite frankly there is no way to verify that ball actually was the 200th HR.  MAYBE if she was lucky she could sell it to some big time fan who would take her word for it.

[JoMal]

Something like this happened in Oakland last month as well. One of the rookies, Matt Carson, hit his first home run. So naturally the team tried to exchange the ball for the usual stuff - an autographed baseball by Carson a perhaps a bat.

The guy who caught it? He said no deal, pay him $10,000 for the ball. Carson, being a rookie, decided the bat he used would suffice by itself and saved himself the trouble and a bunch of cash that, being a rookie, he did not have. 

[jemagee]

God Bless America