Hi there. Off-day, anyone? For the second straight week, the Tigers take a Monday off as a first-place team. But questions abound: What should be done about Armando Galarraga? Has Magglio Ordonez regained his hitting touch? Can the team get by with Dane Sardinha as back-up catcher? Do you like Ryan Perry's new "long reliever" role? What else is on your mind?
This is "BYOBYB," the off-day open thread where you can chat about anything you'd like: The Tigers, Major League Baseball, Detroit sports, movies, TV, food, Memorial Day plans, etc. But I'd like to bring up at least one discussion topic today.
The Marlins' Chris Coghlan hit his first major league home run on Wednesday night, only to then find himself in negotiations with the person who caught the ball. The lucky fan wanted premium tickets and Hanley Ramirez paraphernalia in exchange. Coghlan felt like his milestone baseball was being held for ransom. Apparently, each party thought the other side was kind of rude about the whole thing.
(UPDATE: Here's the fan's side of the story. Thanks to Kurt for posting the link in the comments.)
So what would you do in the same situation? Would you just give the baseball back to the player, and perhaps get a handshake and pose for a photo? Would you seize an opportunity to capitalize on the good fortune of catching a ball important to someone, and try to score some tickets or signed team apparel? Or might you just take the ball home with you as a keepsake of a nice baseball memory?
I'd very likely go for the first option. To me, that moment belongs to the player and it just happened to find you along the way. Who would that baseball mean more to, ultimately? Unless, perhaps, we were talking about some historic milestone that was so rare I'd be crazy not to try and get something for it. But I understand the thinking behind either of the choices, really.
The rest of the afternoon belongs to you, BYB Bunch. Bring it.