☆☆☆ - Ken Griffey Jr. 600+ Career Homerun Thread - ☆☆☆

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definitely one of the best ive ever seen. too bad he got injured so much.
 
Ownership of milestone ball in dispute

Fan plans to move ahead with legal action for Griffey's 600th

MIAMI -- Apparently, Justin Kimball and his legal representative still believe he is the rightful owner of Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th-homer ball.

Kimball, 25, claimed on Monday that he initially caught Griffey's 600th home run, but then had it wrestled away from him by the man who ended up with it, identified only as Joe.

Ariel Saban, Kimball's attorney, said Wednesday that his client will move forward and take legal action against Joe, who has yet to reveal any more information about himself.

"After an investigation of the video, and looking at all the angles we believe our client did indeed catch the ball," Saban said. "All my client wants to do is give the ball back to Ken Griffey Jr."

Griffey on Monday night became the sixth player in MLB history to reach the 600 home run plateau. The left-handed slugger went deep off Marlins starter Mark Hendrickson in the first inning at Dolphin Stadium. The ball landed in the right-field seats.

When Griffey homered, Kimball claimed he caught the ball in the air and it was taken away from him by Joe before he could go down to the floor to cradle it. Marlins president David Samson, who has taken the role of speaking with Joe to try to dictate his course of action with the ball, said on Tuesday that whoever claimed had the ball first was being "dishonest."

The Marlins didn't comment on the potential legal suit on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, though, Samson said Joe caught the ball with his glove on the fly, dropped a dummy ball on the floor and pointed towards the other ball to create a diversion. Joe -- who has yet to reveal his identity and has no obligation to do so -- was wearing a Sergio Mitre jersey the night of the home run.

"When [Joe] caught Ken Griffey's 600 ball, he maneuvered the other ball onto the stands so he can quickly and quietly remove himself from the area, and what happened in that scrum [afterward] is beyond me, and it's irrelevant because people were scrumming for a batting-practice ball," Samson said on Tuesday. "Whoever is claiming [otherwise] is being dishonest. We know, we have it on video, we confirmed it. [Joe] caught the ball on the fly in his glove. It never left his glove."

Samson added that Joe is a season-ticket holder since 1993.

"The Marlins' position should be neutral," Saban said. "Both are fans of the Marlins. They shouldn't have taken any position on who caught it."

Saban would not comment on exactly what type of legal action his firm, Saban & Solomon, would take, and he does not know Joe's full identity. Saban also does not believe there was a dummy ball.

"If he had another ball, then where is it?" said Saban, who was sitting one section over that night. "How come nobody else went up to security saying they had the ball?

"My client is financially stable. He just wants to give the ball back to Ken Griffey Jr., and I'm trying to do my best to make sure he gets it."
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Originally Posted by NewJerseyDevils30

pg2_griffey_300.jpg

-taken from ESPN.com page 2

IMO, this pic embodies all of griffey's quest to 600

congrats griff
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*Bonds
1. Hammer Hank
2. Ruth
3. Mays
* Sosa
4. Griff
 
Originally Posted by EFIL 4 REKAL

601 at Yankee Stadium. Did he really get a standing O? Classy if so.
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He got some cheers, yeah.

I for one, stood up and cheered in my room
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Good thing the Yankeeswere winning at the time, otherwise I don't know how I would reacted, especially since Farnsworth gave it up.

But for Griffey to hit a HR in what might be his last Yankee Stadium at-bat/appearance (excluding All-Star game, because that doesn't count, that's
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Griffey makes offer for 600th HR ball

Fan has opted to auction item with hopes of big return

CLEVELAND -- The man that caught Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th career home run ball has dollar signs in his eyes and his heart set on a big payday.

Before Joe Scherer puts the ball up for sale at auction however, Griffey hopes he thinks about it very carefully. And the Reds right fielder has an offer of his own that he hopes could change the seller's mind.

Scherer was the fan who caught the milestone baseball in the right-field seats at Dolphin Stadium when the Reds played the Marlins on June 9. He plans to auction the ball in Chicago on Aug. 1, reportedly stating that he needs the money the sale of the ball could potentially bring.

The head of the auction house said on Thursday the ball would sell for at least $50,000, and that bidding could reach $100,000. Griffey, who became the sixth Major League player to reach the 600-homer plateau, cautioned that Scherer might not get as much for the ball as he hopes.

"It's his choice. I'd like to have it but it is what it is," Griffey told MLB.com on Friday. "Realistically, I didn't break any record, tie any record or anything. I was the sixth person to hit 590 and 602, too."

Reds officials met with Scherer moments after Griffey hit the homer, but efforts to negotiate for the ball were immediately rebuffed.

Griffey's agent, Brian Goldberg, has made numerous unsuccessful attempts to reach Scherer.

"I totally respect Joe's right to sell the ball," Goldberg told MLB.com. "But he's got to separate fantasy from reality. Nobody is more proud of Junior than I am, but I don't think the dollar value is going to be anything close to what Joe thinks. This ball didn't break any records and it's not unique."

Besides getting lesser value for the baseball, Goldberg pointed out that auction fees and taxes would reduce the sum by a hefty percentage.

"He's going to be disappointed at how much he nets," Goldberg said.

Through the Marlins' front office, Goldberg and Griffey have passed along an offer to Scherer for the return of the ball. It includes 10 Griffey memorabilia items, including some game-used articles, items that came from other players and an all-expense paid trip for four people to New York for next month's All-Star break. The three-day, three-night vacation would include tickets to all the Yankee Stadium events, including the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby.

So far, Griffey and Goldberg have not heard back from Scherer.

"The offer is still good," Goldberg said.

The auction could be blocked by a lawsuit by Justin Kimball, the fan who claimed he caught the ball first before it was ripped from his hands. Kimball filed suit to block the ball's sale in Miami-Dade County court, but a temporary restraining order to block the sale of the ball wasn't upheld by the court.

Goldberg said Kimball's attorney contacted him and said if the lawsuit was successful, they would give the ball to Griffey for nothing. Goldberg said if Kimball won his case, he would be rewarded in some manner by Griffey.

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If I caught the ball, the only thing I would ask for his to shake his hand and hand it to him personally. Anything on top of that would be icing on the cake.
 
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