Ball From the Final Out of the World Series

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by z28jd

Rizzo handed the ball over to the owner today at the parade, so wonder no more.

How about selling the ball to the highest corporate sponsor (say $15 million) with the condition that: (1) the money goes to local childrens'
charities and (2) it must be publicly displayed into perpetuity. That's a sponsorship I could approve.

[Yoda]

Talk about an idle sidebar to a good topic, but I can't help but wonder who pays for the baseballs in a WS game? Does the home team provide and then vice versa when the teams switch? Does each respective league share the cost? Or does MLB pick up the whole ticket? These are the issues that keep me awake at night.

[almostdone]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Talk about an idle sidebar to a good topic, but I can't help but wonder who pays for the baseballs in a WS game? Does the home team provide and then vice versa when the teams switch? Does each respective league share the cost? Or does MLB pick up the whole ticket? These are the issues that keep me awake at night.

I wondered that as well. If the home team purchases the ball and the ball stays in the field of play then, hypothetical, do they retain ownership? In other words, maybe Rizzo should have given in back to the owner of the Indians.
Drew

[PhillipAbbott79]

If the ball is in the stadium, but it is in the persons pocket who owns it? I can go to a store, put something in my pocket but not leave the store with it. That does not mean it is mine and I own it.

It has not left the stadium, but I would think that technically one could argue that it was stolen. It was never that person's ball to put in their pocket and leave with, regardless of the sense of ownership.

[ramram]

Originally Posted by PhillipAbbott79

If the ball is in the stadium, but it is in the persons pocket who owns it? I can go to a store, put something in my pocket but not leave the store with it. That does not mean it is mine and I own it.

It has not left the stadium, but I would think that technically one could argue that it was stolen. It was never that person's ball to put in their pocket and leave with, regardless of the sense of ownership.

But what about all the foul balls that fans take home?

Lawyers could have a lot of fun arguing this question.

[PhillipAbbott79]

Originally Posted by ramram

But what about all the foul balls that fans take home?

Lawyers could have a lot of fun arguing this question.

They could simply make a stadium rule stating that foul balls may be subject to retrieval.

I believe that if they wanted to pursue a stolen ball, they could, but they chose not to. That would not be to say that they had to post a generic rule to make a case for a single ball.

[baseball tourist]

What if a player throws a ball into the stands during batting practice or during the game? It belongs to the person catching/retrieving in, right? Would it be the same if this ball was handed off to his wife?

[z28jd]

I'm pretty sure you guys are all overthinking this matter. A team like the Indians, even if they could say the last WS ball was their ball, wouldn't do something like that, regardless of possible value. It's an unwritten rule in baseball, and something they never even discuss. The home team pays for the baseballs, but they don't claim ownership over any baseball for any reason.

Once a fan has a baseball, it belongs to them. That should be obvious to anyone who has heard about negotiations for a significant ball. A team wouldn't negotiate with a fan and fail in some cases if they had the right to take the ball back.