[BewareOf5Dimes]

This kid gave away a lot of money, but there are lots of poeple who make terrible decisions. What he did was almost immoral, though. I mean, the moment it is determined that he is the one who rightly came up with the ball, he probably has a true net worth of close to half a million dollars. It could actually be more than that.

So, he essentially throws away the security that 500K brings, and he was willing to do that because he is a Yankee/Jeter fan. To think that this guy lives with his parents and could have bought himself a house and never had a mortgage or rent payment the rest of his life is really sad and sickening. His Dad needed to step in there.

It is as if he had 500K in the bank and wrote a check to Derek Jeter in order to shake his hand. The kid gave away half a million dollars for that. That is truly horrific.

It was the wrong thing to do on so many levels. If he wanted to be a super hero he could have sold the ball and given it to the wife and child of that fella that died falling out of the stands at the Ranger game the other day. Now that is an ethical case worth considering, and you could hold your head high if you had what it takes to do that.

As it is, he was briefly worth 500K or so, and could have been debt free for pretty much life. He essentially bankrupted his family by giving his only asset on earth to a guy who is worth over 100 million. Jeter had no rights to the ball, nor an expectation of such generosity. The trade-off is so sickening. Jeter suffers no moral harm or loss if the kid keeps the ball and sells it. It is not like the kid saved his life by donating a kidney to save his favorite player.

This kid throws his future away for nothing. It would be like donating 500K to the US Government, if that 500K was all you had to your name. You just aren't creating a worthwhile benefit on the other side, but you are destroying your own finances.

The world is not a better place if this kid gives the ball back like he did. He simply blew it, and everyone around him should be ashamed for not stepping in and saving him from himself. Imagine this guy cashing his next paycheck and clearing like $360. He basically gave away between 1K and 2K per month for the rest of his life. 500K earning just 2 percent over his lifetime gets him close to 1K per month without touching the principal.

This is brutal what he did. Imagine if someone else had caught the ball and auctioned it off. And some 23 year old kid, who just inherited 500K from an uncle he never new he had, bankrupts himself and purchases the ball at auction so he can give it to Derek Jeter as a present. All the while, working the next decade selling cell phones and being burdened by six figures of student loan debt, while living with his parents. This is what this kid really did.

[cranzter]

well, he did what he thought was right.

[rm18]

He is not a gambling addict like us

[DiggityDaggityDo]

Yankees fans are stupid

[neverstoppers23]

I have no idea where you heard it was 500k, i heard 30k ...

[Affirmed3]

How do you know the kid lives with his parents? Or that the ball would sell for a half million?

[BewareOf5Dimes]

well, he did what he thought was right.

Yeah, well, he put his family at risk for the rest of his life. What he did was immoral. Why not just give the money to his parents? At least they will get a tangible benefit out of it.

This is about the most reckless behavior one can dream up. He gives a guy who makes 14 million per year an asset worth half a million. All of this in order to shake his hand. Forget the fact that the Yankees gave him tickets. The kid gave it all away.

If the kid hit the lottery for 500K and then gave the money to Jeter so Jeter could purchase the ball at auction, then that would be the dumbest thing a human being could do on this planet. And that is really what he did.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Not everyone is a greedy fuk...like people here....sometimes doing the right thing is more important than living like some ambulance chaser looking to make a buck at every turn.

Put his family at risk? Give me a break....just a tad dramatic there

[neverstoppers23]

How do you know the kid lives with his parents? Or that the ball would sell for a half million?

There is no way in hell that ball would take in 500k. Lets actually think logically here for a second. I saw it was worth around 35k on a yahoo blog post yesterday, but I just did a quick google search.
And I guess some auction houses belief it 'could' bring in 250k at max value.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...t-auction.html
But that is very unlikely.

[BewareOf5Dimes]

How do you know the kid lives with his parents? Or that the ball would sell for a half million?

The kid lives with his parents and has solid six figures in student loans. The bare minimum this ball is worth is 250K, and it could go to one million.

Jeter is the only Yankee to get 3,000 hits with the club, and it was only the second homerun ever on a 3,000 hit ball. The ball would go for half a million over 50 percent of the time. That is what those who deal in these things are suggesting.

[neverstoppers23]

Yeah, well, he put his family at risk for the rest of his life. What he did was immoral. Why not just give the money to his parents? At least they will get a tangible benefit out of it.

This is about the most reckless behavior one can dream up. He gives a guy who makes 14 million per year an asset worth half a million. All of this in order to shake his hand. Forget the fact that the Yankees gave him tickets. The kid gave it all away.

If the kid hit the lottery for 500K and then gave the money to Jeter so Jeter could purchase the ball at auction, then that would be the dumbest thing a human being could do on this planet. And that is really what he did.

Not everyone in the world thinks money is the most important thing. Surprisingly some people think doing the right thing, and not being a tool is actually worth more then money.

[neverstoppers23]

The kid lives with his parents and has solid six figures in student loans. The bare minimum this ball is worth is 250K, and it could go to one million.

.

I am guessing you didn't even read the first sentence of the link I posted.

"Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit may be worth as much as $250,000 to the person who ends up with the ball."

[BewareOf5Dimes]

The kid was home free. He basically is saying that the benefit that Jeter gets is worth being stuck with six figures in student loan debt (heard 200K in debt), and selling cell phones forever, while living with his parents.

The moment the ball lands in his hands it is an asset he has. Now, imagine if the child at the Ranger game caught this ball, all the while, watching his Dad drop to his death. What if the child gave the ball to Jeter because he was a fan. Is that the right thing to do? You have to keep the asset. It is your asset, and nobody is really better off because you give it back. But you just went in the hole 500K, because you just GAVE AWAY your only asset on earth because you wanted to shake a guy's hand.

[BewareOf5Dimes]

I am guessing you didn't even read the first sentence of the link I posted.

"Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit may be worth as much as $250,000 to the person who ends up with the ball."

Don't be a loser. There are estimates of one million. It would likely go over 500K.

[neverstoppers23]

Don't be a loser. There are estimates of one million. It would likely go over 500K.

Really then show me, where you saw an estimate saying it could go for 1 million.
Bloomberg went to a bunch of auction houses and asked them to estimate. 250k was the max.

[Extra Innings]

I have no idea where you heard it was 500k, i heard 30k ...

500k upwards to a million....250k at the very least

[MichaelWaters]

[TheCentaur]

I'm sure there are ways to do it, but how do they verify at auction it's the ball Jeter hit? What's to keep the guy from putting some foul ball from a few games ago up at auction and keeping that ball in a little shrine in the basement?

[BookiesBernanke]

Really then show me, where you saw an estimate saying it could go for 1 million.
Bloomberg went to a bunch of auction houses and asked them to estimate. 250k was the max.

Look at the obscene bonus money given out in the last 3 years (especially in NY) and the amount of 100K+ cars on the streets in wealthy neighborhoods.

Some tool bag would pay atleast 750K for that ball

Get in a bidding war between two yankee fans with small peckers and your looking at 1.5 mil and throw in a retarded redsox fan that would just burn it for fun

[Dark Horse]

Not everyone in the world thinks money is the most important thing. Surprisingly some people think doing the right thing, and not being a tool is actually worth more then money.

Doing the right thing can go a long way, especially in relevant situations. This was a completely irrelevant situation. It's a baseball. lol There's no right or wrong here. So that leaves the cash, without morality attached. Pretty dumb to leave that money on the table when it could have changed the guy's life, and owning that ball will not change Jeter's life in the slightest.

[stikymess]

Maybe Golden Palace would have paid a nice chuck of change, I doubt Jeter or the Yankees would shell it out. At the end of the day the ball is worth what someone would pay for it.

[Duff85]

lol at that ball reaching half a mill... looooooooool

pretty sure the valuers have a good idea. I'm leaning towards the 50k...

[Duff85]

At the end of the day the ball is worth what someone would pay for it.

stroke of genius here.

[Gee]

I saw the guy being interviewed.

I formed the view that he was borderline retarded and incredibly simple.

Guy was more interested in meeting Jeter and the Yankees. Grown man sucking up to them by giving up something that would change his life in whatever way he saw fit.

I agree that ethics and the 'right' thing doesn't really play into this. If it does, then its another reason why I find this man particularly stupid.

The world doesn't revolve around money and money doesn't buy happiness, but it sure buys a fvckload of opportunities and freedom to do what we want. You just going to give that up to suck up to your local sports team?

It reminds me of the kids who would give the cool kids their snacks at school (voluntarily, not from bullying) to be in with them.

[Glitch]

stupid- yes

most unethical decision ever..........im gonna go with murdering 6 million jews in the holocaust.

[Call82]

Obviously he feels good with what he did...you should respect that, there is no right or wrong with this...its ones lone decision...I would have kept the ball as well, but there is no way to call him out like this...

[notsosharp]

The thing is the guy did what he felt was right. Jeter should of stepped up though and gave him money anyway.

[TheCentaur]

stupid- yes

most unethical decision ever..........im gonna go with murdering 6 million jews in the holocaust.

You wouldn't happen to be Jewish, would you? There have been several cases of more people being systematically murdered and starved than that (Russia, China...)

[jjgold]

Jeter is a scumbag
Do you think Jeter cares about that kid??

Jeter would not even give him $100

[itchypickle]

OR.....the guy just continues on everyday like he did before....without the 'hypothetical' money he might have gotten....people act like he'll be homeless next month out of the blue. And let's be honest....this is America he'll be on Letterman and other tv shows soon...sure someone will give him something 'cuz he's so nice and humble' and I'm sure Jeter will contact him before too long an they'll work something out if need be.

Calm down people...football season is almost upon us and the universe will be right again then.

[MadTiger]

stupid- yes most unethical decision ever..........im gonna go with murdering 6 million jews in the holocaust.

I'd have to cosign this.

Be careful in life about imposing your value systems aggressively on others. That's on of the reasons that Holocaust shit happened.

[Glitch]

You wouldn't happen to be Jewish, would you? There have been several cases of more people being systematically murdered and starved than that (Russia, China...)

actually i wouldnt but i have read that they were gased, shot, experimented on with everything from surgery to toxic radiation to freezing and burning, kept in cages, cooked, left to starve in their own filth, be attacked by animals, killed, etc etc etc

and you have a point- america killed more natives, communist china killed more in china and tibet, i dont really know anything about russia but my point is donkin yourself out of a baseball is not so bad.

[TheCentaur]

my point is donkin yourself out of a baseball is not so bad.

Agreed

[MadTiger]

Update:
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local...125406723.html

[shade3599]

Maybe they slid some money under the table to him. I'm sure he just didn't get the tickets and signed stuff.