Posted on 07/07/2004 12:29:19 PM PDT by misterrob
Griffey provides All-Star gratitude for home run ball
By Bryan Burwell Of the Post-Dispatch 07/06/2004
Sports Columnist Bryan Burwell
His cover was blown and he knew it. Ken Griffey Jr. was desperately trying to go incognito as he walked off the field nearly three hours before Tuesday night's Cardinals-Reds game. The Cincinnati All-Star center fielder had just completed a little taped television interview and now he tried to make a quick and clean break for the visitors clubhouse in the bowels of Busch Stadium. But his route to the dugout tunnel was blocked by a tight little contingent of pencil pushers, notepad toters and microphone jockeys.
"Why do y'all want to talk to me?" Junior said, shrugging his shoulders in mock puzzlement. "What's the big deal, huh?"
As he walked down the dugout stairs and tried to make a quick retreat, Griffey let out a slightly devilish cackle and joked, "What I ought to do is go Brian Cox on y'all," feinting the tough-guy posture of the former NFL linebacker who was known for his one-digit salutes to enemy fans.
But much to his everlasting chagrin, no one was buying this bad-boy routine.
"Too late," someone shouted to Griffey. "Your cover's blown. We already know you're a nice guy."
The proof was standing no more than 20 feet away. The proof was this 19-year-old kid named Mark Crummley.
On June 20, Crummley, a college student on his way to his junior year at Southern Illinois-Carbondale, caught Griffey's historic 500th home run out in the right field stands at Busch. Instead of trying to sell it to the highest bidder, the kid did a very cool thing.
He handed the ball back to Griffey.
"I never thought about selling it," Crummley said. "I just thought it was the right thing to do. I guess my parents raised me right."
Is everybody listening to this? Did everyone hear what the kid said?
We all love to moan about all the selfish jerks who play professional sports, yet easily ignore some of the imbeciles who inhabit the stands, don't we? We forget about the morons who scream obscenities at the athletes, the dolts who wrestle over these home run balls, trample over children for foul balls and go to court trying to determine the ownership of a silly ball.
But The Kid and this kid are showing us what can and should happen when the guys on the field and the guys in the stands behave themselves. Since Crummley did his selfless act, Griffey has been showering the kid with all sorts of gratitude. Whatever the ball might have been worth on the auction block, (maybe $300), its value can't come close to the piles of goodies that Griffey has been tossing Crummley's way.
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
"........Price tag for doing the right thing and as a result getting an autographed jersey from your favorite player: Priceless"
Excellent story. Thanks for posting it.
Class on both ends of this deal. Nice story :).
Whatever the ball might have been worth on the auction block, (maybe $300), its value can't come close to the piles of goodies that Griffey has been tossing Crummley's way.
I think the ball would get much more than $300 on the auction block. Heck, just selling an autographed jersey would get you more than that! So Crummley made much more of a potential financial sacrifice in handing over the ball, without knowing that Griffey would come through for him so nicely.
Nice story. Am I mistaken, or wouldn't the 500th HR ball by Griffey be worth more than $300? Still, this kid did a great thing, and I'm glad to see he gained more by being nice than by being selfish.
I found that a bit low but then again, with the amount of guys in the 500 HR club maybe it isn't so special....
Of course, the usual rewards for doing the nice, right, honest, moral or ethical thing at expense to yourself are somewhat more intangible. But you will get to have people make you feel like you are a chump or idiot for not looking out for #1 first.
A very positive story all the way around. We need more Ken Jrs and Brians in the world of sports.
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