My favortie ball is missing! (no not THAT ball, you pervs!)

The BBQ Pit
1

I asked them to do a very simple thing - I don’t have renter’s insurance so please hold this small box of what I consider valuable. Most of the items in that box are pieces of baseball memorabilia I’ve gathered over the years.
Now that I’ve worked so much overtime (19 days straight), I’m expecting a rather large check this Friday and thought I’d add to my collection so I wanted to go through what I have and think about which piece would go well with it.

So I’m going through the box at my parents’ house today looking at the autographed baseballs:
Ozzie Smith, check.
Stan Musial, check.
Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Jim Edmonds. Check, check, check.
Even Fernando Tatis. Check.
All Cardinals (and one ex-Cardinal).

I decide I need to round out my collection with some players from other teams to go along with my Ted Williams…

Hey, where’s Ted Williams? Anybody see the Ted Williams autographed baseball?

The single most valuable piece in my baseball collection, tell me you’ve moved it somewhere safer than that box. Tell me it’s in a steel safe in case of fire. Tell me you know where the hell Teddy Ballgame’s autographed baseball is! I gave you one simple job - leave the box here, don’t fuck with the box! Somebody fucked with the box!

Of course nobody knows how the baseball got out of the box, but with three dogs running around that house I’m scared shitless what they could do to a baseball. Friday is my birthday and I was gonna treat myself to beefing up my collection with some players from other teams, but now I may have to treat myself to trying to replace a ball that I spent close to $400 for in the first place.

And you know Williams isn’t getting any fucking younger either. Do these people have any idea how much the price of this thing would skyrocket once he dies? We’re talking about the last man to bat .400 over an entire season here and that was 60 years ago! He and Babe Ruth are considered the greatest hitters of all time!

Being in St Louis, any of the other balls can be fairly easily replaced. But Ted Williams, the pride of my collection, missing! Dammit!

And yes, I know the ball is that box. I distinctly remember when I packed up and moved out checking that box to make sure it had everything that I didn’t want in my apartment. I am hoping and praying that they’re all playing ignorant and they know where the ball is and just not mentioning it because it has something to do with my birthday coming up (although I asked them if that was the case and they denied it).

2

Dammit. One of these days I’m going to realize the word is spelled favorite and not favortie. Jesus, how many times have I done that now?

3

Ouch. I feel your pain. My fingers are crossed.

4

Six.

I’ve been counting.

:smiley:

Seriously, I know how much it sucks to have to replace something out of a collection, especially when it’s someone else’s fault. All I can suggest is to use the money to replace the ball. The times this sort of thing has happened to me, the “not-having” feeling was worse than spending the money. And if the original ever turns up again, you can always resell the replacement ball.

Fenris

5

I have a ball with both Ed Kranepool and Dave Kingman’s signatures. I wonder what that’s worth.

Sorry about your ball though.

The operative point here, is how well do you know your family? Do they have a habit of playing with your mind? Are they the kind that would steal your ball and make you all upset just to return it along with a genuine bat or something?

6

This is why I’m clinging to the hope that the ball will turn up again on my birthday. I don’t think they would purposely make me upset, but may have still been trying to keep the surprise a secret instead of telling me when I asked if that’s what was going on.

My father, however, (another baseball fan) seemed as upset as I was over the disappearance and was going through other boxes in other rooms to help look for it. He was still doing it when I left to get ready for work tonight. However, since time immemorial, my mother handles the birthday presents for my sister and me and tells my dad later what they’re getting us. So it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he honestly didn’t know if it was part of a birthday surprise.

So I’m hoping that’s what it is, but as much as my mother knows I like baseball, I doubt it would occur to her to get me baseball memorabilia. She doesn’t understand the concept of paying so much for something to sit around. I’m still trying to get her to understand the concept of my comic book collection. No matter how many times I tell her the potential value of a comic, siting the first appearance of Super-Man or Spider-Man as examples of a small investment being worth thousands of dollars, she always asks, “Well who would pay that much?” I always tell her, “Collectors!” So the thought of her coming up with the idea of getting more baseball collectibles for me on her own is rather far-fetched.

7

Ask them point blank about the ball re the “surprise” issue.

Have guests or the children of any friends been in the same room as the box? My friend lost a beautiful glass paperweight after the carpet cleaners went through. You would be suprised how many people have access to our valuables that we don’t even think about until somethings missing.

Out curiosity with so many people faking signatures (and faking certifications that the item is genuine) how can any fan be cetain of an items provenance and authenticity anymore?

8

I did. They’re claiming this is not the case, but I’m still hoping they may be saying this just to surprise me.

**

The Cardinal players’ autographs I know are authentic because I was there personally for the autograph. As for the Williams ball, that’s a risk you face and before buying you need to do a thorough check into the dealer to see what sort of reputation they have.
In my case the ball was ordered from Ted Williams’s official site.

I just checked the site and now the autographed baseballs are going for $700. Yikes!

9

I know exactly how you feel, Crunchy.

For whatever that’s worth.

10

Aww, geez! That sucks! I’m sorry, Crunchy. :frowning: Ted Williams is high on my list of balls to purchase - to have had and lost one would really hurt!

However…

$700?! Holy crap. I’ve seen Mantle balls for less than that, from reputable dealers, too. I’ve noticed, though, that stuff directly from Williams’ site is frequently overpriced.

11

Ummm… isn’t the sole reason that you put it at your parent’s house that they DID have some sort of homeowner’s or renter’s insurance? You didn’t come right out and say it, but I would assume that you didn’t just move yer valuables from one non-insured home to another. Can’t you get your parents to make a claim on their insurance if the thing really is missing?

12

Yes, but the fact that I have to replace it is what irks me. I mean, it’s not like someone broke into the house, bypassed the TVs, VCRs, stereo equipment, etc to root through a cardboard box stashed away in the basement, skip over all the other autographed baseballs just to wander off with Ted Willimas and nothing else. Plus, how do we file the claim? “Missing” isn’t quite the same thing as stolen, so I’m not sure if they’ll cover it. In the meantime, we’re looking for it during our free time. If the ball wasn’t taken from the house (as everyone claims) then it’s got to be there somewhere.

What pisses me off is that someone in the house must have been screwing around with my stuff and now this is missing. (BTW- my birthday was yesterday and it is STILL missing. Its disappearance had nothing to do with a birthday surprise.)

And yes, jadailey, $700 is overpriced. Especially when you consider I bought one from the same site not quite a year ago for only $400. I’m supposed to believe these balls nearly doubled in value in less than a year and Williams isn’t even dead yet? Not likely.

13

Back when I was in college, I left some things I considered valuable in the care of my parents, along with all the rest of the crap I owned that I didn’t think was all that important to have. Guess what I found when I came home one weekend? My parents, thinking they were doing me a favor, :rolleyes: went through my stuff and threw away everything that was valuable to me and kept the crap! Grrr. I’ve since stopped entrusting them with anything.