# You catch Jeter's 3000th hit. What do you do? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 16, 2011, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509 "2011-09-16T12:40:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/21 "2011-09-16T19:38:23Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I’d probably revel in catching it and then give it to a kid. I mean, money yes, cool Yankees shit yes, but I could not care less about the Yankees shit and some kid can have the stuff that goes with it. Kids parents turn around and sell it and buy nice new cars to drive the kid to the babysitters house in. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/22 "2011-09-16T19:45:20Z")
Definitely auction. I hate baseball, so the only way I’d be at a game is if my work group was having an outing or something. And if I was lucky enough to catch it, I’d let the market determine what it’s worth and be happy with whatever I got. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/23 "2011-09-16T20:24:43Z")
I’d auction it off, but I’d let Jeter/the Yankees make the first bid. I wouldn’t give them an asking price, but I say “How much is it worth to you?” If they made a good enough offer - in cash money, not in any stinkin’ suites or autographed jersies - I’d take it and sell it to them. If they didn’t then it be off to the auction house. With my luck I’d be mugged on my way out of the Stadium. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/24 "2011-09-18T19:53:19Z")
I chose the ‘Other’ option. It’s already been said above, but I think (assuming I lived in the area) I would try to get something that keeps on giving. In other words 2 or 4 ‘good’ seats for life, or 50 years or something like that. Barring that I’d first try to get what I could but retaining ‘ownership’ of the ball and ‘loaning’ it to the Baseball Hall of Fame or something. The reason I chose other was because I think it’s foolish to make a decision within hours of obtaining the ball. I’d mull over my options. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/25 "2011-09-18T19:56:04Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Jesus. I couldn’t have pulled off more typos there if I planned it. > > For the record “cranks \*\*it \*\*into my grubby little mitts” … “I throw it back \*\*into \*\*the outfield” … and the city is spelled “Boston.” > > Carry on. ha ha, I just thought you were trying to ‘talk’ like you were from Boston. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/26 "2011-09-19T01:01:06Z")
He did the classy thing, I suppose, but I wouldn’t. I pretty well despise the Yankees, though I like Jeter well enough. I’d sell it to him for enough money to get my family out of debt - maybe 50 grand or so. Joe ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/27 "2011-09-19T17:34:39Z")
Were I to catch such a baseball I’d be both alarmed and impressed at the strength of the hit, because I can’t imagine actually being at a baseball game of my own free will! I’d keep it, see what the current value may be, try and see if there’s any idea of what the futur value might be (is this guy done and this is the last milestone ball he’s likely to hit, or does he have another 15 years to go in his career?) and figure out who to sell it to and for how much at a later date. I’d never make a decision on the spot like that, and I’d turn down any baseball swag that was offered. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/28 "2011-09-19T17:53:43Z")
Sell it, definitely. I despise the Yankees, so nothing they could give me would be of interest. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/29 "2011-09-19T18:06:02Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > I’d keep it, see what the current value may be, try and see if there’s any idea of what the futur value might be (is this guy done and this is the last milestone ball he’s likely to hit, or does he have another 15 years to go in his career?) and figure out who to sell it to and for how much at a later date. I’d never make a decision on the spot like that, and I’d turn down any baseball swag that was offered. Not for nothing, but nobody who reaches 3,000 hits is destined for another 15 years worth of milestones … unless the milestone he’s going for is ‘The only 50 year old still playing professional baseball.’ ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/30 "2011-09-19T18:19:13Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Not for nothing, but nobody who reaches 3,000 hits is destined for another 15 years worth of milestones … unless the milestone he’s going for is ‘The only 50 year old still playing professional baseball.’ Heh you’re right, but then again, I just picked a number a random to make a point; I wasn’t only referring to 3000 hits, but any significant milestone ball/puck/other sports equipment. So the next hockey phenom scores 50 in 50; that 50th puck’s value might be worth more in a rookie or final career season than in another one where the player might have many years ahead where he could be expected to achieve the same thing (I suppose; I have no actual knowledge of the price of sports memorabilia, but I assume context matters!) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/31 "2011-09-19T18:45:10Z")
I’ll give you a clue as to what I would do: “Hey, bidder, bidder, bidder…c’mon, bidder, bidder…” mmm ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/32 "2011-09-19T19:24:34Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Publicly burn it. All things Yankee are Evil, and must be destroyed lest they wreak havoc and chaos in this plane. While I enthusiastically agree with this sentiment in principle, I think the auction route would be my choice, particularly since it makes it less likely that someone in the Yankees organization will get it and the Yankees can suck it. The key element to the scheme is me getting a bunch of money for an item I have absolutely no interest in possessing because it is tainted with the stench of the Yankees. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/33 "2011-09-19T20:23:44Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > If it’s a rookie’s first homerun or something, I’d give it back. in exchange for a signed ball or bat or similar item. Jeter has made hundreds of millions of dollars playing baseball and being a valued pitchman for Ford and whoever else. The ball is legally mine, he has the wherewithal to pay me an appropriate market price for the ball, if he wants it. While I’m not poor\*, I am not independently wealthy, and some money in my pocket would go a long way towards paying off the house, getting a new car, funding my son’s college, etc. I have far more responsibility towards my family’s finances than I have towards Jeter’s feelings. This. The notion that it’s the right (and “classy”) thing, for a fan to just give this ball to an extremely rich athlete for free or close to it, is absurd. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/34 "2011-09-19T20:47:00Z")
Straight to auction, no question. I don’t like the Yankees, but my answer would be the same even if the player was my favorite player on my favorite team. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/35 "2011-09-20T01:02:28Z")
Money, baby, money. I’d tour a couple of sports shows and then it’s off to auction. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509/36 "2011-09-20T01:08:12Z")
My standard answer, “hookers and blow”. I’ll bet the Yankees have plenty of both in the clubhouse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-catch-jeters-3000th-hit-what-do-you-do/596509.md?page=1)