This came from the Sunday Chronical, in regards to Daryle Ward's home run that landed in the river on the fly: The person who dived into the river and retrieved Ward's home run ball wanted cash for it. Ward offered signed memorabilia but no money. "Maybe they haven't seen my salary in the paper," said Ward, who earns a little under $400,000. "I've got children to feed." Damn, life must be really f***ing tough to just get by on $400,000 a year.
Still, Finn...you have to admit that it was a pretty stupid quote. If he was trying to convey what you said, he did it in a very moronic way.
I have seen Daryle Ward interviewed after Astros games several times. Lets just say he doesn't come across as the sharpest tool in the shed.
I'm pretty sure he wasn't being sarcastic. He made a quote that sounds very stupid to normal people since he makes much more than the average citizen but among baseball players he is heavily underpaid.
Depends on how much the fan was asking for the ball. $399,000? Yes I feel for Daryle. $500? Umm...okay. Keep in mind Daryle also has to feed himself.
Cute. My point is not whether to pay the fan for the ball, it's saying publicly you have to be money conscience because you make only $400,000 a year. (Factor into this that $400,000 is his current salary. His earning potential is much greater.)
I agree with you Behad. I was making fun of Daryle who refused to pay the fan. I don't feel sorry for him at all.
Why should he pay the fan? People who demand money for those things piss me off. If I had cought Barry's record breaking home run, I'd only ask for signed memoribilia, and season tickets, but not cash, that seems wrong to me when your talking about history. What's the deal with Ward's ball anyway? Was it the first one to leave PNC and make it into the river?
HELL YEA .. I MEAN DEMANDING MONEY FOR PLAYING A GAME YOU LOVE. . . oops. . .i think i missed something Besides. . the fan can get top dollars on Ebay. The player won't pay. . .he better call pay pals then Rocket River
Big big difference between Barry Bonds and Daryle Ward. Bonds memorabilia = $$$$ Ward's memorabilia = $0 Should he have paid for the ball? Maybe, maybe no. Can he afford to pay? Yes.
From the Chronicle: Daryle Ward, whose grand slam Saturday night was the first home run to sail over PNC Park and land in the Allegheny River on the fly, received a call at the Astros' hotel from the man who retrieved the ball. Although the homer was historic in terms of PNC Park, which opened in 2001, the Pirates, the Astros and Ward refused to pay the man for the ball. When offered signed memorabilia by the Pirates and Ward, the man steadfastly requested cash. He refused to take no for an answer, waiting by the Astros' team buses outside PNC Park in hopes of reaching Ward. Failing to notice the hypocrisy, the fan wanted Ward to autograph the ball and give it back to him if he didn't want to buy it. The fan essentially was told to take another dive in the river. "I'm done with it now," Ward said. "It's the first river ball, but it's not the 74th, a (single-season) home run record. I'll always remember it. It might be a trivia question someday, but no record."
I think the paper misses a bit of hypocracy on the part of Mr Ward etc. I won't pay you for the memories. . .but expect the memories of baseball to bring people back if they strike again?? Rocket River EBAY BAY BEE!!!
The fans will come back if there is a strike. some will leave, but I feel more will tay. I agree. Fans are fickle. If there is competitive balance, and fans feel like their team will be able compete, they'll come back. Maybe slowly, but they'll be back. Everyone points to the fact that attendance never recovered from 1995, but I'd say that's more influenced by the fact that more than half the teams are eliminated pre-season. Those team's fans have just quit. (See Montreal, Florida, Tampa Bay, etc) The teams that win still have plenty of fans and attendence. Just look at Houston in 1998 after the Randy-Johnson trade.
Like Jim Rome said, what are guys gonna do on a June Suday evening? Talk to their wives? They're gonna tune to ESPN baseball.
Damn you Chronicle. How much was the man asking? It's hillarious he wanted Ward to sign the ball. If I was Ward I'd take the ball then say "what ball?" when he asked for it back.
He should have signed Derek Bells name on it, then hanned it back. Speaking of dumb quotes, Mr. Bell had a pretty good one earlier this year..
