The Happy Youngster Strikes Again? Coghlan's Home Run Ball Held for Ransom

[lcbj68c]

Why does it have value to a true 'Brewer fan'? Collector or not...there's no way that ball has any value to you unless you're a Marlin fan or trying to make a quick buck.

Again, I stated it has value to him because he enjoys collecting baseballs. His basement is full of "game used" memorabilla. This is game memorabilla. If they guy wants it back, Nick just wanted a piece of game memorabilla in return. The reason he asked for Ramirez is because Ramirez is a household name, not Coghlen. Makes sense to me. I haven't seen Nick sell a single piece of memorabilla in these forums or otherwise, so a quick buck does it not seem.

 

So he caught a ball from another player HR and he can pick what player does what for him?

All he did was ask. He didn't bound down to the Marlins dugout and whine and beg. They asked him for it back and he simply made a request given what his value of the ball was in relation to Coghlan/Marlins perception of value. The Marlins could have respectfully declined and Nick went home.

 

And based on Coghlen's quotes...is Coghlen a liar? The Marlins organization a liar? I mean come on now.

No, I do think that the truth is somewhere in the middle.

[Invader3K]

Basically, he can act how he wants with this stuff, but I think it's more than fair to say that others will form their opinions based on his actions.

 

I just think it's really silly and tacky. Matt Vasgersian (or whoever, I don't remember or care) gave him a nickname during a game broadcast in an off handed way years ago, and he's run away with it like he's been anointed the biggest fan of the Brewers out there...then he runs after balls and dresses in other teams' attire. The whole extortion of players for as much merchandise as possible is way over the top. It just seems really lame to me. It's just a baseball...don't act like you just found the Golden Ticket. If I was friends with this guy, I'd be acting like I didn't know him right now. It's also really amusing how everyone mentions he's a cop, like that somehow makes it OK. There is probably a ratio of nice guys to jerks in any profession, whether they're putting their lives on the line or not.

[AJAY]

I have met the Happy Youngster once and I had a nice conversation with him at a Brewers-related event. He seemed like a very nice person and he is definitely a true Brewers fan and a baseball fan. I also have a lot of respect for law enforcement people because they put their lives on the line and often work odd hours to protect the community. So I have no issues with him as a person.

 

In terms of returning the ball, my personal ethics say that anyone who catches a milestone ball should be gracious and just give the ball to the player without asking for anything. That player spent his entire life working out in the gym, riding the busses in the minor leagues, and going through a lot of other hurdles to make it to the big leagues. Out of respect for all that the player has had to go through and what a huge dream it is to hit your first major league homerun, I think he should just get the ball with nothing asked for in return.

 

I honestly think MLB should have the right to get balls of signifance back from people in the stands. They should change the rules and take ownership of all property related to the game. The historic balls would be better off in the Hall of Fame or with the player or organization. The fans who catch the balls have done nothing to achieve the milestone that is being celebrated.

[jhart05]

Anyone ever see that movie "8MM" with Nicolas Cage? I suddenly feel a lot like Cage's character after reading all of this stuff about "ballhawking" (particularly, Zack Hample's blog)...I've been sucked into a seedy, underground world that I didn't know existed, and each step I take leaves me a little more disgusted.

I think it's just weird.

 

Say you like some chick, she's cute, nice bod, you finally get invited over to her place, and she's got like 1,000 unicorn figurines around her place. I would be out of there in a minute, because that's just plain crazy.

 

I equate this story about the "youngster" to a chick like that.

 

I'm not going to stay I haven't collected a couple of balls. I have a Corey Hart from last year's season ticket promotion, a Yovani Gallardo this year from the same promo (they had some leftover from last year, so I asked for one), and one signed by my cousin who is a Major League umpire. That's it.

[colbyjack]

Good post AJAY.

 

I too have played softball with Nick, and thought he was a really nice guy (and a pretty good outfielder...he's had some practice). I think lcbj68c made some good points as well above, and always believe that there is more than one side to a story.

 

The best point made is that Happy clearly really values these balls. It doesn't seem as though he's out to make a buck on this, but wants something valuable in return for a ball he gets since he devotes a lot of time to acquiring them. If you read even a small snippet of his blog you'll quickly learn this, so to me it's not as though he's out to screw millionaires out of a few bucks, a bat, or anything else, he just is looking to make a fair trade when a ball of value happens to become part of his vast collection.

 

I don't understand questioning his fanship. I too don't care for the fact that he wears other team's merchandise, but he goes to a ton of games (probably more than most here), and makes the trek to spring training. I remember seeing him in the stands at almost every game I went to during one of the greatest summers of my life when I went to 42 home games (all in the left-field bleachers) during the 1998 season at County Stadium. I'm guessing he was 16 then, right around when he got his "Happy Youngster" name from Vasgersian and Schroeder, and he probably did me a favor more than once snagging home run balls that otherwise would have landed in my $5 beers.

 

I don't get the obsession with collecting SO many balls, now relying on tricks and pranks, not to mention wearing opposing team gear, to get more and more balls. Like AJAY, even if such a ball fell in my lap I would probably exchange it for a smile and a handshake (and a a picture with my kids if possible), but it clearly is his passion. A strange, foreign passion, but a passion that originated from the game of baseball, which makes it difficult for me to be overly critical.

 

One thing this does make me realize is that MLB should try to figure out a way to get baseballs back, or at least limit the ones thrown into the crowd. Baseballs aren't cheap, and while quite a few are used during the game, even the scuffed ones could be used for batting practice or even donated to amateur/high school leagues. I've been to quite a few minor league, college and semi-pro games in which balls are returned to the press box by kids in return for a sucker, sticker, or just a nice mention by the guy on the mike.

[Houlie24x]

I pretty much agree with everything lcbj68c said. I first met Happy the same time he did, and I know there is no chance he would ever knock a kid over for a ball.

 

He also didn't ask for all that stuff. As lcbj68c mentioned, they showed him on SportsCenter saying he wanted a Hanley Ramirez bat. All that other stuff was brought up after they turned him down for the Hanely Ramirez bat, and even some of the things I've seen listed are false.

 

Does it really make him a jerk for asking for a Hanely Ramirez bat? He was obviously willing to negotiate by taking a Coghlan bat so it's not like he was being unreasonable or even being disrespectful for that matter.

 

You guys are all rushing to judgement and you have only heard one side of the story. People are even spreading lies that he is knocking over kids at games.

[giffted1]

I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see ESPN sensationalize a story a bit and probably would ask for something of value in return if put in that same situation. Lets wait to get both sides of the story before judging him.

[pretendastronaut]

All this commentary about HY being a loser or weird or whatnot because he chooses to spend his time pursuing these baseballs is out of line and uncalled for in my opinion. Commentary on if he was asking for to much, or his methods, fine, but personal insults on a guy is to much. Heck, we don't have to understand it (I certainly don't), but it's his thing, and it's pretty harmless from what I can see. I spent some time reading his blog tonight, and he seems to be a nice enough guy, with a hobby that most of us don't partake in. So what? You don't have to sit here and disparage him for that.

[GormanHarvey]

Here's a novel thought - when they come to ask for the ball back just give it up while asking nothing in return. My guess is that more often than not a gesture like that will result in them giving you something as good or better than what that person was hoping for. Wow! What a crazy idea!

[gypcasino]

"I explained that ballhawking is my hobby and that what I was asking in return was fair," Yohanek said Thursday, in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "I told him I make $50,000 a year working in law enforcement and that I didn't feel like I was asking for too much. He responded, 'Good for you.' Real classy. Way to respect law enforcement. Way to respect a fan."

 

 

 

LINK

[strawbossisevil]

I don´t think anyone doubts that collecting a ball is meaningful to him. But what does get people upset is that he does not seem to keep his hobby in perspective to the bigger picture.

 

Here you have a guy who just hit his first ML homerun, a lifetime dream fulfilled, and you have a fan who refuses to give you the ball unless you give in to his demands, and really takes advantage of the situation. Something like a ML first HR is a tremendous achievement, and Happy should recognize the importance of the situation to the player and be gracious, rather than trying to get as much as he can out of the situation (aka greed). When blind love of hobby loses perspective and causes a loss of treating others with respect and courtesy, I´d say that the person with the hobby has lost perspective and gone overboard.

 

Unfortunately, this isn´t the first time this has been brought up, where the passion for the hobby went beyond acting graciously and humanely. The fact that this sounds so much like the Jenkins situation, just shows that this losing perspective of the hobby has become a pattern, and he hasn´t learned from his past loss of perspective. For that he will be looked upon in a negative way by much of the fanbase, and the criticism is probably to some extent deserved.

[valpocrewsader]

I don't understand the opinion that a home run ball should ever be just simply returned to the batter who hit it. Once it makes the seats and ends up in a fan's hands, to me that just seems like the end of the story. Done deal. Transaction complete. Two minutes ago the fan didn't have a ball, now the fan has a ball. For the fan to give it up for next to nothing sounds a lot like the fan getting robbed. Might be unfortunate for the hitter, with a little better luck the ball is in the bullpen where it can be retrieved with ease, but those are the breaks. Yes, the hitter worked hard to make the majors -- with the intent of some day hitting balls into the stands! You can't have it both ways. "Some day I want to hit home runs at the big league level, but I'm going to need my 1st one returned to me ... and my 50th ... and my 100th ... and...."

 

If I catch Mat Gamel's first career homer I'm pleased as punch and can't wait to put that thing front and center amongst my very modest collection of baseball stuff. If Mat wants it, I'm going to need something that balances out what I'm giving up. It's worth whatever I feel it's worth for no longer having the opportunity to display it at my house.

 

And on a personal level, Happy is just a flat out great guy. Huge brewers fan with a tremendous passion for the game of baseball. Throwing on the opposing team's jersey to get a few more souvenirs does nothing to change that. If anything, he's just playing them for suckers. Don't see how that's at all traitorous....

[jjkoestler]

I just read a few comments on HY's blog, and I must say I am disgusted. Someone from BF is trolling his blog saying that everyone on BF hates him. That is so bush league. You might not dig what he is doing, but be a grown up.

[DHonks]

We've all seen footage before of HY running over people while pursuing balls. To me it's sort of like when the sleezy PI is playing in the beach football game in There's Something About Mary. Sure he was tracking the balls the whole way, but little kids might have been tracking them, too.

I laughed when I saw on his blog tonight that he was the one that made that catch in spring training. Announcers claimed he saved the sunbathing girl, but at the time I remember thinking that the poor girl was lucky that she didn't get flattened by the guy stumbling to catch the ball. I'm pretty positive he had no idea she was there. I had no idea it was him until seeing it on his blog tonight.

Maybe I'm weird, but I don't believe in grown men competing with kids for baseballs. I have caught two foul balls and they make great stories. The last one I caught is currently on the shelf of some random kid. I had long had my own rule that if I catch a ball, I can keep it. If I get it on a bounce, it belongs to the nearest deserving kid. I violated my rule that day, but I saw the joy that it brought to that kid, his dad, and grandpa. Now maybe HY gets some weird satisfaction out of getting baseballs. However, he reminds me of the kid that takes on the whole team in soccer to score his 5th goal and beat the other team by 10. He reminds me of the coach that keeps pressing the opposing basketball team when up 40 in the 4th quarter. In my classroom, he reminds me of the kid that has to always have his hand up, to the point where all of his classmates can't wait for the "game" to be over because it's no longer fun. I see his 14-ball game and I shake my head in disgust. That's 13 balls that should have gone to others, leaving him with 1 and a whole lot of satisfaction. Perhaps in the HY's universe, quantity is important, not quality. How many people have been deprived of a baseball because of his superficiality? I'd rather catch one ball and have a great story than deprive thousands of others of having their very own personal stories.

[Legacy25GT]

Does anyone know if HY was the one that actually caught the ball? If you look at the highlight ( http://florida.marlins.ml...tent_id=4541473&c_id=fla ) it landed in the Tundra Territory, and although I've never seen HY, it definitely doesn't look anything like the picture someone posted earlier, or like someone wearing any marlin's gear.

[Baldkin]

Just curious as to why this thread isn't locked yet, with people making blatant personal attacks on a BF.netter and posting ridiculous speculations without any basis or factual information.

 

If I were to start posting about "What a looser soandso is for collecting autographs" in a thread, I'd probably get banned.... and not just for the terrible spelling.

[NastyTwig]

I just don't understand the ransoming of a milestone ball. You have something that they want. It means a whole hell of a lot more to them than it does to you, and you know that. They've dedicated their whole lives for this one moment and you're dangling something that he'll be passing down in his family for generations right in front of his face.

The Jenks one really irks me because they wanted to give him stuff, he knew it, and held out for more. When what they offered wasn't good enough, he said he'd walk away with the ball (knowing full well that he was going to get his offer upped). Please. Jenks deserved better from a "hardcore fan".

Just give them the ball, shake his hand, accept whatever it may be that he happens to give you, and go about your day with a really cool story. Don't be a prick about it.

[homer]

To me if a guy is wearing opposing team gear simply to get balls, he's a fan of getting balls and not a Brewer fan. Plain and simple. And the schtick about him only making $50K and the law enforcement entitlement is pretty sad. Maybe go into a different line of work or open a business if you are so destitute. There are some things in life money can't buy. I'm sure if he somehow lost the video of his kid taking his first steps and then had to barter to get it back he'd be pretty peeved.

[DHonks]

wow, after reading that AP piece, HY looks even worse. Seriously, get rid of the chip on your shoulder. You claim he's dissing law enforcement? You claim he's dissing people making $50k a year? Wow, I made a choice to go into teaching and I only touched $40k because I taught 4 weeks of summer school, coached a sport for 12 weeks (3-5 hours per night), and supervised an after-school math program for Title I students IN ADDITION to my salary. I will never complain about my salary except when I hear others throw out blatantly foolish statements (although I will complain about our 6.2% paycuts for next year, in addition to 300 district teachers losing jobs. What I make is fair...what isn't fair is bad governmental policies). I teach and I'm proud of it.

 

I read that comment from him, and I'm pretty sure that all of the fine ladies and gentlemen of law enforcement would be ashamed by his antics and statements because it does not fit in with the ethics and values typically associated with the profession.

[TheCrew07]

I don't see how commenting on 2 incidents that played out in the national media constitutes personal attacks, he brought it upon himself in both cases.

 

I fully expect his friends to stick up for him, but if you aren't willing to see the other side, there's nothing to discuss.

 

He insulted the player by going to the "money" card right away. He basically said I make *this* much, so I deserve *this* from someone who has more than me when I have something they want. How would you take that if you were the player? The issue here isn't about a free market, or capitalism, or anything along those lines because the ball doesn't carry value on the collector's market that he asked for in return. Clearly he only values a ball for what he can gain from it, and this is not an isolated incident.

 

I'm not a collector, it's just not my thing, but I wonder how often things like this happen and it's never reported. I see incidents like this going both ways, why should players willingly hand out autographs to fans if the fans aren't going to return the favor? What incentive does Coghlan have to sign next time he's in Milwaukee? Why should they ever give away their signatures for free? I read the various comments the collectors make in the trade forum and I can't help but wonder if incidents like this have a wider impact than people realize.

[RockCoCougars]

For the money that these players and teams make off the fans, I must say that I'm surprised how they try to lowball people for stuff like this. A signed bat (likely game unused) from this Coghlan character that might fetch $50 on eBay? You can't tell me that they couldn't part with a Ramirez bat, a team signed ball, and tickets- none of which the team had more than a hundred dollars or so invested in. None of those requests are unreasonable in my mind. He wouldn't have gotten the ball from me unless I got what I wanted.

 

They soak the fans every chance they get, why is it wrong for a fan to soak them for a change? This guy likely wouldn't have given HY the time of the day, if he didn't have something he wanted, now I'm supposed to feel bad for him because he didn't get the ball handed right over to him without a negotiation (on the road none the less)? Please...

[pretendastronaut]

To clarify, I'm not a friend of Happy's, I've never even met him. I just don't think we need a thread full of people calling him a loser because he is fanatical about chasing baseballs. As has been pointed out in this thread, we have plenty of people who are fanatical about autographs on the forum, and nobody calls them losers for it, nor should they.

 

I'm not sticking up for Happy in any way beyond that. From what I've read so far, ya, he's not coming off well in this situation at all, and the AP article makes him look worse, especially the quote about his salary and job. I don't agree with his methods either. I'm all for calling him out on these things, but I don't think we look any better for calling him names because he chases baseballs around. The guy is clearly a super fan if you look at some of the pictures on the blogs, he's got a memorabilia room that rivals many of the ones I've seen posted in the Trading Post here by other members. Stick to commenting about the incident, not about riding him down because you don't understand why he cares so much about what he does.

[homer]

For what it's worth, a signed Hanley Ramirez bat goes for about $150 on eBay right now.

[pretendastronaut]

As I see the AP article on espn.com now, I can't help but think that his story couldn't come at a much worse time for Milwaukee and the Brewers. The Crew has been playing great, but so much of our media attention lately has been about Braun supposedly hot dogging every home run, that we're whiners with Braun being thrown at by Karstens and Dempster, and that the team is disrespectful with the untucking. This story doesn't help our national image in the least.

[GormanHarvey]

Just curious as to why this thread isn't locked yet, with people making blatant personal attacks on a BF.netter and posting ridiculous speculations without any basis or factual information.

I don't think just being a member of this site precludes you from any discussion or criticism of you actions - especially something like this that is getting a lot of media attention and where he is claiming to be this great Brewer fan, which to me affects all of us. I am not saying it is ok to attack him on a personal level, but I also don't think his actions are something I would consider admirable or praise worthy. Personally, as a true Brewer fan, I would prefer if he would just call himself a souvenir fan because what he did to Jenkins, a guy that meant a ton to the recent history of this franchise, is not something I would consider a "true" Brewer fan to do. And now this...

 

Also, maybe I have missed some posts here and there, but for the most part the only participation I have ever seen from HY on bfnet is to comment on or dispute/confirm accounts of his own involvement in catching balls, typically ones seen on TV.