MIAMI (AP) -The Florida Marlins fan who claims he was the first to catch Ken Griffey Jr.’s 600th home run ball said Wednesday that he hopes it winds up in the Cincinnati slugger’s possession.
Justin Kimball, 25, also wants a Miami-Dade court to prevent the fan who the Marlins say caught the ball on Monday night – a season-ticket holder identified only as “Joe” – from selling it until the ownership issue can be resolved.
“Our client is not looking for any type of monetary gain whatsoever,” Melissa Bernheim, one of the attorneys representing Kimball, told The Associated Press late Wednesday night. “Maybe just a bat and an autograph.”
In the court filing – which lists John Doe and “any party in control or possession of (the) Ken Griffey Jr. 600th home run baseball” as defendants – Kimball says “Joe” scratched his arms and legs to wrestle the ball away, and further asserts that the ball is a piece of “Americana.”
The filing also says that at least three stadium workers saw the ball “forcefully” removed from Kimball’s possession.
“I just want to see it end up in the right hands,” said Kimball, who is the lead singer in a band. “That’s my main goal, that it ends up in Ken Griffey Jr.’s hands. That’s all I care about.”
Kimball said he caught Griffey’s historic home run in a wool cap, only to have it ripped from his hands by someone else in the right-field seats. Video replays do not clearly corroborate that story or support the Marlins’ assertion that “Joe” dropped another baseball in an effort to distract other fans who were clamoring for the Griffey ball.
Marlins president David Samson said he is certain “Joe” caught the ball, and Major League Baseball has authenticated that the ball in the man’s possession is the true 600th homer.
“If you look at the footage, that ball goes right to our client,” Bernheim said. “And the real concern we have here is primarily that the Marlins rushed to judgment so quickly.”
Griffey has said he would like to have the baseball, which experts say could command up to $100,000 at auction.
Griffey is one of only six players in major league history to reach the 600-homer mark.
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