Almost one For a quarter century, one of the most famous home runs in baseball history sat on a shelf in a box in Neil Dunleavy's bedroom closet. Every once in a while, he would retrieve it and admire: the golden letters, the round black stain that the bat hits it, and the disappearing signature that it was so unaware of by the naked eye, except for one clue: "#2".
Dunleavy grew up in the suburbs of New York City, but he grew up at Yankee Stadium. His father John worked as a supplier there for 57 years. All three of John's sons did, including Neil, who jumped into the car on October 31, 2001 and drove for five hours from Georgetown University, his sophomore, headed to the Bronx.
The academy cuts the number of games that Dunleavy might be effective, but he won't miss Game 4 of the 2001 World Series, and the upcoming organic chemistry test is damn. Less than two months after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the New York Yankees tried to win their fourth World Series in a row, and even if that meant a $10 plan, Dunlevi just wanted to get into the stadium and soak in the mystery and halo of the place.
Derek Jeter boarded the plate as the clock approached midnight on November 1. Byung-Hyun Kim, the Arizona Rattlesnake, is working. The Rattlers won two of the first three games and were ready to take a 3-1 lead until Tino Martinez ambushed Kim for a ninth home run, which put the game in the extra situation. Two out of 10ThJeter dug a 0-2 hole by himself. He fights - Ball, foul, foul, ball, ball, foul - before King's 61Yingshi The tone of the game captures too many external corners.
Jet lifted the ball to the opposite side. It kept lifting and sneaking on the left of the 314-foot marker beneath the right foul pole, where Deng Leavy happened to stand. When a man on his right flipped over the railing, the men on the left jumped happily, Deng Leavy rushed on the ball, fixing it in the chaos with his right arm.
The ball was the heyday of the Yankees, the time machine of the last great dynasty of baseball, even more important than the relic of the Captain's career. In all the indelible moments of his career - Jeffrey Maier home run, diving rack, 3,000Th-Hit home run, flip- The ball given to Jeter by the nickname is the most iconic, and it's a fact that Dunleavy is happy to share with his three kids.
"If anyone mentions, they're like, 'Oh, that's Ball Daddy cares a lot.'" Dunleavy said.
Never Deng Leavy talked publicly about the ball and how he owned it. However, in recent months, he decided to sell it, and with the June 14 auction, he talked to ESPN about that magical night—even if he will no longer have physical souvenirs, he will always have something more valuable.
"I'm going to sell the ball," Dunleavy said. "I'm not selling this story."
When he arrived On Halloween night, at Yankee Stadium, Dunleavy thought he would spend a night at the merchandise booth with his father and brothers, selling hats and delicacies as well as their best-selling items, Shirseys and Jeter second. The Yankees needed someone to pedd the show that night because he was the youngest, and Deng Leavy picked up the short straw.
The Hawking Plan is not the worst task. Their price is $10, meaning Dunleavy doesn't need to carry changes or prepare items like hotdog vendors. Planning is a large business. He has to meet cool people - Dunleavy said he offered the show free to Adam Sandler and John Travolta - hundreds of people keep his hopes as a memorable night to keep the restaurant.
But to 10Th Dunleavy was poisoned. He dragged a few miles around the stadium for a few miles of the show. He knew Jeter was about to get on the bat and asked nearby security guards if he could park himself in front of the right field and count in front of his money - just in case the game ended.
"Wouldn't it be great if he had a home run against us now?" Dunleavy asked the security guard.
Dunleavy knows how Jeter works. At 27, Jeter had already cemented his legacy with four World Series wins. His inside-out swing won many games, including the first game of the 1996 AFC Champions Series, when 12-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier pulled the ball over the right fence in the days before the replay comments, and made a home run. The Yankees went on to win their first World Series in nearly two decades.
"I'm in the right corner and obviously I know the history of the Yankees," Dunleavy said. "I know Jeffrey Maier, and I know why the guard standing next to me was there first: preventing the incident from Jeffrey Maier."
When hearing the cracks of the bats, Deng Leavy reached into his apron and grabbed hundreds of bills, ready to organize them. It was gradually disappearing towards the corner when Arizona right fielder Reggie Sanders tracked the ball - in Dunleavy. He played baseball in high school and it's certain that he would have caught the ball if it weren't for the amount of cash in his hands. It bounced to the left and swayed in front of Deng Leavy. He gave up his cash and went to find another treasure.
He landed hard on the ball, bruising his ribs. He clung to it as others looked at him, hoping it would squirt freely. The guy who fell on the barricade said, "That's right for me. My fingers were on it. He pulled it apart. There were about 50 people on top of us."
Dunleavy stood up as the pile retreated, looking around, panicking. No dollar stays on the ground. Maybe the ball made more money than he made that night, but his first thought was: "My father was going to kill me." Dunleavy then leaned towards a security guard, who said his "football-sized 20 seconds and 10 seconds." When he calculated the money, all the $2,120 plan he sold was taken over.
Dunleavy celebrated by standing in a security chair and holding the ball in the air, which still made fans happy - including Brunn, who handed his card to Dunle and told him he wanted to buy the ball.
"My New York boy was on me and realized, 'Well, I just told 5,000 people that I already have a very famous ball. I'd better put hell here.'" Dunleavy said.
On the walk back to his father's shelf, Deng Leavy began to think about what he wanted to do with the ball. He could sell it to Brunn or the person with the highest bid. He can keep it. Neither seem to be correct. Jeter provides many incredible moments for Yankees fans. This is Dunleavy's chance to repay him.
"We all want to be Jet," Dunleavy said. "So I was thinking, he hit it and I'm going to give it to him. Hopefully he'll appreciate it."
Earlier the next day, he returned to Yankee Stadium with the ball in his hand and went to the right field where he put a picture. "I thought I'd throw the ball away forever, and I'd never see it again," Dunleavy said. He met Joe Lee, whom he knew, and asked him to bring the ball to Jet. He hopes Jeter can come out of the clubhouse, shake hands, and even give him a signed ball or bat.
Lee returns without Jet - holding the ball in his hand. Dunleavy noticed the black stain. This is the November dance with only faint signatures, dates ("11-1-01") and number 2.
"If I knew I was going to get it back, I would give him a better pen."
Deng Leavy is back Georgetown and his friends added to his friends in the story of Mr. Ball in November. It became the first-choice story for the party. His future wife, Annemarie, heard about the ball within the first 30 minutes of meeting Dunleavy.
When he finished his undergraduate, the ball stayed at his parents’ home and stayed there while in medical school. It joined Dunleavy when he moved into his position while living in New York City. When he took him there and eventually returned to Connecticut, he settled in Chicago and is today an orthopedic surgeon specializing in knees and shoulders.
Dunleavy, 43, still loves Yankees and baseball. It taught him how to do math, provide entertainment time every month, poured through Beckett baseball cards every month, his early adulthood was filled with memories of his father and brother.
"It just hit me," Dunleavy said. "Time passes. I kind of think, maybe when I'm old and gray, I'll give it to (my kids). One day, my wife and I were at home, watching the ball. Literally, the situation was collecting dust in the closet. We didn't stick it out in our home as the kids did, because the kids could throw it in the mud.
Dunleavy's daughter is 11 and 9 years old and his son 5, admits: "One day, they have a chance to be like, 'What are you doing? But I don't think so." So he established a connection with auction house Goldin, which sent it to identity verification company JSA. Analysis using the video spectral comparator clearly demonstrates Jett's signature and date, even after the ink fades, the balls are considered real. Bidding prices for the remaining week are as high as $110,000. Dunleavy said he plans to donate a portion of the proceeds to Jeter's second-place foundation.
Even though the Yankees lost the World Series in a heartbreaking way in 2001, it didn't relieve that ball and that moment of meaning. The time around September 11 was devastating, and baseball provided something that could be merged in the country. Ten days after the Twin Towers fell, Mike Piazza's home run at the New York Mets brought some normalcy and hope. The Yankees represent New York's strength and the significance of the competition to the city and the country.
These feelings, not the ball itself, are Dunleavy's endurance, and after these years he wants to thank Jeter for his unintentional influence on Dunleavy's life.
"Please tell him I told my wife this story and we'll celebrate 17 years of marriage next week." "It changed my life, you know? She said it didn't (convincing her to date him), but who exactly, right? Maybe. Maybe she saw my passion for telling stories and loving them.
"I owe this moment a lot. When I tell this story, I've always been able to make everyone smile. I can tell this story to people who don't care about baseball, don't care about sports. No one can take this story away."