The ball

So there's a minor controversy about the ball used to record the final out of the World Series. Doug Mientkiewicz says the ball is his, the Red Sox say it's theirs, and a lot of people are siding with the Sox. Eugene Volokh does some cursory legal analysis, but pretty much shows that he doesn't know much about the game. He's a very smart guy, but not a baseball fan. Once a ball is no longer in play, possession isn't nine-tenths of the law, it is the law. Minky had the ball at the moment the game ended, he owns it. The ball most definitely doesn't belong to my Sox, if it belonged to anyone besides Minky it would be the Cardinals, as they provided the balls used in the game. But that's irrelevant, as the rule is very clear as to who owns a ball. Minky did say some stupid things, like how he's been to hell and back (um, look at Indonesia or Iraq, then reconsider that statement), but whatever. It's his, and that's that.