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Although Major League Baseball remains undecided about using instant replay for home runs, that did not stop the police from watching video to determine who caught the 600th home run hit by Ken Griffey Jr. on Monday night in Miami.

Justin Kimball, a 25-year-old Miami man, said he caught Griffey's milestone home run at Dolphin Stadium and placed the ball in a wool cap. The cap was pulled from his hands, and someone ran away with the ball, Kimball said, according to news reports. It was not clear whether Kimball claimed that the fugitive was a one-armed man. Or why anybody would be wearing a wool cap in the sweltering heat of Miami.

This was yet another in a series of home run disputes in baseball this season. Only this time, it involved the person who caught the ball, not the umpire who ruled on it. Not requiring a protracted field study or a change in the collective bargaining agreement, the Miami-Dade police quickly went to the replay to see if Kimball's claims were true. Apparently, they were suspicious from the beginning. Police officers who witnessed the home run said they escorted to safety a man identified only as "Joe," who possessed the ball and appeared to have caught it with a glove.

"The video was reviewed numerous times with the same conclusion," according to a statement issued Tuesday by the Miami-Dade police. "The claim of Mr. Kimball is in direct conflict with the video replays and observations of officers on the scene."

Source: New York Times