BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: AP: Griffey pays off Fogg in pennies

Baseball Primer Newsblog
— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand

Thursday, May 15, 2008

AP: Griffey pays off Fogg in pennies

Ken Griffey Jr. owed Cincinnati Reds teammate Josh Fogg $1,500, and paying by check just wouldn’t do. So when Fogg arrived in the Reds clubhouse Wednesday, he found his locker filled with 150,000 pennies—60 boxes, each weighing 16 pounds and containing $25 worth of pennies.

“Basically, it’s like having 60 bowling balls in your locker, only with no holes to pick them up with,” Griffey said.

Neither player would say why Griffey owed Fogg the money. Griffey had threatened to pay it off in pennies, but Fogg didn’t believe him.

“I’m going to take them out to the bullpen and count them,” Fogg said. “I’ve got a lot of time on my hands out there.”

Dayton Daily News blog: McCoy: 150,000 pennies for your thoughts

NTNgod Posted: May 15, 2008 at 06:22 PM | 59 comment(s)
Related News: General, Cincinnati

Reader Comments and Retorts

Go to end of page

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

Page 1 of 1 pages

1. Charter Member of the Jesus Melendez Fanclub Posted: May 15, 2008 at 06:27 PM (#2782618)

Someone paid me $10 in pennies when we were about 12 years old. It wasn't that amusing then, either.

2. Johnny Clash Posted: May 15, 2008 at 06:30 PM (#2782621)

Is that even legal?

3. Clarence Thomas luuuvs Jacoby Ellsbury (scott) Posted: May 15, 2008 at 06:35 PM (#2782623)

if you consider the cost to make each penny, Griffey overpaid by nearly 400 bucks.

4. Charter Member of the Jesus Melendez Fanclub Posted: May 15, 2008 at 06:38 PM (#2782625)

If he specially commissioned each penny from the federal mint, which I doubt.

5. Charter Member of the Jesus Melendez Fanclub Posted: May 15, 2008 at 06:39 PM (#2782626)

Though who knows...anyone lame enough to pay $1,500 in pennies might go to the trouble of having them cooked up just for that occasion.

6. NTNgod Posted: May 15, 2008 at 06:42 PM (#2782627)

“I’m a man of my word,” said Griffey. “And when you owe a man $1,500, you pay him. And I’d like to thank the lovely people at National City Bank for helping me with this joke. There isn’t a whole lot you can do with pennies."

Dayton Daily News

7. B. Selig Posted: May 15, 2008 at 06:42 PM (#2782628)

They're Reds, so this means they were betting on baseball.

8. Swedish Chef Posted: May 15, 2008 at 06:46 PM (#2782633)

There isn’t a whole lot you can do with pennies

They're money! Money can be exchanged for goods and services.

9. Jamey Carroll Wojtyła (Dan Lee) Posted: May 15, 2008 at 06:46 PM (#2782634)

Keppinger ends up with a broken kneecap and his teammate immediately pays off a debt.

I'm just sayin'...

10. BeanoCook Posted: May 15, 2008 at 06:53 PM (#2782637)

Keppinger ends up with a broken kneecap and his teammate immediately pays off a debt.

I'm just sayin'...

4-1/2 stars.

11. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: May 15, 2008 at 06:57 PM (#2782642)

Griffey was probably planning to make a copper arthritis bracelet for every limb on his body.

12. Dr Love Posted: May 15, 2008 at 07:18 PM (#2782651)

Ken Griffey Jr. owed Cincinnati Reds teammate Josh Fogg $1,500, and paying by check just wouldn’t do.

Yeah, don't want baseball investigators to be able to trace the sale.

(I'm kidding)

13. ocd ss Posted: May 15, 2008 at 07:21 PM (#2782652)

if you consider the cost to make each penny, Griffey overpaid by nearly 400 bucks.

I heard a fun little podcast story about people who are using pennies as an investment opportunity. They are banking on the idea that the penny will be taken out of circulation and they can melt down on the pennies that have copper in them and take advantage of the mineral exchange rates. A few people have actually invented sorting machines that you can dump a bunch of pennies into and it will separate the ones that are made of copper from the ones that aren't.

14. The Jerry Royster Experience Posted: May 15, 2008 at 07:22 PM (#2782653)

15. TVerik Posted: May 15, 2008 at 07:26 PM (#2782654)

It would be illegal if they are still active currency, but I don't think it would be so if they were taken out of circulation.

16. Halofan Posted: May 15, 2008 at 07:27 PM (#2782655)

I know a restaurant owner who has the boxes of pennies ready for payout when a nasty employee quits and comes around for that final paycheck.

17. Clarence Thomas luuuvs Jacoby Ellsbury (scott) Posted: May 15, 2008 at 07:27 PM (#2782656)

it might be legal. they're not breaking the law. they're certainly entitled to keep their pennies in a piggybank. and once pennies are no longer legal tender, it's not a crime to destroy them.

18. Shock Posted: May 15, 2008 at 07:29 PM (#2782658)

Keppinger ends up with a broken kneecap and his teammate immediately pays off a debt.

I'm just sayin'...

MSM: "Yes! I needed a reason to not vote for Junior!"

19. ocd ss Posted: May 15, 2008 at 07:38 PM (#2782664)

It would be illegal if they are still active currency, but I don't think it would be so if they were taken out of circulation.

That was the point. They talked to one of the guys who invented one of the sorting machines and he just goes around to banks, gets change, sorts the pennies and returns the ones he doesn't want. Of course they're totally dependent on the penny being pulled from circulation. The guy had several hunderd pounds of pennies in his garage.

20. RB in NYC (Now with an Plane Tickets!) Posted: May 15, 2008 at 07:40 PM (#2782665)

The guy had several hundred pounds of pennies in his garage.

To go along with the several hundred voices talking to him in his head.

21. Raskolnikov Posted: May 15, 2008 at 07:56 PM (#2782671)

The penny should be put out of circulation. They're useless.

22. Van Lingle Mungo Jerry Posted: May 15, 2008 at 07:58 PM (#2782672)

To go along with the several hundred voices talking to him in his head.

About the several hundred black ZOG helicopters hovering over his house at night.

23. battlekow Posted: May 15, 2008 at 08:20 PM (#2782680)

Snopes on the legend that Don Drysdale and/or Maury Wills once paid a fine in pennies.

The Straight Dope on the legality of paying large debts in small change.

24. Fear & Whisky keeps Phil Coorey going Posted: May 15, 2008 at 08:51 PM (#2782703)

The penny should be put out of circulation. They're useless.

We took them out ages ago. My god you guys are behind the times...

:)

25. Darren Posted: May 15, 2008 at 09:15 PM (#2782717)

Why are these fellows waiting around for pennies to go out of circulation? Who's going to know if they secretly melt them down and sell off the copper? What's the profit margin here (no reason)?

26. battlekow Posted: May 15, 2008 at 09:25 PM (#2782725)

Pennies cost 1.7 cents per to make as of 2007. Same link also mentions a five-year prison sentence for melting down currency.

27. Cooperstown Shtick Posted: May 15, 2008 at 09:33 PM (#2782732)

The penny should be put out of circulation. They're useless.

Useless? How else would you make change for a nickel?

28. Boots Day Posted: May 15, 2008 at 09:37 PM (#2782737)

They're useless.

So's your mom.

29. Keep It Simple, I'm Stupid (JMN) Posted: May 15, 2008 at 09:55 PM (#2782748)

When I worked managing parking ramps, we had a policy that we didn't take bills larger than a twenty. We had a sign on the ticket spitter right in front of the driver's face when they enter, too. Periodically, some jackass would insist on using a $100 bill. One of my fellow managers had a bag with $20 in loose pennies in his desk for just these occasions. The customer got $20 of his change in pennies.

30. Rough Carrigan Posted: May 15, 2008 at 09:55 PM (#2782749)

Yeah, but she's in circulation!

31. Walks Clog Up the Bases Posted: May 15, 2008 at 11:11 PM (#2782815)

Given that the Artist formerly known as The Kid is getting on in years, I'm sure he has the pennies lying around for the 31st of October each year.

32. The Jerry Royster Experience Posted: May 15, 2008 at 11:32 PM (#2782822)

they're totally dependent on the penny being pulled from circulation.

Ah. There's been a small movement for years to get that done. It's been a non-starter.

Even though it would make total financial sense to get rid of the penny (and, indeed, the nickel and the dime), it's not going to happen any time soon.

33. Jeff K. Posted: May 15, 2008 at 11:39 PM (#2782828)

So's your mom.

Not that I really care, but what's up with the explosion of "Your Mom" jokes lately? It's multiple people, though I think this is BD's second run at it. Did I miss something?

34. NTNgod Posted: May 15, 2008 at 11:45 PM (#2782833)

Not that I really care, but what's up with the explosion of "Your Mom" jokes lately?

Delgado's rather unusual agent* broke it out in an email to a NY writer:
BTF Thread

* - same guy who, prior to Delgado's signing with FLA, threatened to rule out Delgado signing with any team that tried calling him (the agent) while he was at a Joe Cocker concert, IIRC.

35. Darren Posted: May 15, 2008 at 11:45 PM (#2782834)

I really don't like that Carlos Delgado's agent is getting credit for making "So's your mom" popular, when chris p. and I were really the ones who made it famous.

On another note, even assuming you could recoup all the 1.7 cents for each penny, you're making .7 cents per penny. So 1,000,000 pennies makes you 700,000 cents or $7,000.00 profit. According to the math in the Griffey article, that's 400 boxes of pennies ($25 or 2,500 pennies each) at 16 lbs per box. That's 6,400 pounds, or about 3 tons of pennies, that you have to acquire, store, transport, melt down, and sell. Doesn't sound like a great plan.

36. baseballing powerhouse (phredbird) Posted: May 15, 2008 at 11:51 PM (#2782838)

just some silliness from an article about carlos delgado's stupid agent a couple of days ago. everybody jumped all over the guy's smooth debating tactics.

37. Duke, Duke, Duke, Duchscherer-er-er (Justin T) Posted: May 15, 2008 at 11:53 PM (#2782839)

* - same guy who, prior to Delgado's signing with FLA, threatened to rule out Delgado signing with any team that tried calling him (the agent) while he was at a Joe Cocker concert.

Now THAT'S funny!

Also, even if I had several million bucks in the bank, if someone who owed me $1500 paid me in pennies by putting them in my "office," I think I would consider that guy a shithead. Paying a large sum in pennies might have been semi-clever the first time it was done.

38. Jeff K. Posted: May 16, 2008 at 12:01 AM (#2782844)

Apologize this retard

And NTN's link explains something else that I couldn't figure out today on Primer. Good show.

39. Lujack Posted: May 16, 2008 at 09:57 AM (#2783033)

I can't believe Griffey wasn't injured in this transaction. He didn't drop a box on his foot or strain a muscle carrying these?

40. McCoy Posted: May 16, 2008 at 10:09 AM (#2783050)

It used to be legal to melt down pennies for the metals but Congress put a stop to it. But they left a loophole open. The law only says that you cannot melt down pennies or nickels (with Nickels being even more valuable then pennies), it says nothing about quarters and half dollars. There was a business that used to melt down the pennies and used the change sorters mentioned above but they got shut down on the penny front so they switched to half dollars.

The US mint loses something like 50 million dollars each year minting pennies.

41. ACE1242 Posted: May 16, 2008 at 10:23 AM (#2783060)

once pennies are no longer legal tender

Doubtful that this will happen any time soon. We've never in our history demonetized any coinage (the trade dollar doesn't count). Half cents from 150 years ago are still good at the bank. Agreed, it would make sense to stop making cents.

42. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: May 16, 2008 at 10:32 AM (#2783072)

On another note, even assuming you could recoup all the 1.7 cents for each penny, you're making .7 cents per penny. So 1,000,000 pennies makes you 700,000 cents or $7,000.00 profit. According to the math in the Griffey article, that's 400 boxes of pennies ($25 or 2,500 pennies each) at 16 lbs per box. That's 6,400 pounds, or about 3 tons of pennies, that you have to acquire, store, transport, melt down, and sell. Doesn't sound like a great plan.

The profit wouldn't even be that large. It costs 1.7 cents to make them, which includes manufacturing costs, transportation, etc. Lets say you could somehow make .35 profit per penny. For coming up with a million pennies, you could make $3500 profit.

Instead of going around to banks, hording pennies in your garage, somehow melting them down to sell, etc., how about these yahoos get a part time job? Much easier.

43. SouthSideRyan(roots for dreck) Posted: May 16, 2008 at 10:40 AM (#2783079)

Or they could take the money that they're storing in boxes in their garage losing value they could invest it and make that money by the time pennies are out of circulation.

44. B. Selig Posted: May 16, 2008 at 10:47 AM (#2783081)

Not that I really care, but what's up with the explosion of "Your Mom" jokes lately? It's multiple people, though I think this is BD's second run at it. Did I miss something?

Your mom likes multiple posts.

45. Boots Day Posted: May 16, 2008 at 10:54 AM (#2783083)

Good show.

So's your mom.

46. Bob Dernier Ressort Posted: May 16, 2008 at 10:57 AM (#2783089)

As a born collector and borderline neurotic, I have to look at every penny I get nowadays to see if it's mostly copper or mostly zinc. Sometimes the color is a giveaway (deep red is copper, blotchy grey means zinc is showing through). Usually I have to look at the date to confirm. In the case of 1982 pennies, the test is to drop them on a table: if they ring, they are copper, and if they clatter like a plastic button, they are zinc. I take the copper pennies out of circulation and save them in a bowl. This costs me about a buck a year. I don't know what I'm doing it for, but OTOH I don't know why I stay logged into BTF all day or watch Texas Ranger games at night, either.

47. baseballing powerhouse (phredbird) Posted: May 16, 2008 at 12:04 PM (#2783168)

the negative seigniorage of penny and nickel manufacture is more than made up for by dimes, quarters and the others.

48. McCoy Posted: May 16, 2008 at 12:12 PM (#2783185)

and yet still completely unnecessary

49. Deadball Posted: May 16, 2008 at 02:37 PM (#2783361)

and yet still completely unnecessary

So's your mother-in-law

50. Billy Wagner's unspoken thoughts Posted: May 16, 2008 at 03:52 PM (#2783449)

I once collected $1837.00 in change. I used to cut the check for rent on a house I shared with 2 other guys. They would sometimes pay me in change(anything to get the money out of them ontime). In about 2 years I saved that much and rolled it all, which the bank really hated. I carried it in in shoe boxes that felt like I was carrying bricks of gold. A confirmed stripper was the transaction behind mine so I didn't feel as bad.

51. Traderdave Posted: May 16, 2008 at 03:54 PM (#2783451)

Strippers take pennies?

52. Shooty misses Bill King Posted: May 16, 2008 at 04:00 PM (#2783455)

Strippers take pennies?

They took my roll of dimes!

53. Traderdave Posted: May 16, 2008 at 04:04 PM (#2783459)

She said gimme ten dollars and make it hurt.

54. villageidiom Posted: May 16, 2008 at 04:16 PM (#2783475)

Is that a roll of quarters in your pocket?

55. Shooty misses Bill King Posted: May 16, 2008 at 04:34 PM (#2783498)

Is that a roll of quarters in your pocket?

Ask your mom.

And with that, I'm out of here. Enjoy the weekend you nut-jobs.

56. Edmundo(Erstwhile Master of Diagramming Sentences) Posted: May 16, 2008 at 04:40 PM (#2783508)

She said gimme ten dollars and make it hurt.
Then she saw my sack of coins and asked me to "Fill 'er up"

57. Quilvio is the man now, dog Posted: May 16, 2008 at 05:08 PM (#2783551)

Shoulda installed a reverse peephole.

58. Moses Taylor, Optimist Posted: May 16, 2008 at 05:10 PM (#2783553)

When I worked managing parking ramps, we had a policy that we didn't take bills larger than a twenty.

That's illegal! That's an illegal policy!

59. NTNgod Posted: May 16, 2008 at 08:03 PM (#2783737)

MLB.com just put up an article on this that has a picture of Griffey posing in front of Fogg's locker with all of the boxes of pennies.
Lot o' boxes.

Page 1 of 1 pages

You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.

<< Back to main

Thursday, May 15, 2008

AP: Griffey pays off Fogg in pennies

Reader Comments and Retorts

Support BBTF

My Bookmarks

Hot Topics