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I'm referring, of course, to the way that Doug Mientkiewicz kept the ball used during the final out of the 2004 World Series. He soon left the team as a free agent and took the ball with him, much to Boston's chagrin. The Sox believed the ball belonged in a museum, and it took a year and a half of bickering (as well as a lawsuit that the team eventually dropped) before Mientkiewicz reached an agreement for the ball to be displayed in the Hall of Fame.
As you can see in the picture above (and it's even more obvious in video highlights), Varitek stashed the ball in his back pocket as he ran out to the pitcher's mound following the final strike. Did he want to keep a piece of history? Or did he hold onto the ball so he could be at team player and offer it back to the franchise? (Update: As pointed out in the comments, Varitek said he'll give the ball to the team.)
To be honest, I don't think the Red Sox will really care this time around. For one, the ball has a lot less history attached to it. In 2004, the ball was the last out of a World Series win that ended the team's 86-year drought as World Champions. This year, it was merely the team's second win in four years.
Plus, Varitek is one of this generation's brightest Red Sox icons. He's a selfless player and a clubhouse leader: if he wants to hold onto the ball, he has a right to. After all, he's been with the team thick and thin over the years and was behind the plate for every pitch of the series. Mientkiewicz, on the other hand, was a midseason acquisition in 2004 and entered the final game in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement. He had little to do with the team's success, both in terms of the season as a whole as well as that particular game.
Varitek isn't going anywhere soon, and that ball belongs on his living room mantle as it does anywhere else.
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