As a baseball fan, and more importantly, a Yankee fan, I was glued to my television for last Saturday’s game, where the Yankee’s captain stood on the doorstep of history.
Like he has done so many times before, the Yankee great was set to break another Yankee record: 3000 hits as a Yankee has been a feat never achieved before.
In true Derek Jeter style, he got a hit in his first at bat, to leave him just one hit short of the 3000-hit mark.
I couldn’t wait for his next at bat. Could he go two for two and get hit number 3000?
Every time Jeter came to the plate, specially-marked balls were used to ensure authenticity from Major League Baseball. The ball would be worth between $250,000 and $300,000 on eBay.
Jeter’s next at bat, with the entire crowd standing and cheering him on (including me in my living room), he drove the ball deep and out of the park! 3000 hits as a Yankee, and done on a home run! Amazing!
But something even more amazing was now happening.
In a world where sporting memorabilia is a massive industry and thousands of items are bought and sold on eBay each day, you can imagine how lucky this guy who caught Derek Jeter’s Home run was.
I mean at 23, $300K would help set him up, or pay of any debt he had.
But instead of keeping the ball to make a profit, Christian Lopez, a lifelong Yankee and Jeter fan, only wanted to do one thing; give the ball back to Jeter, no strings attached.
Now that is amazing!
He was ushered from his seat almost immediately with the ball by security and the Yankee brass asked him what did he want for the ball. Without hesitation, he said nothing, he just wanted Jeter to have the ball.
He said, “Mr Jeter deserves it, it’s all his.”
In a word of big-time sports and where so-called fans of the game, seek autographs so they can sell them on eBay, Christen Lopez showed what a true fan is all about; the love for the game and the players who embodied what sports should be all about.
Note: In return for the ball, the Yankees gave Lopez four seats for every home game for the remainder of the year, including the World Series, should the Yankees make it. They also gave him some signed bats and balls.
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