What would you do if you caught Derek Jeter’s 3,000 hit, which just so happened to be a home run? Would you do what Christian Lopez did? I mean, this ball is worth more than student loans, more than a face-face meeting with the Captain himself. This ball is your ticket out of debt, out of New York, onward to bigger and better.
However, if you are the exception to the rule, like Mr. Lopez, you don’t think about money, about the “get out of debt free card.” You are a baseball purist and a whole-hearted Yankee supporter. You don’t care about how much the ball is worth to Sotheby’s or Steiner Sports.
In a society where instant gratification and sudden monetary gain outweigh a selfless act of baseball purity in almost every single human being, this Lopez kid is the exception to the rule. Even if you grew up your whole life rooting for the Yankees, idolizing Derek Jeter and what he means to the Yankees organization and the city of New York, when it is ever enough to settle for a small-time payout by an organization which treats millions like chump change.
Even if you are caught up in the moment, by the sheer euphoria of the hit, the home run, and the standing ovation, why not call your lawyer and get some protection? After all, legal fees would be the least of your worries for a ball worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. You could even write your initials on the ball just to be prove you were the one who caught it, like Sal Durante, who caught Roger Maris’ 61st home run in 1961.
After all, hundreds of thousands in the bank is worth more than 15 minutes of fame with your boyhood idol? Isn’t it? Or, have I lost track of what it means to be selfless and pure?
