Yankee Fan Praised for Returning Derek Jeter's 3,000th Hit
Baseball fan, Christian Lopez, who graciously returned Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit on Sunday at the Yankee Stadium, has said he would do it again “100 times”.
The 23 year-old told media reporters that he “owes at least $100,000 in student loans” and the memento is rumored to be worth about $250,000 had he kept it.
“Three thousand hits isn’t something that happens every day,” Lopez said. “The Yankees didn’t pressure me to give the ball back to Jeter he insisted, I just really wanted to give it back for everything the guy has done for us.”
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However, the fan’s generosity did not go unrewarded. The CEO of Steiner Sports, said “Lopez was given tickets to the rest of the team’s 32 home games, worth at least $44,800.”
Lopez reportedly received four tickets for the Legend section for one game, worth a total of $6,000, and then four tickets for each of the remaining games in the stadium’s Championship section, where seats are worth $350.
In addition, he was also given three signed jerseys, three signed balls and three signed bats.
News reports also described how as Lopez made his way out of the stadium he was greeted by fans wanting to shake his hand in respect and appreciation of his generous act towards their sporting hero.
Recognizing the sporting relevance of the historic moment, fans have flocked to get their hands on any merchandise related to the hit that they can.
“Steiner Sports crashed twice due to the volume of calls, estimated to be in the 5,000 range, requesting memorabilia relating to the historic hit”, said a Steiner rep.
