For sports writers and poets, Derek Jeter's 3000th hit was the stuff myths are made of. A home run into the left field stands and a dramatic exclamation point from a player who has had difficulty getting the ball through the infield this year.
For the New York Yankees, however, it was a mixed bag. Had it been a ground ball single, the ball would have been easily retrieved from the playing field. A home run meant the ball was inconveniently the private property of one Christian Lopez, who had just won the lottery without even buying a ticket.
Estimates of the ball's value range from $250,000 to $1 million or more.
According to a New York Times report, Mr. Lopez and his father were whisked by security guards to the office of Yankee team president Randy Levine where officials asked his intention. Lopez responded, "How about a couple signed balls, some jerseys and bats." Knowing the ball's potential monetary value, the Yankee brass jumped on the request. To show their generosity, they threw in $40,000 in face value of (unsold, and thus likely worth much less) tickets.
Mr. Lopez's modest conduct was highly laudable. He explained he felt the ball rightfully belonged to Derek Jeter. He wanted to do the right thing and return the ball to its owner. Bravo!
But what about the conduct of the Yankees and Mr. Jeter?
Let's run the numbers:
New York Yankees (principal owners the Steinbrenner family) -- value $1.6 billion.
Derek Jeter (currently has a 3 year, $51 million contract) -- Career earnings $250 million.
Christian Lopez (23 year old recent college grad) -- owes $100,000 + in student loans.
Judging by the immediate response of the security guards and the waiting team officials, the Yankees were fully prepared for this moment. They were also fully aware of the market value of the ball. It can be safely surmised that Mr. Lopez was less well prepared. There was a fundamental asymmetry to the situation, and the Yankees were happy to exploit it.
In effect, Mr. Lopez was offering Mr. Jeter and the Yankees a gift worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and the Yankees knew it, even if Mr. Lopez didn't.
What does it say about the Yankees, Mr. Jeter and our society that multi-millionaires and billionaires knowingly (and happily) accept the charity of a young man in debt? One must ask themselves, in this transaction who acted with dignity and class, and who acted with greed and shame?
Instead of capitalizing on the moment, the Yankees should have offered Mr. Lopez something meaningful in return for his graceful gesture. Perhaps not the full market value of the ball, but some exchange roughly equivalent in value. At a minimum, they could have paid off his student loans.
It matters not whether Mr. Lopez would have accepted the offer -- the Yankees still had the moral obligation to do the right thing and make the gesture.
This tells us something about our society and ourselves. Not only about the exploitative relationship between professional sports teams and their fans, but also about the conduct of institutions in this era of selfishness and greed.
There is an antiquated concept called noblesse oblige. Mirriam-Webster defines it as "the obligation of honorable, generous, and responsible behavior associated with high rank or birth."
In the case of the New York Yankees, Derek Jeter and Christian Lopez, ask yourself which party acted responsibly and with generosity and which was happy to exploit its rank and privilege? The answer isn't pretty.
It should be taxed.
And yep, I've been a Yankee fan for decades, and watch nearly every Yankee game every year.