Christian Lopez Went to a Yankees Game and All He Got Was Derek Jeter’s 3,000th Hit

Christian Lopez is a very ordinary man who wound up with something extraordinary at Yankee Stadium this afternoon.  Derek Jeter's became the second player in MLB history (Wade Boggs) to hit a home run for his 3,000th hit.  Lopez, a 23 year old cell phone salesman from Highland Mills, N.Y. wound up with the ball when it went through his father's hands.

Lopez quite literally won a lottery of sorts.  He could have auctioned the ball off to the highest bidder, but Christian Lopez wanted Derek Jeter to have the ball.  After the game Lopez told reporters,

"Mr. Jeter deserved it.  I'm not gonna take it away from him.  "Money's cool and all, but I'm 23 years old, I've got a lot of time to make that. It was never about the money, it was about the milestone."

Some will call him naive or foolish for not cashing his piece of history in, but I believe he is displaying some perspective and wisdom beyond his years.  It was a classy gesture to give the ball back to its rightful owner.  The karma gods will take care of Christian Lopez. 

The Yankees didn't let Christian Lopez go away empty handed.  He received four season tickets to the Champions suite for the remainder of the season and postseason.  Lopez also walked away with some signed Derek Jeter memorabilia.

Not bad for a guy who just wanted to see his hero get his 3,000th hit.